SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – Every year, New Mexico’s environmental officials report on the health of the state’s trees and forests. The latest report shows improved forest health in some areas, which might be due to increased moisture, among other factors.
“We’re in a very different place than we were two years ago,” said Victor Lucero, New Mexico’s forest health program coordinator, said in a press release. “We found only 2,000 acres of tree mortality last year, as compared with 188,000 acres in 2022. Bark beetles were also at a record low across the state. However, bark beetle activity near burn scars was still observed late summer and early fall, and we’re going to continue monitoring these areas throughout 2024.”
New Mexico’s Forestry Division released the 2023 forest health report, which says that “the number of acres of forest and woodlands mapped with insect, disease, and drought-stress damage significantly decreased by 363,000 acres, or 50%, across all land ownership types in New
Mexico since 2022.”
Despite improvements, there are still more than 33,000 acres of land with trees killed from bark beetles and more than 230,000 acres with defoliation, or missing needles and leaves, generally from bug damage.
The report notes that northern New Mexico, in particular, has seen an increase in Douglas-fir, spruce tree, and true fir defoliation caused by the western spruce budworm. But, improved drought conditions and monsoon moisture in 2022 and early 2023 may have helped trees around the state produce more resin, which helps keep insects out, the Forestry Division says.
Although the report offers some good news, worsening drought in late 2023 and the rise of western spruce budworm may be cause for concern as New Mexico’s forests continue to cope with climate change, the Forestry Division says. And environmental advocates, like Teresa Seamster, a volunteer with the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter, say it’s important to look at the big, multi-year picture when it comes to forest health.
