The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Senate section on pages S7427-S7428 on July 26, 2002.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
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INFESTED PINONS
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise today to continue my efforts to raise awareness of the dire situation we are facing in the western United States due to the ongoing drought.
I have been speaking on the Senate floor repeatedly emphasizing the impact the drought is having on the west, and especially its impact on New Mexico. The water situation has affected businesses and the livestock industry, and it has turned forests into tinderboxes.
Now, it appears that there is another problem arising from the lack of water. A recent article by the Albuquerque Journal highlights the fact that ``hundreds of thousands of bark beetles [are] killing Pinon pines all over New Mexico.'' These are ``trees that have survived New Mexico's arid climate for 75 or 100 years [and] are [now] succumbing to the beetles.''
Under normal conditions, stressed trees would use internal sap pressure to fend off an infestation. However, under current conditions, the trees do not have enough moisture to adequately fight back, and they are overwhelmed by the beetles and devastated. They have to be cut down, stacked, and covered with plastic to prevent the escape of the beetles.
If New Mexico's Pinon trees suffer, so too will some area economies. New Mexico is known for its unique food flavors and its native art. Pinon nuts are a true New Mexico treat which can be harvested and eaten as a snack. Roasted nuts can sell for around $9 a pound and bring much needed tourism dollars to our state. In addition, Pinon pitch can be used as a glaze for Navajo pottery providing the finishing touches to their beautiful designs. Prolonged damage to the Pinon trees will create further hardships for New Mexico's economy.
With each passing day, the conditions in New Mexico will continue to become worse. At some point or another, every individual in New Mexico will feel the impact of this drought and continue to face hardships until we take proper action to alleviate the situation.
I ask that the July 24, 2002, Albuquerque Journal article entitled,
``Parched Pinon Under Deadly Attack'' be printed in the Record.
The article follows.
Parched Pinons Under Deadly Attack
(By Tania Soussan)
First came the fires. Then withered crops. Now the drought's latest plague: hundreds of thousands of bark beetles killing pinon pines all over New Mexico.
``In many areas, they're taking out all of the trees,'' said Bob Cain, a New Mexico State University forest entomologist.'' . . . It's going to be a long time before there's many pinon in there again.''
Even before the drought of 2002, the trees faced still competition for water because forests have grown overly dense during decades of human fire suppression.
The drought has made the situation even worse. Without adequate water, the pinons can't repel the bark beetles that burrow into vital tissues, lay eggs and munch away.
``It's been something that's been building the last several years, especially since 2000,'' Cain said, adding that the bark beetles are one of nature's ways of thinning a forest.
Carol Sutherland, the New Mexico Department of Agriculture's top bug expert, agreed.
``Trees that are under stress are getting hammered badly by all manner of bark beetles,'' she said recently.
The worst infestations are in the area between Magdalena and Quemado in the western part of the state, around Ojo Caliente in northern New Mexico, in the Sacramento Mountains and Ruidoso.
Near Silver City, ponderosa pines also are being hit hard.
Even trees that have survived New Mexico's arid climate for 75 or 100 years are succumbing to the beetles this year, said Terry Rogers, forest entomologist for the U.S. Forest Service in New Mexico.
On a hillside outside of Santa Fe, Cain recently examined a pocket of pinons fighting a hopeless battle for life. The pine needles on one tree were turning a pale, whitish green. Another tree already had gone reddish brown.
``There's nothing you can do to save this tree,'' Cain said. ``This drought has been so severe that even trees that should have enough resources around them are getting hit.''
Pencil lead-sized holes in the trunk marked where the beetles entered, and small piles of fine sawdust on the branches and the ground were signs of their success.
In addition, there were several ``pitch tubes'' on the broad trunk. The tree had spurted out resin, or sap, in an attempt to eject the beetles. A healthy tree can fight off beetles that way, but drought means the trees don't have enough moisture to produce the needed sap.
Bark beetles are efficient killers.
Once a few successfully bore into a pinon or ponderosa pine, they send out a chemical signal that attracts thousands of other beetles.
They invade the phloem tissue right under the bark, the tissue that carries sugars from the pine needles to the tree's roots. The beetles also carry pockets of fungus on their bodies. The fungus attacks the water-conducting tissues of the tree.
Once the signs of beetle infestation are clear, it's too late to save the tree.
``You really have no good evidence of beetles in the tree until the tree is fading,'' Cain said. ``Insecticides are not efficient at that point.''
The only solution is to cut down the tree and get rid of it--and the beetles inside--to stop the beetle invasion from spreading to other trees. To use it for firewood, first stack the logs in the sun and cover them with plastic for several days to kill the beetles.
The insecticide Sevin can be used to protect high-value trees that are at risk, but Cain does not recommend it for general use. Watering trees so they are able to fight off an attack also can help.
``The good news is if we get these monsoons, the trees will become more resistant,'' he said.
Drought also has increased populations of spider mites in corn crops in eastern New Mexico.
``It can be quite severe,'' said Mike English, head of the NMSU Extension Service's Agricultural Science Center in Los Lunas. ``It can lose half your crop.''
The drought could be making blood-sucking kissing bugs a problem in the southern part of the state, Sutherland said.
The bugs' usual prey, small rodents and birds, probably are in shorter supply so they are biting people and leaving behind big, itchy welts, she said.
``You've seen mosquito bites but you ain't seen nothing yet,''she said. ``These are a lot worse.''
Still, the situation in New Mexico could be worse.
Grasshoppers and Mormon crickets are ravaging crops and pastures in Nebraska and other Western states in what could be the biggest such infestation since World War II, according to agricultural officials.
There were early reports of a few pockets of grasshopper problems in New Mexico, in Lea and Eddy counties and near Silver City, English said. But Sutherland said there were no reports of major problems in the state as of mid-July.
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