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Beetle Infested Burn Panorama > Mistletoe Invades Area
Commercial thinning can help reduce the spread of insects, disease, and parasites.
Commercial thinning can help reduce the spread of insects, disease, and parasites.		 Mistletoe Invades Area

There are at least 28 species of dwarf mistletoe in the United States *(Hawksworth, et. al., 1992)! Unlike true mistletoe (the kissing kind) dwarf mistletoe are parasitic and totally dependent on host trees. Fire suppression throughout much of the west is responsible for an increase in dwarf mistletoe. Its’ presence in mixed conifer forests is an economic concern to the timber industry, and may also put an area at greater risk to wildfire. Non-commercial thinning and prescribed burns are management tools that can be used separately or together to help control dwarf mistletoe.

*Hawksworth, F.D. and Delbert, W. 1992. Dwarf Mistletoes: Biology, Pathology, and Systematics. United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Agricultural Handbook 709.

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Dwarf Mistletoe can decrease timber values.
Dwarf Mistletoe can decrease timber values.