Aliens & Pests

The US Forest Service has assigned a group of five smokejumpers (professional forest fire fighters) to Central Park in New York. Their goal is not to fight fires, but a more insidious problem, the Asian longhorned beetle (Anaplophora glabripennis). The smokejumpers have been trained in tree climbing methods and are inspecting trees in and around Central Park from the canopies. Visual inspection from the ground has proved ineffective in finding small outbreaks of the tree-killing beetle. The inspection comes after two trees with active infestations were found a few blocks from the famed park. By inspecting trees from the canopy, authorities hope to locate and destroy any beetle infestations before they overwhelm the park. The smokejumpers have already found one infested elm tree near the park out of 1700 trees inspected so far. That tree will be removed and destroyed.