A new, $7.8 million research project on the mountain pine beetle infestation was announced in Whistler this week at an international tree biotech conference.

The multi-disciplinary project, involving scientists and others across B.C. and Alberta, aims to help predict future pine beetle outbreaks and ultimately inform decisions on how to manage them.

Dr. Joerg Bohlmann of the University of B.C. and co-leader of the project said the research will try to fill in gaps in current pine beetle knowledge to better predict when an outbreak might occur and what the scope might be. If we can better predict an outbreak, we can better manage where to cut down trees, what to cut and how the wood might be used, he said.

The research will also explore the potential for trees affected by pine beetle to be used as feedstock in Canada’s bio-energy sector, and inform decisions on how to invest in future feedstock supplies and the future of bio-energy.

For example, Bohlmann said the research could help predict the best location to build a plant to produce wood pellets from infested trees. Wood pellets are already being shipped from B.C. to Europe, he said.

The research project is largely funded by Genome Canada, Genome B.C. and Genome Alberta. The project was announced at the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) Tree Biotech Conference, which wraps up in Whistler today (Thursday, July 2). The five-day conference included about 200 attendees from all over the world.

The mountain pine beetle has so far affected more than 14 million hectares of pine forests in B.C. and the infestation is now moving into Alberta.

“Fourteen million hectares is the size of Georgia,” said Dr. Janis Cooke, project co-leader and researcher at the University of Alberta.

The beetles attack mostly lodgepole pine trees, of which there are few in the Whistler area, said Peter Ackhurst, a registered professional forester who has been involved in the development of the area’s Cheakamus Community Forest. But the research deals with the effects of climate change, which is expected to impact forests locally and around the world, Ackhurst said.

Bohlmann agreed. Though he was unsure how the research might impact Whistler-area forests directly, the project considers how climate change is shifting such outbreaks and how it might impact other wood beetles that so far haven’t been a big problem.

“Climate change is a big factor in this,” Bohlmann said.

The Community Forest agreement between the Resort Municipality of Whistler, the Squamish Nation and the Lil’wat Nation gives local governments control over logging in the area. With more local involvement in managing local forests, this kind of research will become more of an interest in Whistler, Ackhurst said.

Logging forum planned

Members of the public are invited to ask questions and learn more about the Cheakamus Community Forest at the next meeting of the Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment (AWARE) on Wednesday (July 8).

Ackhurst and the Heather Beresford, muncipal environmental stewardship manager, will discuss the decision for Whistler and the area’s First Nations to get into the logging business, and the steps that are being taken to protect the environment in the process.

Find out more about plans for logging and the community forest on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Westin Resort and Spa. Green Drinks, a social event for the environmentally conscious, will follow at 8 p.m. at Black’s Pub.