Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Found in Windham County
Your Observations Can Help Us Determine the Extent of this Infestation!
What is the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid?
Hemlock woolly adelgid, a tiny insect from Asia, has been detected on mature trees in Vermont. All of the infested trees are in Windham County: a single tree in Rockingham, and at least nine in Brattleboro.
There may be other infested trees in the region we don’t know about, so we’re asking landowners to keep an eye out for the insect. Specifically, we’d like to know if you see white masses on hemlock twigs. If the infestation is light, you’ll see scattered cottony flecks. If it’s heavy, it looks like Q-tips bunched together (see photos).
Light (left) and heavy (right) hemlock woolly adelgid infestations. (photos: James Johnson, Georgia Forestry Commission and Michael Montgomery, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org)
All the infested trees we’ve seen in Vermont still look healthy. Although it can kill trees within 4 years, mortality from hemlock woolly adelgid is variable. Researchers from the Harvard Forest have found mortality rates as high as 95% in some infested stands. In others, there is no mortality, but most trees lose over half their foliage, reducing their growth, their value as an ornamental, and their benefits to fish and wildlife.
We think hemlock woolly adelgid was brought to Vermont on birds, since all of the infested trees are near bird baths or feeders. The introduction likely occurred two or three years ago. Recent winters, with less severe temperatures, have allowed the adelgid to survive in the state.
According to state entomologist, Jon Turmel, “We have been watching this pest for several years and anticipated that it might infest hemlock trees in Vermont. The Agency of Agriculture will continue to work collaboratively with the Agency of Natural Resources to do what we can to control and eradicate it.”
Hemlock woolly adelgid was brought into Vermont on nursery stock in 1990, 2004, and 2006. Following each introduction, trees from the infested shipments were destroyed. The insect does not seem to have survived in any of the sites which were exposed .
This June, a seventy-foot hemlock in Rockingham was found to have been infested after it was cut. The top of this tree was burned on site. We have not found other infested trees in a survey of all nearby properties.
In Brattleboro, the infestation was detected by an arborist and reported to the County Forester. Adelgids were found on only four of the twenty properties surveyed in the neighborhood. Because the infestation is limited, we’ll probably try to eradicate it using a combination of chemical and cultural methods.
Vermont has been the only northeastern state without hemlock woolly adelgid. State quarantine regulates the movement of hemlock seedlings, nursery stock, logs, lumber with bark, and chips from infested areas.
Who should you contact?
If you suspect you have seen hemlock woolly adelgid, please contact the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation at 802-885-8855 or the Vermont Agency of Agriculture at 802-241-3545. For more information: http://na.fs.fed.us/fhp/hwa/
Barbara Burns, Forest Health Specialist
Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation
July 23, 2007
Both the Vermont Senate and Vermont House have approved, in slightly different versions, an independent study of the Use Value Appraisal (UVA) program. By the time this newsletter is out and the Legislature adjourns in May, it’s likely the two versions will be melded in a conference committee and the study will be authorized.
The study is to be done this year. It will be carried out by an appointed UVA task force with consultant assistance. The purpose of the study proposed in the Senate bill will be to assess whether the program has achieved its stated goals, including the protection of natural ecological systems on enrolled forest land; how use values are determined and whether any new categories are in order. Also to be considered are what the program requires of listers and whether any changes are needed to benefit local officials; whether there’s enough state personnel to administer the program; whether the land use change tax is an adequate disincentive if a landowner intends to develop in the future, and whether a “means” test for enrollment should become part of the program.
The consultant must report his or her findings to the task force by October 1, and the task force itself must present a report on its findings and recommendations to the Legislature by January 15, 2008.
To see a .PDF of the legislation click here
