Pine beetles are killing thousand of acres of trees in Georgia. That’s according to forestry officials who call this one of the worst infestations of Southern pine beetles in decades. In the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge north of Macon, there are 179 infestation spots. In the surrounding Oconee National Forest, 2,000 acres of pine trees have been lost so far this year. The U.S. Forest Service predicts the South will lose nearly half a million acres this year to the pest. The drought is partially to blame, because it weakens trees that are then less resistant to the beetles.
