[cripplecreek]

I suspect the logging companies would be willing to spend some money on research to protect the resource if there were a profit from it in the end.

[theBuckwheat]

A beetle infestation is like a fatal disease. Research is a important long-cycle activity, but with no clear date for success. When faced with an infestation, a chain saw trumps research any day for elimination of the pest, that is if the infestation is small enough.

I say this knowing that I don’t know much at all about this particular outbreak. Even so, we have past history and past behavior of the anti-logging crowd to recall, and I recall that after Mt. St. Helen's destroyed so many trees, that logging was not permitted. Neither was it after a moth infestation in the East some years ago. Let the trees rot, the “sustainable practices” crowd yelled.