A new bill focusing on combating the continuing destruction pine beetles are causing in the forests of Colorado was announced this weekend by two Summit County lawmakers who represent affected areas.

The pine beetle infestation which hit the state in 1996 has seen its negative effects increase by the year, with recent aerial surveys showing that the affected regions, where trees have died or are dying, has grown to 1.5 million in more than 10 years, the Rocky Mountain News reports.

Sen. Dan Gibbs, D-Silverthorne, and Rep. Christine Scanlan, D-Dillon, announced the legislation Sunday. Under the legislation, $1 million a year would ensure the continuation of forest restoration projects, over the following 5 years.

This comes in addition to the $12 million in federal emergency funding announced last Wednesday by U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo.

Gibbs was quoted as saying Sunday, after a news conference announcing the bill: “The beetle has won the war. What I've been trying to work on is, ‘Let's deal with it now.’”

The projects made possible with this funding focus on planting new trees in deforested areas, reducing the threat of wildfire, preserving old and large trees, and protecting the water supply, the News reports.

A report released earlier this month brought a discouraging verdict: within the following three to five years, every large, mature lodgepole pine forest in Colorado and southern Wyoming would be dead because of the beetle infestation.

“The beetle itself has won the war but there is a lot we can do to help protect against fire, water safety, etc.,” Gibbs said Sunday.

Gibbs added that the risk of fire is not the only consequence the state is faced with; the unsightly woods are also beginning to have an impact on local tourism.