Hemlock Bluffs Fights Woolly Bug

Story by Matt Young | July 27, 2010 | Tags: Environment, hemlock bluffs, News, TOC

Cary, NC – The Woolly Adelgidis an aggressive hemlock destroyer. They have been discovered at Cary’s Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve, the Town of Cary has reported to the CaryCitizen. The Town is working with local, state, national experts to finalize and implement treatment plan.

From the TOC Alert:

The bug has the potential to decimate Hemlock tree populations when left untreated.  Initial research revealed the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, an invasive, non-native aphid-like insect, has impacted about 11 of the Preserve’s 235 Eastern Hemlock trees to date.  The Adelgid, when left unchecked, kills Hemlocks by feeding at the base of their needles, preventing nutrients from flowing to the needles; the needles drop, and the tree dies.  It can take just a few years for Woolly Adelgids to kill even large Hemlocks.  The Woolly Adelgids were found during a routine tree mapping project that was being conducted as Town staff worked proactively to update a proposed Hemlock Woolly Adelgid management plan originally created in 2005 and last updated in 2008.

“The Town of Cary is bringing the necessary resources and best minds to bear on the Woolly Adelgid presence here,” said Doug McRainey, Parks Planning Manager. “We are committed to developing and implementing a treatment protocol and long-term management plan that effectively preserves our Hemlocks while minimizing impacts to other natural inhabitants.”

Hemlock Bluffs

Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve is a unique 158-acre site in southern Cary where Eastern Hemlocks grow along north-facing bluffs, far from their normal range in the foothills and mountains of North Carolina.

The Preserve is a partnership between the Town of Cary— which maintains the Preserve, operates the educational programs and owns onsite structures—and the State of North Carolina, which owns most of the land and helps guide its stewardship.

Approximately 100,000 visitors come each year to enjoy Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve and the Stevens Nature Center.

Fighting the Bug

The Town of Cary is collaborating with divisions of the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the United States Forest Services, North Carolina State University, Bartlett Tree Experts, and others to finalize a multi-phased approach to eliminate existing Adelgids and manage recurrences.

Officials are planning to begin killing the Adelgids during the next few months.  Common methods for controlling the Woolly Adelgid population include injecting treatments into the soil surrounding the tree or into the tree itself and/or spraying trees with special soaps or horticultural oils; there is even research being done on introducing predatory insects to attack the Adelgids, but this treatment has not yet been proven as an effective alternative.

“Despite a handful of anticipated future schedule modifications when we are actively treating the Hemlocks, the Preserve is open and we encourage everyone to come out and enjoy themselves,” McRainey said, adding that the Woolly Adelgid poses no health threat to people, pets or other plants.

Interested parties may subscribe to a list of closures during treatments by clicking the green envelope found at www.townofcary.org.

To reduce the likelihood of recurrences, this September the Town will launch a Hemlock Health Inventory, which will be designed to map all of the Hemlocks in and around Cary and provide property owners and landscape professionals with resources to identify trees impacted by the Woolly Adelgid and encourage appropriate treatment protocols for private property owners.

Citizens wishing to share ideas, questions, comments or concerns about the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid at Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve may email hemlocks@townofcary.orgor call (919) 387-5980.  For regular updates and project information, visit Woolly Adelgid at www.townofcary.org or follow the Town on Twitter.

News on CaryCitizen is sponsored by Crossroads Ford.