Volunteers Work to Halt Hemlock Infestation

It only takes seven years for a .8mm aphid-like Hemlock Woolly Adelgid to kill 85% of a hemlock stand and the North Georgia mountains are infested with the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid.  The National Forest Service compares the damage of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid to the Great Chestnut Blight of the 1920’s and 1930’s, which happened in forests up and down the Appalachian Mountains.  Now, there aren’t any 98 feet tall, 9.8 feet round American Chestnut trees to be found.

To compete against the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid infestation, Save Georgia’s Hemlocks and Trout Unlimited are gathering on Saturday, Oct. 19^th  from 9 am – 1 pm to plant hemlock saplings along parts of the Toccoa River in Suches, GA.  Volunteers will meet, fittingly, at 228 Hemlock Dr. in Suches to plant 60 seedlings along the river.

Hemlocks can grow to a height of 160 feet and have a trunk diameter of 6 to 7 feet.  Since the trees are so large, they provide food and habitat for 120 species of vertebrates and 90 species of birds.  The trees are also important for trout streams, like the Toccoa because their large, overhanging branches keep the water cool during the summer and help purify water that flows into the streams.  The magnificent hemlock also adds 7-10% to the value of property which has hemlocks according to Save Georgia’s Hemlocks.

Volunteers need to contact Donna Shearer at donna@savegeorgiashemlocks.org or Carl Riggs at  7turns@tds.net to let them know you will be coming.