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Alberta’s fight against the ravenous pine beetle rages on, with the province providing thousands of dollars to control and eradicate the insect’s population, but officials say it’s a war that can never fully be won.

“Beetles are in our system now to stay, since they’ve kind of breached the Rockies in large numbers in the early 2000s,” said Mike Undershultz, a senior forest entomologist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.

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“Now they’re here.”

The only way to have success in managing mountain pine beetle populations is to do it “aggressive and long-term,” Undershultz said.

Photo by Klaus Bolte / THE CANADIAN PRESS

On Jan. 23, the Alberta government announced it was partnering with the Town of Canmore to suppress beetle populations on municipal and private lands through a $75,000 commitment. The province is providing nearly $600,00o worth of grants to municipalities around the province for the same purpose.

The mountain pine beetle is considered the most destructive pest of mature pine forests in North America, according to Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. It ranges in length from four to 7.5 millimetres and is capable of killing all pine species including lodgepole, jack, ponderosa, whitebark, limber and Scots.