USFS notices big juniper die-off in northern, central Arizona USFS teams noticed thousands of acres of juniper die-off in northern and central Arizona. They attribute the death to water stress brought on by drought. (Source: Kaibab National Forest) By KOLD News 13 Staff | April 21, 2021 at 2:40 PM MST - Updated April 21 at 4:51 PM TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - Juniper trees across thousands of acres of Forest Service land are dying and investigators think they know the reason why: Recent assessments suggest the trees are dying from water stress brought on by an “exceptional” drought throughout the state. Much of the die-off has been in the Prescott and Kaibab National Forests, with about 50,000 to 100,000 acres of junipers impacted between the Paulden and Ash Fork along Highway 89 and Interstate 40, according to a news release from the U.S. Forest Service. Researchers with the USFS Forest Health Protection office also noticed tree death north of Williams along Highway 64.