©USForestService

If you’ve been walking trails near the muskeg lately – the boggy wetlands in Southeast – you might have noticed some spruce trees not looking so great. Earlier this summer, the green needles turned a bright yellow-orange. Now, they’re more rusty colored. So, what’s the deal? According to Robin Mulvey, forest pathologist with the U.S. Forest Service, it’s a fungal outbreak known as spruce needle rust that is spreading among spruce trees in the Tongass National Forest. Mulvey said this summer’s outbreak is the largest she’s seen in her 15 years working in Juneau. …The fungus is mostly cosmetic and doesn’t hurt the trees. The infected needles will die and drop off, and next year, they’ll put out new green growth. It’s a natural cycle. But the cycle requires one other part – nearby Labrador tea, also known as tundra tea. Spruce is just the temporary host.