A researcher at the University of Alberta is trying to prevent mountain pine beetles, which have already devastated huge swaths of lodgepole pine in British Columbia, from feeding on Alberta's jack pine forests.

The beetles are moving east and are now less than 100 kilometres away from significant stands of jack pines in Alberta, said Nadir Erbilgin, who has been awarded $300,000 over three years to find ways to keep the beetles in check.

"There is a potential that [the beetles are] going to infest, establish and survive in jack pine forests," said Erbilgin, an assistant professor and Canada Research chairman in forest entomology whose area of expertise includes plant-induced defences against insects.

Jack pine "is one of the most dominant tree species — pine species — in the boreal forest," he said, adding the species is already in danger from a fungus and may not be able to stand up against the pine beetle threat.

"Ecologically, it's very important," Erbilgin said of the fight against the voracious beetle. "Alberta is a battleground. Whatever we learn here will be very useful for the rest of the country."

The provincial government's battle against pine beetles is focused in southwest Alberta and on the eastern edge of the infestation, according to a recent news release. The objectives are to minimize the spread of beetles north and south along the eastern slopes of the Rockies and prevent their spreading east in the boreal forest.