About Saving Hemlocks
Patrick Horan in front of his cabin and a recovering hemlock in Sapphire, NC |
Saving Hemlocks originated in 2006 to promote biological control of HWA by private groups and landowners. Here is our story:
When I retired from research and teaching (Professor Emeritus, University of Georgia) in order to live on our watershed property in the western North Carolina mountains, I had no intention of getting involved in an environmental intervention program for hemlocks. But in 2003 I began to recognize the presence and impact of HWA on our hemlocks. And after a limited (and very expensive) chemical intervention on a handful of trees in 2004, I began searching for a way to implement biological control of HWA for the entire 150 acre property.
By the time I found a source for Sasi predator beetles in 2006, most of the hemlocks on the property were 70-90% defoliated. Drawing on lab and field research reports from CT, I began experimenting with low-density beetle release strategies that would be applicable to private releases. By the end of 2009, most of the hemlocks on my and adjoining properties are restoring their foliage, with an estimated hemlock mortality of only about 10%. (For a more detailed account of my methods, observations and results, see my presentation at the 2008 HWA Symposium in Connecticut.)
Over the last 3 years I have worked to encourage a wide range of community and environmental groups in Western North Carolina to purchase and release predator beetles (with over 100,000 "private" beetles released to date). And this website is intended to expand the geographic scope of this outreach effort.
My special interest is in getting the beetles out in areas that are early in the HWA infestation process. Hemlocks in such areas have less foliage damage and can recover much faster, plus there is the prospect of reducing the magnitude and speed of the continuing HWA advance.
