South Carolina’s timber industry wants government help in the face of a severe pine beetle infestation.
Wood is the state’s biggest cash crop worth US$876m annually, but the beetles are eating their way through valuable forests, reducing the price of high-end sawn timber by as much as 80%, according to the South Carolina Forestry Association. The beetle spread has been encouraged by a five-year drought.
The South Carolina Timber Producers Association wants Congress to approve US$10m funds to stop or slow the beetles.
Meanwhile, in California state governor Gray Davis has announced a US$300,000 package to assist non-industrial private forest landowners affected by beetle infestation and drought.
