The 2011 drought and damage from Hurricane Ike took its toll on the pines in Memorial Park. As the trees suffer from lack of water, their natural defense against pests is weakened. Normally a well watered pine generates enough sap to keep the tree sealed against pests such as the pine beetle. Once pine beetles are established, especially in an area with weakened trees due to drought, the only option is to destroy the infested trees. Much of Memorial Park Pines were lost because of the drought between 2011 and 2012. As dead infested trees were identified, they were marked with orange paint. This is a gloomy group of images, but it captures my mood when seeing so many trees needing to be removed.
