SAM Magazine-Boulder, Colo., Jan. 23, 2009-In a report that has long-term implications for western resorts already battling a plague of beetles and beetle-killed trees, a Colorado University scientist says that there is a trend of increasing tree deaths across the west. The deaths encompass a variety of species-not just the lodgepole beetle-killed trees that have been sparking headlines-and occur at different elevations.

CU scientist Thomas Veblen's report, which was jointly published in the weekly journal Scientist, looked at trees from British Columba to southern Colorado, and found that trees' background mortality was increasing, with species from hemlock to pine dying faster and at higher rates. The only other constant the study found was a warming trend across the study area, hinting that global warming could be having a subtle impact on trees' health overall.

As the recent beetle epidemic has shown, when trees die, forest fire danger spikes, creating immediate fire concerns for ski areas and the communities they support. Visual impacts are also a concern.

The study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey with support from U.S. Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Research Station, the University of British Columbia, the University of Washington, Northern Arizona University and Oregon State University. \