Published by admin on Thu, 10/29/2020 - 9:48am
With Rocky Mountain pine beetles having killed untold thousands of ponderosa pines in the Black Hills in recent years, it is reasonable to assume that if a tree is turning brown it must be the victim of the tiny bugs. However, that is probably not the case with browning trees in Custer this year, according to a tree specialist with the S.D. Department of Agriculture.
Tony Seidl, forest health program coordinator for the S.D. Division of Resource Conservation and Forestry, said the damage is probably due to one of three causes.