Colorful larch needled by blight

A brown-out is steeling the autumn show of western larch trees in some areas of the Inland Northwest, including Mount Spokane.

By early summer, it was clear the new feathery green needles on some larch were turning brown long before they would begin turning yellow for the annual splash of October gold in them thar hills.

“It’s called needle cast or needle blight and we’ve seen it off and on over the years,” said Tom Pawley, Colville National Forest silvaculturist. “It was really bad in some places on the forest last year and the year before on Old Dominion (Mountain).”

The condition is manifested by cool, moist spring conditions – the culprit of other woes, such as the poor ground-nesting bird hatch and the region’s autumn surplus of green tomatoes.

The good news is that the blight usually doesn’t kill the tree.

And it doesn’t necessarily snuff out the entire golden landscape spectacle before the larch needles fall to the ground and leave the trees bare for winter.

“Quite often, not every needle is infected,” Pawley said. “So instead of yellow in October, you’ll get reddish yellow or a mottled color some places.”

The annual fall spectacle of forests brightened by golden larch trees should peak in this region next week.