BC’s Representational Silviculture and the Negative Affect of the Pine Beetle Animal Story

Examining the broader question, “What role does the animal story play in the narration of ecological crisis and how does that narrative impact the story subject,” this paper focuses on the Mountain Pine Beetle eco-crisis consuming the forests of BC. I assert that the government constructs an animal story for the Pine Beetle and capitalizes on the negative affect it associates with the story to manipulate the public’s sense of blame and responsibility for the crisis. As a result of this representation, the Pine Beetle ceases to be animal and bears responsibility for the crisis while being denied the possibility of an inhabitant’s right to the forest.