How to deal with the beetle that bedevils Suffolk's pine barrens

If you can’t kill it, can you at least control it?

That’s the poignant question facing the Central Pine Barrens and its stewards, including the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Suffolk County, along with the towns of Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southampton.

The southern pine beetle, an invasive species first detected on Long Island in 2014, is unfortunately here to stay. Experts agree that as destructive as the beetle is to pitch pines  — the main species in the ecologically important pine barrens — there is no way to eradicate the pest from Long Island. Instead, officials and scientists urge a continued multipronged approach of monitoring the beetles’ spread, felling trees and conducting regular prescribed burns on the 106,000 acres that protect Long Island’s federally designated drinking water aquifer.

The approach is sound but vigilance is essential. Without continued action, we face the risk of more frequent and severe wildfires from combustible dead pine trees, and damage to our drinking water that pitch pines help protect.

The importance of the Central Pine Barrens has been well established. Numerous government agencies, nonprofits and politicians have agreed that protecting it is an environmental issue that benefits all residents. There are no hidden agendas here, and certainly, there are no pro-pine beetle lobbyists working behind the scenes. The problem is that the confounded beetle cannot simply be eradicated. In Alabama, where the southern pine beetle thrives, 3.1 million trees were damaged by the pesky pest in 2024 alone. While Long Island’s pitch pine inventory is dwarfed in size by many in Southern states, the warning is clear: Pine beetles will destroy large swaths of forests despite intervention.

The only viable solution is mitigation to identify infected trees before they die. The beetle relies on the release of pheromones to attract others to an infected tree. Experts say that cutting both healthy and infected trees to create clear areas diminishes the pine beetles’ ability to communicate with others, thereby reducing the chances of the spread of infestation.

If containing the further spread of the beetle is the best remedy to protect our drinking water and reduce the risk of wildfires, then federal, state and county governments must swiftly share the financial burden. Prescribed burns and tree cutting are expensive. Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine deserves credit for calling attention to this complex issue and requesting state assistance. Federal, state and other local partners need to step up.

The pine barrens face myriad challenges — climate change, urbanization, fertilizer and pesticide pollution, unauthorized ATV use, and illegal dumping. Southern pine beetles pose another existential problem to this vital and precious ecosystem. Government and nonprofits worked together once before to preserve Long Island's pine barrens. It's time for them to again work in conjunction to protect one of Long Island’s great natural resources.