Pretty, Sad Sites by Moonlight

The Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forests (mostly red spruce and Fraser firs) only exist at the very highest elevations in the southeastern United States. The rising full moon casts beautiful light on the sad sight of the forests' large die-off of Fraser firs caused the non-native insect, balsam woolly adelgid, a parasite introduced from Europe around 1900. Air pollution and acid rain are also believed to be stunting the growth of red spruces (especially since the spruce–fir zones are often immersed in clouds).