HOT SPRINGS — The Ouachita National Forest will soon be conducting a pine timber salvage operation in Montgomery County due to a localized infestation of Ips engraver beetle.
The infected pine trees are located on 177 acres of Forest Service land north of Lake Ouachita on the Jessieville-Winona-Fourche Ranger District, southeast of the community of Story, Arkansas. The infestation begins on the shores of Lake Ouachita and continues northward. Visitors are advised to proceed with caution along Forest Service Roads 69, 69A, and 69B until salvage operations are completed later this spring.
The USDA Forest Service, along with state and federal partners, including the Arkansas Department of Agriculture – Forestry Division and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, are closely monitoring Ips engraver beetle activity. “We are committed to prioritizing treatment where Ips beetles may impact public lands, threaten important habitat for wildlife, or pose a hazard to forest users,” said Michael Crotteau, Integrated Resources Staff Officer for the Ouachita National Forest.
Ips engraver beetles are found living naturally in most Southern pine forests. They are considered a “secondary” pest, attacking pine trees that have undergone a major stress event like drought, disease, storm damage, lightning strikes, wildfire, or competition for resources (overstocked stands). Normally, Ips will attack groups of five to ten pine trees randomly across the forest. Within the last two years, larger and more frequent outbreaks of Ips infestations have occurred. These events may have been triggered by the extreme late summer drought that occurred in 2022.
Symptoms of an Ips beetle infestation usually include discolored crowns, dying and dead branches, sloughing bark, and dead trees. However, there are three species of Ips Engraver beetles, and they infest different areas of the pine tree. One of these species attacks side branches, and generally does not kill the tree. In this instance, tree symptoms may include small emergence holes, pitch tubes on the bark, or sawdust at the base.
Private landowners with pine trees damaged by a suspected Ips bark beetle outbreak are advised to contact the Arkansas Department of Agriculture – Forestry Division.
