An Urgent Messagefrom the Hemlocks

Presented by

Save Georgia’s Hemlocks

www.savegeorgiashemlocks.orgHemlock Help LineSM: 706-429-8010

© 2009 Save Georgia’s Hemlocks, Inc. rev. April 2015

Who we areSave Georgia’s Hemlocks is a 100% volunteer, 501(c)(3)

nonprofit organization of concerned citizens dedicated to saving endangered hemlocks through education and

charitable service.

Our missionTo help north Georgians preserve, conserve, and restore

hemlocks for future generations

Hemlock Help Program Objectives

EDUCATE – enhance public awareness of the HWA crisis, the current practical options and emerging control technologies, and the urgent reasons for saving the hemlocks

ENABLE – ensure easy access to sound hemlock-specific instruction, advice regarding economical solutions, and availability of necessary resources

ENGAGE – enlist our volunteers to provide direct assistance to property owners, nonprofits, and public land managers

Hemlocks are a keystone species and play a unique role in providing food and habitat for about 120 species of vertebrates and over 90 species of birds, shade for native plants, cool tempera-tures for trout streams and protection for watersheds and water quality.

Beauty, health, diversity, personal value

Hemlocks are essential to our forests and waterways.

The hemlocks are being killed by a tiny insect.

Unless treated, the HWA will kill all the hemlocks.

The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, an aphid-like insect less than 1/32” long, lays two genera-tions of eggs per year in white cottony sacs. After hatching, the HWA attaches itself to the base of the hemlock’s needles where it sucks the sap.

The hemlocks can be saved.

Property owners can save as many of their own trees as they wish, and SGH offers a lot of free help.

The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid can be treated with cultural, chemical, and biological controls.

The hope for the future of combating the HWA is biological control through the release of predator beetles and other natural agents into infected areas.

Chemical treatment is a temporary but very effective control that buys time until long-term natural solutions can be developed.

Presently, the most effective and economical control is chemical treatment. This method is safe for the environment, ground water, wildlife, and humans.

The hemlock

• Ranges from Maine to north Georgia

• Prefers moist areas due to shallow roots and susceptibility to drought

• Is most often found in ravines and along rivers and streams

• Is the most shade tolerant tree in North America, capable of thriving in 5% sunlight

• Can rise up to 175’ tall and live hundreds of years

The hemlock woolly adelgid: A tiny sucking insect similar to an aphid, accidentally imported from Asia, that kills hemlocks

The problem

Multiplies fast, 2 generations/year

What does it do?

1 egg sac

300 eggs

90,000by end of year 1

27,000,000

8,100,000,000by end of year 2

Attacks only hemlocks, killing them in as few as 3-6 years

1. An invasive species from Asia, identified on the west coast (Oregon) in 1924. Thought to be indigenous, controlled to some extent by native predators.

2. Separately introduced from Japan on the east coast in Richmond, Virginia in 1951, with no accompanying natural predators.

Where did HWA come from?

Has been spreading north and south ever since and is now in every eastern state within the native hemlock range.

How does HWA spread?

• Birds, deer, and other animals• Wind• Man• Purchase or transplant of trees

from infested areas

The HWA invasion in Georgia

HWA spreads an average of 15 – 25 miles per year.

• Build up of dead and dying trees and cost of removal• Decline of aesthetic value • Decline in property values• Loss of privacy• Risk of personal injury or

damage to property• Loss of cooling shade and

wildlife habitat• Loss of sense of place• Heartache at the loss of

beautiful, graceful trees

Impact on private property

Recognizing an infestation

The most noticeable signs are:

• White woolly egg sacs

• Drab gray-green foliage color and thinning of foliage

• Branch die-back

Light Moderate Heavy

Judging the level of infestation

Countermeasures for private lands

Cultural controlsand/or

Chemical controls

• Maintain tree health – keep them mulched and watered during dry times.

• Don’t fertilize infested trees until adelgids are under control.

• Remove unwanted/untreated trees.

• Don’t bring HWA home from the wild.

Cultural controls

Systemic chemical controls

Heavily infested or very large trees:Dinotefuran (systemic)

Lightly/moderately infested trees:Imidacloprid (systemic)

Contacts page:Where to buy chemicalsWhere to borrow soil injectorsList of PROs

Resources page:How to mix and apply

How to proceed

If you have adelgids on your private propertyor they are close by (i.e., within the county):

1. Assess the level of infestation.2.Choose the trees you want to save.3.Obtain the treatment product and applicationequipment.4.Print the instructions from our Resources page and treat your trees as soon as possible.

Pesticide safety

• Personal safety: Imidacloprid and Safari are very safe when used according to product label.

• Environmental safety: With soil application, avoid run-off and direct contact with surface water. With spray, avoid wind drift.

Always read and follow application instructions. DON’T use too much or too little!

Call the Hemlock Help Line if you have questions.

Saving Your Hemlocks

DIY: Imidacloprid$1.28Safari $17.44

Pro: Imidacloprid$9.60 Safari $34.88

Losing Your Hemlocks

$$$ Balancing the costs $$$

Removal: $300 - $1500

Property value loss: 10%$200K property loses $20K

Example: tree with 16” diameter

• Massive tree die-off in 3 to 6 years (possibly 90%)• Loss of habitat and biodiversity• Change of ecosystems and forest cover

Impact on public lands

• Rise of invasive species• Build up of dead and dying trees• Increased fire hazard and soil

erosion • Risk of falling trees, closure of

trails and recreation areas• Decline in water quality of

streams, rivers, and reservoirs• Decline of beauty and enjoyment

Hemlock Conservation Areas

Countermeasures for public lands

Chemical controlsand/or

Biological controls

Biological controls – predatory beetles

• Natural enemy of adelgids in Asia• Being raised in labs at UGA, North Georgia,

Young Harris, Clemson, and UT Knoxville• Difficult, labor-intensive, and expensive to

raise• Feeds only on adelgids, with no sign

of becoming pests• Release sites must be carefully chosen• So many hemlocks, so many adelgids, and

so few beetles

• Our best long-term hope for a predator-prey balance

• Reproduction occurring in the wild; positive evidence is mounting.

• Not yet a viable option for private property, but expected to spread beyond the forest

• Many other biological control efforts underway

We’ll keep you posted.

Biological controls – predatory beetles

How SGH is helping the hemlocks

• Free training classes• Hemlock Help Line• Research-based web site• Facilitators to help neighbors understand the

problem and choose the best solution• Volunteer projects

How YOU can help

PLEASE JOIN THE FIGHT!• Take care of your own trees• Spread the word to others

and encourage stewardship of the earth• Become a Facilitator in your community• Provide leadership to form a neighborhood

action team• Support Save Georgia’s Hemlocks

financially• Support the beetle labs

We can have beautiful residential landscapes and lush mountain scenery

or unsightly surroundingsand mountains of standing dead.

We can have healthy woods & forestsand safe attractive recreation areas

or barren disfigured placeswith the danger of falling trees.

We can have beautiful lakes & waterwaysand healthy trout habitat

or clogged impassable waterwaysand silted ruined trout streams.

The future is in your hands.

YOU can make the difference.

Thanks! Any questions?

www.savegeorgiashemlocks.orgHemlock Help LineSM: 706-429-8010