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YHC Hemlock Project
What in the world is the YHC Hemlock Project? It isn't what people usually think of - the poison hemlock drink Socrates drank back in ancient Greece. Although that is an interesting part of history, Young Harris College and Dr. Paul Arnold are hoping to help preserve hemlock trees, which, by the way, are not related to the hemlock of Socrates' fame.
The north Georgia mountains are populated with stands of hemlock trees. These trees shade trout streams, provide habitat and food for wildlife, and impart great aesthetic beauty to these mountains. Unfortunately, the hemlock stands in our area are under attack by a tiny bug called the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (HWA). That's where the YHC Hemlock Project comes into the picture.
Hemlock Trees near the Susan B. Harris Chapel
on the campus of Young Harris College
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A native of Japan, HWA was unwittingly introduced into the Eastern United States in the 1950s. The HWA began attacking Eastern Hemlocks in Virginia, spreading northward into the New England states, and although the infestation was slow to gain a foothold, the tiny bugs had begun to cause a tremendous amount of ecological damage by the late 1980s.
The HWA is an aphid-like parasite that feeds at the base of the needles of both the Eastern and Carolina Hemlock. As the HWA withdraws the vital fluids from the hemlock, the needles eventually become yellow, die, and fall off. On average, once a hemlock tree is infested with HWA, it will die within 3 - 9 years.
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Hemlock infested with HWA
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This HWA infestation has rapidly moved southward and westward. The infestation entered Rabun County, Georgia around 2002. Towns County, the home of Young Harris College, first received reports of infestation in 2004. Now the HWA infestation has become widespread in the region, with virtually all of the hemlocks on and surrounding campus being moderately to heavily infested.
The toll to hemlock stands from HWA infestation is astounding. In the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, nearly 80% of all Eastern Hemlock trees have been killed, leaving a landscape reminiscent of a devastating forest fire. And as HWA marches southwward, it leaves a path of ecological devastation that hasn't been seen since the Chestnut Blight of the 1920s and 1930s.
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Hemlock Devastation at Fishers Gap in the
Shenandoah Valley caused by HWA. |
Dead Hemlocks on North Fork Mountain
in the Shenandoah Valley.
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The two photos above were made available courtesy of Blue Ridge Country Magazine.
For subscription information, call 1-800-548-1672 or 540-090-6138.
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To view a map of HWA destruction, please click here.
About the YHC Hemlock Project
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The YHC Hemlock Project is a volunteer organization housed on the campus of Young Harris College. Dr. Paul Arnold, biology professor at Young Harris College, began the Hemlock Project in May 2005 in an attempt to stem the growing HWA infestation in the hemlock stands of the north Georgia mountains. Community members and students volunteer their time and energy helping to raise Sasajiscymnus tsugae, a tiny ladybird beetle that is one of the few natural predators of the HWA. The organization works in conjunction with the USDA Forest Service and the Georgia Forestry Commission to decide where to release the adult beetles.
The picture below shows a YHC student caring for beetles reared in the Hemlock Project lab.
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When the beetles are ready to be released into the hemlock stands, Dr. Arnold and his team of volunteers rely on U. S. Forest Service and Georgia Forestry Commission personnel to perform most of the releases. These tiny beetles are completely dependent on the HWA in order to reproduce. It is hoped that the beetles will provide some protection of hemlock trees in forest ecosystems, since chemical treatment of acres of hemlock trees is economically and ecologically prohibitive.
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The first release of beetles raised by The Hemlock Project occurred on March 15, 2006. Over the past two years, over 130,000 adult beetles and eggs have been released on dozens of sites throughout Towns, Union, Fannin, Lumpkin, and White counties.
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The Hemlock Project at Young Harris College is funded through donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. For more information about the YHC Hemlock Project and how you can help in the battle to save the north Georgia hemlock trees, please contact one of the following people:
Cathy Cox
President
(706) 379-5137
Dr. Paul Arnold
Director of The YHC Hemlock Project
(706) 379-5131
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