Additional 27 Million Trees Have Died in California in the Last Year

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

By Marissa Cabrera, Maureen Cavanaugh

Dead trees in the Cleveland National Forest in San Diego County are pictured ...

Credit: Cleveland National Forest

Above: Dead trees in the Cleveland National Forest in San Diego County are pictured in this undated photo. They are a casualty of the goldspotted oak borer beetle.

More trees are dying in California’s forests.

A new U.S. Forest Service survey found that another 27 million trees died since November 2016. That brings the total number of dead trees to a record 129 million since 2010.

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These maps show the progression of tree mortality across ...

Photo credit: U.S. Forest Service

These maps show the progression of tree mortality across California from 2014-2017.

The lingering effects of California’s drought and bark beetles are largely to blame for the dying trees. But there are signs that the rate of the tree die-off is slowing.

RELATED: Fixing California’s Tree Die-Off May Take Decades

Stephanie Gomes, with the U.S. Forest Service’s tree mortality task force, discusses Wednesday on Midday what the department is doing to address the health of California’s forests.