12 replies to this topic

[hahn23]

I was sort of waiting for Aaron to post a news story, but this one may not make the news. A young lady was rescued via helicopter from Boulderfield this afternoon, August 10, 2010. The helicopter landed at the heli-pad in Upper Beaver Meadows and transferred the rescued hiker/climber to an Estes Park ambulance. It appears her left leg was immobilized. Otherwise, she was conscious and was conversing with emergency response personnel. I was in Upper Beaver Meadows doing nature photography. Because the road was temporarily closed, I had time to photograph the event as a photojournalist.














Hope this person recovers completely and quickly.

Edited by hahn23, 10 August 2010 - 08:20 PM.

[Igloo Ed]

Thanks Richard, purdy special having our own roving reporter!

[DeeCeeM]

You scooped the National Park Service! Thanks for sharing.

[jflo]

Thanks for the pics... I appreciate having an insider...

[Aaron]

Yep, we've not received their press release on it yet. Thanks for the info and pics!

--Aaron

[mistylady]

Is this great or what? We have our own news service with up-to-date info before anyone else! Thanks, Richard. I hope the lady recovers quickly, too.

[hector]

Great photojournalism! Thanks, Richard!

[DrCloud]

Great photographs, as usual, Richard.

The first one, though is especially interesting. The dead lodgepoles look for all the world like October aspen, for their color. Is that from the light (sun angle and so on) or what? Having spent lots of time in the Fraser Valley during the big beetle-kill over there, I have to express surprise about that amazing color. HPH

[hahn23]

DrCloud, on 11 August 2010 - 05:43 PM, said:

Great photographs, as usual, Richard.

The first one, though is especially interesting. The dead lodgepoles look for all the world like October aspen, for their color. Is that from the light (sun angle and so on) or what? Having spent lots of time in the Fraser Valley during the big beetle-kill over there, I have to express surprise about that amazing color. HPH

The progression of the pine bark beetle kill is shocking. I see more newly killed (red/orange needle trees) every day. Still mostly the lodgepole pines, but also a growing number of Ponderosa pines. I've steered away from capturing color landscape images in some areas because of the distraction of the trees. The first year of death, these trees are red/orange. The second year, the color is brownish. Year three and after, the trees are gray.

In the top photo above, the sun was streaming through in the late afternoon.

Edited by hahn23, 11 August 2010 - 06:00 PM.

[hahn23]

The news about the rescues in the past 24 hours was finally released.
Numerous Incidents Reported At Rocky Mountain National Park

"...The first was at 9 a.m. Tuesday, when rangers notified by cell phone that a 22-year-old Boulder woman was at 14,000 feet on Longs Peak with a knee injury. She was helped by park staff and visitors to the Boulder Field at 12,760 feet, where she was picked up by a helicopter at 4 p.m. and transported to Upper Beaver Meadows. She was then taken by ambulance to Estes Park Medical Center...."

Edited by hahn23, 11 August 2010 - 06:07 PM.

[Mark Zemmin]

It has been an amazing summer for incidents/injuries. Rangers have done a great job.

Mark

[DrCloud]

hahn23, on 11 August 2010 - 05:51 PM, said:

The progression of the pine bark beetle kill is shocking...

Yep. When we bought our house (at the beginning of 2008), there were barely hints on the east side, and the Realtors and other boosters were downplaying the possibility of the bugs' getting over the Divide. Having seen their progression in Grand County (and how they had marched right over Berthoud Pass even then), we knew better. The next couple of years are going to be tragic. HPH

[hahn23]

DrCloud, on 12 August 2010 - 08:11 AM, said:

Yep. When we bought our house (at the beginning of 2008), there were barely hints on the east side, and the Realtors and other boosters were downplaying the possibility of the bugs' getting over the Divide. Having seen their progression in Grand County (and how they had marched right over Berthoud Pass even then), we knew better. The next couple of years are going to be tragic. HPH

Agreed! The lodgepole pine forests are definitely in great danger of 95% death. It's unclear how seriously the Ponderosa Pines will be impacted. Most property owners are using pine bark beetle deterrents in an effort to save the Ponderosa pines. (The lodgepoles have been mostly written off.) There are two. Spraying with a residual insecticide is most common. The spraying is done in late May to early June and is supposed to last 100 days. That covers the time of beetle flight, as they spread with the wind from tree to tree. The insecticide is a blunt tool and does take out other insects. Not very bird friendly. About $13 per tree cost.

The second deterrent is the use of pheromone packets. Evidently, the pine bark beetle emits a pheromone after it infests a tree. That pheromone tells other pine bark beetles the tree has been taken and they should go elsewhere. Someone captured and isolated the pheromone and it is available to attach as a packet to pine trees. Large trees will need 4 packets. Smaller trees require only one. At $10 per packet, it is a more expensive option, but maybe more bird, animal and human friendly. Also, the packets are put out end of May and are supposed to cover the 100 days of beetle flight.

I lived in Grand Lake in 2003-2004. The preventative spraying of lodgepole pine trees was active then. As I go back and look at the areas which were sprayed, I find 95% failure of the preventative measures. There aren't many Ponderosa Pines in the Grand Lake area. The lodgepoles (densely packed) have taken a very serious hit. I will say the trees that are going to die in Grand County have died. in many cases, the trees on private property have been removed (harvested). GL homes which were built on wooded lots now have a lot with a view.

Bottom line: The tree death east of the continental divide is rapidly progressing. Two things could arrest the cycle:

1. Two to three weeks of -25 degrees or colder in the winter would arrest the progress of the insect infestation. The arctic air mass events were not uncommon a few decades ago. Rare now!
2. Or, large scale forest fires in the lodgepole forests would also stop the problem. The last big fire in RMNP was in the early 1900's. You can see evidence of this if you hike off-trail east of Lake Haiyaha. That fire activity is a normal part of the forest life cycle. But, it has been suppressed for a hundred years. The Yellowstone fires of 1988 are a possible template for our RMNP future. A shock and a recovery, like Yellowstone's remarkable regrowth, is the long term perspective.

Edited by hahn23, 12 August 2010 - 08:48 AM.