Fern Valley Water District’s current-year budget has produced nearly $200,000 in income during the first nine months of the fiscal year, which ends June 30. With income approaching $770,000 and current expenditures about $570,000, General Manager Steve Erler told the board last week, “The budget looks as though we’re on target.”

With the completion of the tank-farm work and demolition of former reservoir no. 5, no major capital improvement projects are planned for the balance of the year.

Board President Robert Krieger told his colleagues that the Rates and Revenue Committee expects to present its report to the full board at the May 15 meeting. After FVWD’s attorney briefly reviewed the report, Krieger said the committee wanted to make some changes before its presentation to the board. Consequently, if a public hearing is needed for any rate increases that would likely be in June rather than the original plan of May.

While water supply is holding steady, Erler did report that well production is higher this year than in 2014. In February and March, about 20 percent of water came from FVWD wells compared to just 13 percent a year ago.

“Strawberry Creek is dry, and Tahquitz is much less,” he said.

The leak detection program has been interrupted, but Erler still believes it will be completed this month. With about half of the district surveyed, Erler said, “We’ve found a few small leaks, but nothing big.”

Construction to replace Hurkey Creek Bridge on Highway 74, originally scheduled to begin Monday, April 20, has been delayed for about two weeks.

Caltrans Public Information Officer Joy Schneider said resolution of two issues has delayed the project.

Contractor for the project, Granite Construction, suggested creating a 12-foot-wide bypass to the north of the existing bridge to reduce impact on traffic during bridge construction. It is submitting a cost analysis to Caltrans. Creating a bypass would allow both lanes of the bridge to be replaced at one time, saving time and money, and minimizing traffic impact. Originally, project planners envisioned replacing one lane of the bridge at a time, leaving a 10-foot-wide single lane open for traffic. Even with the bypass, assuming Caltrans approves it, traffic would still be one-way for the duration of bridge construction, with traffic delays estimated to be 15 minutes on average.

The other issue requiring resolution before construction can start is using solar traffic-control signs, as well as a stop signal for a driveway abutting Highway 74.  Electrical design and configuration is now being worked out. Schneider estimated the project would resume in two weeks or so when these issues are resolved and approved.

“Both issues must be worked out before construction can move forward,” she said.9

The drought, now in its fourth year, is creating severe and dangerous threats to the Hill’s native trees — pines and oaks. But other dangers also are threatening the local forest.

Residents are familiar with the damage bark beetles bring, especially during droughts. The bark beetle is actually a native pest, but during droughts when trees have insufficient water to generate pitch, the beetles’ attacks create more devastation. And the Goldspotted oak borer is now present and attacking many black oaks. The GSOB is an invasive pest that first arrived in California about 10 years ago in San Diego County.

Now, local Forester John Huddleston is warning residents about another native pest — the Black Pineleaf scale.

In 1998, the U.S. Forest Service wrote, “The Black Pineleaf scale (Nuculaspis californica) belongs to a group of sucking insects called armored scales. Concealed under their protective shells, these scales insert their mouthparts into their hosts, removing sap and, possibly, injecting toxic enzymes secreted in the saliva. … Infestations are generally localized, sometimes in just a few trees … Occasionally, however, epidemics cover several thousand acres of forest … Large areas of Jeffrey and Ponderosa pines in northeastern and Southern California, for example, have had recurring infestations since 1940.”

In its 2013 report, the California Forest Pest Council wrote, “High population densities of Black Pineleaf scale have impacted approximately 200 acres of Jeffrey pine in Idyllwild.”

Huddleston believes the Pineleaf scale is “… a bigger threat to the populated area of Idyllwild. More than 5 square miles of pines are heavily infested. I believe it to be in about 95 percent of the trees.” Consequently, he has contacted Serguei V. Triapitsyn, Ph.D., principal museum scientist and quarantine supervisor, Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside.

Last month, he and Triapitsyn took a few samples from the middle of Idyllwild.  “We found scale on every tree we sampled, including Jeffrey pines, Ponderosa and Coulter,” Huddleston reported.

However, Triapitsyn was uncomfortable “mak[ing] comparisons with other recent insect infestations in Southern California.” He emphasized that the Black Pineleaf scale is a native species and GSOB is an invasive species.

One cause of the spreading scale appears to be the inability of a native wasp that preys on the scale to keep up with its expansion. Local Arborist Deborah Geisinger suggested that either air pollution or greater use of pesticides, such as carbaryl and malathion, might be affecting the wasp population, which limits its ability to control the Pineleaf scale.

Local Riverside County Fire Department Forester Gregg Bratcher and Kevin Turner, GSOB coordinator for University of California Agricultural and Natural Resources in Riverside, acknowledged the Black Pineleaf scale’s presence on the Hill.  Both stressed that the scale is always present among local pines; however, they believe the current drought is also abetting its danger. Lack of water inhibits pitch production and permits bark beetles to inflict more damage and death on the pines in a similar manner as lack of water affects the trees’ ability to fend of the scale or the natural wasp predator to keep pace with the Black Pineleaf scale expansion.