John Cotter, THE CANADIAN PRESS

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EDMONTON - Alberta may clear cut trees in a popular recreation area west of Calgary to help thwart the spread of the voracious mountain pine beetle.

New reports suggest the number of the timber-killing beetles in southwest Alberta has doubled.

About three-quarters of the infested region consists of provincial parks in an area that Albertans call Kananaskis Country, along the eastern edge of Banff National Park.

"In parks like Kananaskis, which we all love, we do see it (the pine beetle) there," Alberta's Parks Minister Cindy Ady said in the legislature. "We've used in the past tools that are available to us like controlled burns. As well, we've identified those trees, and this winter we will be removing those trees.

"I say to Albertans . . . if you see us in the park removing trees, it's about pine beetle mitigation. We are trying to stop this infestation because in B.C. we know it destroyed 80 per cent of their pine forest eventually."

Ady did not specifically mention clear cutting pine trees in the legislature, but government officials confirmed Thursday that it is an option that is being considered in the parks.

Some residents have already expressed fear that other areas such as Crowsnest Mountain will be clear cut, a move they said would hurt recreation and tourism.

An official with Spray Lakes Sawmill has said it's the only way to prevent an infestation of pine beetles. Gordon Lehn, woodlands manager for Spray Lakes, said crews expect to start work shortly after Christmas.

While the pine beetle news is bad in the south, new government surveys suggest numbers of the destructive bugs have decreased in northwestern Alberta by 20 per cent due to cold weather and selective logging.

The beetles, which are no bigger than a grain of rice, have been spreading east from British Columbia, where they are expected to eventually kill four out of every five mature pines.

The bugs have so far threatened about 60,000 square kilometres in Alberta and concern is growing in Saskatchewan as well. Fears of infestation have prompted that province to identify all land it believes has or could have the mountain pine beetle, even though the pest hasn't been a problem yet.

Ady told the legislature that Alberta has written to the federal government to ensure that the upcoming budget includes new money to fight the spread of the pine beetle.

"The minister of sustainable resource development have both written to our counterpart in the federal government and asked to ensure that he has (money) to help us as we fight this beetle. It's a terrible thing, but we need to fight it."

A different report shows that Alberta's forestry sector is being chewed up by other problems as well - soft markets and low prices.

The Alberta Forest Products Association said Thursday that the value of shipped lumber, panel board and pulp and paper is down $265 million for the first three quarters of 2008 compared to the same period last year.

One of the biggest drops in the third quarter - 34 per cent - was in panel board used in home construction.

Association president Brady Whittaker said the financial forecast for the first six months of 2009 suggests the situation could get worse.

"Looking forward through the remainder of 2008 and into the first half of 2009, our members are bracing for lower demand, lower prices and continuing difficult times in all of Alberta's forest industry sectors."