The issue
Since 2019, an outbreak of western hemlock looper moth has been sweeping the forests of the North Shore. Some areas were harder hit than others, including the slopes west of the entrance road to Lynn Headwaters Regional Park.
If the dead trees are in areas away from roads, homes, trails and other human infrastructure, they go through natural ecological processes of breakdown and decay. But when dead trees are near places used by people, the can be a risk to public safety.
The work
Arborist assessments identified trees along the park entrance road that were severely damaged, dying or dead.
In late 2022 and early 2023, crews removed about 300 trees. Those removals have drastically changed the landscape. The good news is the area still retains a lot of understory plants such as salmonberry, red huckleberry and sword fern, as well as small trees, both deciduous and coniferous, that were not affected by the hemlock looper moth.
What’s next
About 1,700 new trees (western red-cedar [60%] and Douglas-fir [40%]) are being planted in spring 2023.
The newly-planted trees will be monitored and maintained to ensure their best chance of growing quickly on the slope.