Pine Tree Under Distress

Above, the distressed tree five years ago. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The other day, I noticed that some sections of needles and branches of the tallest (about 60 feet) pine tree in my front yard are turning brown.

This happened to the pinon pine I had near the house in the inner yard. It eventually died and I had it *(and another tree that died) cut down and removed.

I called a local nursery in Gallup to see if there is a local arborist who can diagnose and save the tree. They have someone on staff that does, but he won't be available until next week.

In the meantime, yesterday I sprayed some pesticide I had on the tree in case it is bark beetles. Hopefully, it will help arrest any further damage to the tree until the arborist can get here. 

Apparently, the drought has caused an increase in bark beetle activity all around the Southwest.