Click the link to access the report on the Colorado State Forest Service website:
Forest Pests Continue to Spread in Colorado Despite Milder Year
Colorado experienced wetter, cooler conditions in 2023 compared to recent years. This was good for many species of trees in areas of Colorado suffering from prolonged drought, but trees will need several years of adequate moisture and lower temperatures to recover, regain their health and ward off attack from bark beetles and other forest pests. Populations of bark beetles and western spruce budworm remain high in forests and a milder year is not enough to reverse recent trends.
Western spruce budworm remains the most widespread forest pest in Colorado, according to aerial survey data from the Colorado State Forest Service and U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region. Data from the aerial survey also indicate that western balsam bark beetle remains the deadliest forest pest for the second year in a row, despite it impacting fewer acres of Colorado’s forests in 2023.