Paper company’s need for wood highlights problems with tree-destroying US gypsy moths

Need for wood highlights US insect problems

COLUMBIA, S.C. — International Paper Co. has had to look beyond its usual suppliers for wood for its central South Carolina mill and turn to places that are known to have tree-destroying gypsy moths.

That’s because months of rainfall in most of the South has left the ground soggy, which makes it difficult to get heavy logging equipment into forests.

Federal regulators are requiring the company to take steps to make sure the moths don’t get a foothold in the region highlight.

The Forest Service says gypsy moths defoliate 1 million acres of trees each year in the U.S. Repeated defoliation can kill trees.

South Carolina does not have the moths. The places International Paper is turning to for wood — Virginia, New York and Massachusetts — do.