Schuyler’s forests are some of the most diverse in the Northeast, with over fifty species of trees found in our woodlands. Some are rare, such as Cucumber Magnolia and Black Gum. One of the more common species – especially along Seneca Lake and the surrounding gorges, is Hemlock. This unique tree can live hundreds of years and grow happily in the shade of taller trees. Many barns and homes here are built from Hemlock, but its value extends far beyond lumber.
Unfortunately, a tiny insect from half-way across the world is now threatening one of our mightiest and most resilient trees. The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, or HWA, was first spotted in the Finger Lakes about ten years ago. Up to that point, experts believed that HWA couldn’t handle our cold winters. It turns out that this pest not only survives here, but thrives. Consequently, Hemlocks are rapidly declining – aided in large part by the recent mild winter. This morning I visited a woods in Hector where Hemlocks have lost over half of their needles since fall. Many of those trees will likely be dead a year from now.
One bright spot in this otherwise tragic story is that there are some promising “biological controls” (bugs that like to eat HWA) that should help restore future generations of Hemlocks. Much of this work is being led by CCE’s forest entomologist Mark Whitmore at Cornell’s Department of Natural Resources. To learn more about the work of Mark and his colleagues – and what you can do to help them, visit: https://blogs.cornell.edu/nyshemlockinitiative
Check out episode one of the NYS Hemlock Initiative video series:
Post Brought to you by:
Brett Chedzoy
Senior Resource Educator in Agriculture and Natural Resources
bjc226@cornell.edu
