The mountain pine beetle infestation in British Columbia has been present for over 10 years but exploded to cover 7,000,000 hectares by 2004 and is now the largest insect epidemic in North America’s history.
Mountain pine beetle continue to spread. The beetles pose a serious threat to western Canada’s economy and to forest communities from Houston in northern B.C. to Manning Park on the American border, and from Whistler in the west down to Cranbrook in the east.

To help address the beetle epidemic, in October 2002 the Government of Canada announced a six-year, $40 million program – the Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative (MPBI).
MPBI supports research to study the impact of the current infestation and reduce the risk of future outbreaks, and provides technical and funding assistance to rehabilitate forestlands.
Through various programs, MPBI makes funds available to help control the spread of mountain pine beetles and salvage valuable wood from infested trees.
Programs complement measures taken by the Province of British Columbia to manage the infestation on provincial Crown land.
Partners include federal and provincial government agencies, national forest sector research institutes, First Nations, academic institutions, industry and private landowners.
MPBI is administered from the Pacific Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada.