"Save the Hemlock"
Hello and welcome! This site is dedicated to creating awareness for the many threats facing America's eastern forests. I hope this information inspires you to get involved and spread the word.
Background
Southern Appalachia is home to a magnificent variety of species. Great Smoky Mountains (GSM), the center of Southern Appalachia, is conducting an All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, which aims to catalog what is estimated to be more than 100,000 species. As an inspiring example of this diversity, GSM is home to 130 species of trees (more than in all of Europe) and 30 species of salamanders (more than anywhere else on earth).
Threats
The diversity of this amazing forest is under siege by non-native insects. The balsam woolly adelgid has already decimated 95% of mature Fraser firs, a species native to Canada that historically flourished at elevations above 5,000 feet in Southern Appalachia (a result of the glaciers’ northerly retreat). The devastation of this species gives us a glimpse into the likely outcome of the next great threat – the hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelgis tsugae). Thought to have been introduced to the US in the 1920s, this non-native pest of Asian origin has slowly migrated to all parts of Eastern North America. Unfortunately, it has now found a home in Southern Appalachia and threatens the most recognizable tree in this region – the hemlock.
But there is hope!
A predator beetle, native to the same region in Japan as the adelgid, is the best chance to keep the hemlock adelgid at non lethal levels. A 3-year U.S. study found the beetles reduced the number of adelgids by as much as 88%. Due to its great promise this arthropod predator (Pseudoscymnus tsugae Sasaji) is being raised in laboratories at universities across the southeast. The problem is the lack of urgency and funding associated with this biological control effort. Shenandoah National Park lost 90% of its hemlock forest, with many killed in just four years. I’m afraid our current rate of producing beetles will prove insufficient and that millions of trees will be lost. We can do better.
You can help!
With your help we can change the equation in favor of the hemlock. Right now beetle production is ramping up. This year labs at the University of Tennessee and Clemson University aim to produce as many as 200,000 beetles. But this is only a small fraction of what's needed. By making a small donation or simply spreading the word to those who might want to donate you can help give the hemlock a chance at survival. Without your help extinction is a real possibility.
100% of all donations go directly to beetle production. Please email us with any questions.
