[Provided by Uiseong-gun]
[Provided by Uiseong-gun]

Uiseong-gun in North Gyeongsang Province announced Thursday it will invest 586.9 million won ($439,000) to carry out its "2026 Second-Half Pine Wilt Disease Control Project" starting next month.

The two-month project will cover seven districts across the county, with plans to remove more than 4,000 dead and dying trees.

Authorities said they will tailor control measures to each district based on the extent of damage and the risk of further spread.

Particularly intensive efforts will focus on the frontier zones of Chunsan-myeon and Gaeum-myeon, which sit on the boundary between affected and disease-free areas, to prevent the pine wilt nematode from spreading further.

Damaged trees near densely populated areas and major roadsides will also be prioritized for removal to protect residents' safety and preserve the forest landscape.

Uiseong-gun will also combine aerial, drone and ground surveillance to detect suspected infected trees early, with samples collected and tested to confirm infection status, linking monitoring directly to control operations.

"Proactive action — removing damaged trees at the right time and detecting suspected infections early — is essential to stopping the spread of pine wilt disease," Uiseong County Chief Choi Yu-cheol said. "We will protect forest resources through tailored control measures that account for the degree of damage and the risk of spread, and create a healthy forest environment where residents can feel safe."


kbj7653@heraldcorp.com