'It's here to stay': Southern pine beetle in Suffolk leaves path of destruction, but can be tamed, experts say

 The best way to minimize damage caused by the southern pine beetle inside Suffolk County's natural spaces is to cut off the insect’s communication, experts say.  

Jessica Cancelliere, a research scientist with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, described how the insects release pheromones when attacking a tree, attracting other beetles to bring together the thousands required to kill the tree.

"Beetles rely on that communication," she said. "They're not successful without it."

Cancelliere discussed mitigation methods such as "cut and leave," preventive thinning and prescribed fires during a Southern Pine Beetle Symposium Wednesday that included representatives of the Central Pine Barrens Commission, Suffolk County Parks Department and various other county agencies tasked with emergency preparedness and fire safety. The destruction left behind by the beetles in the form of dead trees has heightened concerns of adding fuel to future wildfires in the county.

More than 100 people attended the three-hour event at Suffolk County Community College in Riverhead. County officials have said the March brush fire in Westhampton that burned about 400 acres has highlighted the importance of forest management and underscores the risk the southern pine beetle poses. 

"This is a problem that is going to continue," County Executive Edward P. Romaine said during introductory remarks. "We need the state and DEC to step up to the plate and help us with [forest management]."

Cancelliere said the notorious insect first spotted in Suffolk County in 2014 can’t be killed. But it’s damage can be controlled.

"It's here to stay," she said. "We live with it and we mitigate it as best we can."

DEC forester Robert Cole said prescribed fires are key to clearing out the underbrush and results in a "much greener, healthier" forest. He described how thinning the forest ground can allow wind to blow through and spread out the pheromones and "the beetles don’t know where to go." It also removes fuel that can help ignite a brush fire, allowing flames to shoot up higher into the canopy where embers can more easily spread, the experts said.

Jason Smith, science and stewardship manager for the Central Pine Barrens Commission, said "fire will fix a lot of our problems" and "brings us back to a healthier system."

In 2015, the beetle damaged about 34,000 acres in Suffolk County. Mitigation methods have helped lessen the damage in recent years to about 4,900 acres in 2023, according to the DEC. Those figures include "very light," and "light" damage all the way to "very severe." At Southaven County Park in Yaphank, site of one of the first outbreaks, tens of thousands of trees have been destroyed over 10 years, as an example.

Diana Lynch, principal environmental analyst for the county Parks Department, said the dead trees left behind by the beetle "have altered the landscape of many of our parks."

"Forest health management will be our best protection against Southern pine beetle and any future threat," she said.

Ecologists told Newsday after the March fire Long Island’s pine barrens have burned too little in recent years.

DEC officials Wednesday confirmed that the Westhampton fire did not occur in an area infested with southern pine beetle and there have been no known wildfires in Suffolk County yet that spread specifically due to beetle-infected trees.

Cancelliere said there have been examples out west with other similar insects causing serious damage that's been implicated in wildfires.