Washington State is convening a committee of foresters, scientists and other experts in an effort to contain a pending forest health epidemic east of the Cascades. Over the next 15 years, state projections indicate that elevated tree mortality could occur across 2.8 million acres of Eastern Washington, or roughly one-third of the landscape. "The combination of the projections and the actual mortality we're seeing causes us alarm," said Aaron Everett, Washington's State Forester. "It's certainly compounded by...what we anticipate will be a warmer climate."