Deer hunter fends off brown bear attack near Sitka Sep 30, 2009
A bear had dug a bed in the needles before Wolfe arrived. "I'm just guessing, but the bear could have been asleep and didn't hear him until he was very close," Mooney said. (Anchorage Daily News)
No rush getting to Mount Rushmore Sep 10, 2009
Locals call them "The Needles.". Bikers clambered up the sides of one formation that hugs a two-lane road. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
Custer State Park bug battle to limit trail use, change forest Sep 8, 2009
"I'm sure some people will say, 'Boy, they sure messed up the Needles Highway,'" Miller said. "But others will say, 'Boy, I can see things out here that I've never seen before.'". (Rapid City Journal, SD)
Beetles, wildfire: Double threat in warming world Aug 26, 2009
"Then you'll have the potential for fires in large areas of dead trees. With the needles still on them, they literally explode with fire.". Of her Yukon woodlands, Ogden said, "It's the right forest, the right climate type, and we expect the climate to warm. My sense is it" -- the pine beetle -- "is almost inevitable.". (WSVN-TV Miami, FL)
'The Wild Marsh' brings life to author's home Aug 20, 2009
In October, the needles of the larches blaze a warm, fiery gold. Bass' skill as a storyteller comes out in narrative passages woven into almost every chapter. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
Board to consider tree thinning in Norbeck wildlife preserve Aug 18, 2009
The public may follow Forest Service personnel to the first stop, the Needles area. People are encouraged to ride together to reduce the number of vehicles in sensitive areas. (Rapid City Journal, SD)
Our future: Local trees, local energy (12) Aug 11, 2009
The needles turn reddish-brown. As long as the needles remain on the tree, usually for up to three years, it poses a serious fire danger. (Helena Independent Record)
Beetle-killed trees primed to fuel fires Jul 28, 2009
Mike Petersen wrote on Jul 27, 2009 11:36 AM:" Lets think through this one. When trees first die, the needles create a flashy fuel that can send firebrands and really burn hot and fast. A year or so later, the needles fall off and the trees have less fuel and flammability than a green tree. The volatiles in the needles and branches dissipate and after a couple of years the dead tree is much less flammable. Next, wonder why we havn't had so many big fires in the northern Rockies in the past two... (Missoulian, MT)
Beetles leave Harney Peak susceptible to fire Jul 7, 2009
The next year, after the needles fall off the dead trees, they become gray ghosts and less of a source of fuel for fires. After several more years pass, however, those gray ghost trees fall. (Rapid City Journal, SD)
Custer State Park plans major thinning Jul 6, 2009
Park officials intend to remove two-thirds of the pine trees in extensive areas of the forest near Sylvan Lake and along the Needles Highway, beginning in early November. They also will clean up slash piles and other debris left from the new cutting operations and past thinning projects. (Rapid City Journal, SD)
WESTERN MONTANA LIVES - Jerome Thomas lives on through Camp Tuffit Jun 23, 2009
In the fall, after there d been enough frost to set the needles, we d hit the woods and cut trees. We d haul them down to a big field in the afternoons and we d also buy them from the other people in the reservation who cut trees. (Missoulian, MT)
Black Hills Overdrive Car Show to cruise Hills Jun 2, 2009
The participants will cruise the Needles Highway, Iron Mountain Road and Spearfish Canyon. Other events include. (Rapid City Journal, SD)
Summer forest fire risk could be higher May 5, 2009
The Oregonian reports that mountain pine beetles have burrowed into many trees in the pine forests near Bend, turning the needles crimson. The cyclic infestation has left dead and dying lodgepole pines across roughly 800,000 acres of the Cascade Range, up from perhaps 20,000 acres nine years ago, said Forest Service entomologist Andy Eglitis. (Coos Bay-North Bend The World, OR)
Outdoors: Walk with me up the mountain May 3, 2009
Look theres some droppings in the needles under that big white pine. We havent seen or heard many ruffed grouse in our mountain for quite some time but since the Game Commission implemented a spring gobble season and no fall season for hens only six or seven years ago, were beginning to see lots of turkeys. (Carlisle Sentinel, PA)
