The New Jersey Forestry Service has grants available to suppress the tree-killing southern pine beetle, but not many municipalities or private landowners have applied for the grants. New Jersey State Forester Lynn Fleming said not a single municipality has taken the state up on $10,000 grants and fewer than 10 individual property owners have received one of the $7,500 grants made available.
The southern pine beetles chew their way through bark and deprive trees of the nutrients and water they need to survive. They have affected about 35,000 acres in New Jersey since they were discovered there about a decade ago.
