A tiny beetle is so widespread in California that lawmakers, concerned for the safety of millions of trees, are looking for a way to stop its destruction.
New efforts are now underway in San Diego County to stop the spread of the shot hole borer.
These are a type of "longhorn beetle," named for their long segmented antennae. The adults appear in June through early August, often after warm nights. These insects spend most of their up to five-year life spans living underground as large white grubs or larvae, feeding on the roots of trees, shrubs and vines.
Between 2015 to 2017, California forests experienced historically high levels of tree mortality from the combined effects of drought and bark beetles, and today large swaths of brown, dead pine trees in the Sierra are a common sight, especially in the southern Sierra Nevada. Aerial surveys conducted by the U.S. Forest Service estimate that some 129 million trees have died in California since 2010.
What does the future hold for wildlife conservation? Does the Endangered Species Act go too far? And if protections for animal species are relaxed, how much do industries stand to gain?
https://the1a.org/shows/2018-07-24/checking-on-the-endangered-species-act
