Perry Cadman couldn’t drive through the Colorado mountains anymore without dismay over the toll the mountain pine beetle has taken.

An epidemic infestation has claimed about 3 million acres of lodgepole pine forests in the state, said Joe Duda, a supervisor for the Colorado State Forest Service.

But Cadman, chief operating officer at New Town Builders in Denver, realized this summer he could do more than lament the loss.

New Town, supplied by a lumber mill in Montrose, will use beetle-kill wood to frame the homes it builds.

“We plan to use it in everything we frame going forward — that is our commitment,” Cadman said.

Colorado imports 95 percent of its lumber, which doesn’t make sense in a state with so many dead trees available to harvest, Cadman said.

New Town, which expects to build about 80 homes this year, will spend about $2,000 per home on the Colorado wood, which is comparable in cost to imported lumber.

Given the smaller size of Colorado’s lodgepole pines, the homebuilder will limit its use to vertical supports.

“We hope the example will encourage and facilitate others to use this wood,” said Bruce Ward, founder of recreation advocacy group Choose Outdoors in Pine.

Beetle-killed trees leave the state at risk of massive forest fires that pollute the air and water supply. Dead trees are falling in greater numbers on roads, tents and power lines, limiting recreational opportunities.

Ward is among those working to find economic uses for the dead trees, including converting them into pellets that can be burned.

The beetles infect wood with a fungus that leaves behind blue streaks, giving it some appeal for use in trim, decorative panels and furniture. Custom and log homes have been built with the material.

But New Town is trying to open up a much larger market — framing production homes. A key hurdle to clear will be convincing city buyers that “blue-stained pine” is safe to use and structurally sound.

“At first it was a little bit scary, and I thought, OK, something is going to happen with my place. Is it going to affect the structure or the strength of the wood?” said Nea Martinez, who has bought a townhome in Stapleton made with the wood.

Martinez said she did her homework and came away reassured.

“They’re turning something unfortunate into a positive,” she said.

Positives include creating jobs in rural Colorado and helping the state revive its lumber industry.

Mountain pine beetles don’t consume wood like termites or other boring insects, Duda said. The beetles live off the nutrients that flow just under the bark.

The wood the company buys is graded like other lumber, Cadman said. Engineers have tested its structural integrity.

“There has always been within the lumber supply trees killed by bark beetle,” he said. “We are using 100 percent now because of the epidemic.”

Denver Post videographer Anne Herbst contributed to this report.

Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410, asvaldi@denverpost.com or twitter.com/aldosvaldi