In some parts of Alberta, the mountain pine beetle is becoming endemic to these forests. It's been there for a couple of years and it's expected that it's there to stay. In areas where populations are pretty high and doing damage, traditional control approaches are applied to manage beetle populations and their impact, so trees are cut and burned.
In eastern Alberta, it's a bit different. There are more opportunities to contain the beetle by applying the same types of approaches, supported by intensive monitoring of the beetle population, to significantly slow the spread eastward into the boreal forest. There are opportunities, because in this area the pine forests are more sparse. They are not as continuous as you would see in B.C., for example, and the climate is a little less suitable. There are some factors that make the mountain pine beetle less successful, but there is still a risk that the mountain pine beetle will spread into the boreal forest.