Not a topiary

I had no idea what I was looking at, but it reminded me of an enormous topiary sculpted in the forest.

I was on an osprey survey with the Friends of Kootenay Lake. We were passing along the east shore of the Lake when a huge structure was spotted. Kat McGlynn said it looked like a mistletoe infection. 

This was subsequently confirmed and expanded when I sent the picture to Doug Thorburn, who said:

… this is a severe case of Douglas-fir dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium douglasii) … I am used to seeing it in the East Kootenay, and it is only recently that I realized how prevalent it is on the east shore of Kootenay Lake as well.

Douglas-fir dwarf mistletoe is a destructive native parasite that grows on Douglas-fir trees. In earlier times, frequent wildfires killed small infected trees, but with modern wildfire suppression, the parasite has spread. Similarly, logging, with its practice of harvesting the healthier trees and leaving the poorer ones has contributed to the spread of the parasite. (See, Douglas-fir Dwarf Mistletoe.)

I now fear its arrival on my side of the Lake.

The parasitic plant, Arceuthobium douglasii, has taken over a Douglas-fir and will kill it and spread.