science

Burn, Beetle, Burn!

/ Kari / Leave a comment
photo by Paul Horsted / DakotaPhoto.com

photo by Paul Horsted / DakotaPhoto.com

This weekend was the second annual Burning Beetle festival in Custer, South Dakota, a celebration in dishonor of the ravenous mountain pine beetle, complete with the burning of a 28-foot wooden beetle ala Burning Man.

But what is a mountain pine beetle, and why is it so destructive?

Continue reading →

Prescribed Burns & The Natural Forest Cycle

/ Kari / Leave a comment
130-(2)

Cold Brook Prescribed Burn – Wind Cave National Park

With firefighters performing several prescribed burns in the Black Hills area over the past week I was inspired to write a blog on the importance of fire in forest management and the natural forest cycle.

Continue reading →