CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SCHOHARIE AND OTSEGO COUNTIES: Hemlock Woolly Adelgid: Finding Hemlock Stands

Seeking volunteers to train and survey hemlock stands to eradicate the hemlock woolly adelgid

The Otsego County Conservation Association (OCCA) and Mohican Farm are collaborating with the Catskill Regional Invasive Species Program (CRISP) and Cornell Cooperative Extension Schoharie and Otsego Counties to host a special training for outdoor enthusiasts interested in volunteering to help CRISP and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation identify and map stands of Eastern hemlock as part of its efforts to counter the accelerating invasion of the highly destructive hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) in New York State.

The workshop will be held on Saturday, February 25, from noon to 3 p.m. at Mohican Farm, 7207 St. Hwy. 80, in the Town of Springfield. The initial classroom session will address HWA identification, lifecycle, ecological impact, best management practices, and survey methods and protocols, followed by a hands-on field session to practice survey protocols and GPS navigation in a nearby hemlock stand. The workshop is free and open to land and forest owners, master gardeners, students, and others eager to arrest the HWA. Space is limited; preregistration is required for planning purposes by calling 607.282.4087 or emailing programdirector@occainfo.org. With your permission, your email address will be used to set up an iMap account (See http://www.nyimapinvasives.org/) prior to the workshop. Appropriate winter dress/footwear is recommended. A snow date is planned for March 4, if needed.

Classroom Program:

• Hemlocks as a core part of the Catskills’ and New York forest ecosystem and which species are likely to be impacted; the hemlock wooly adelgid, its introduction, spread, and biology; locations in the Catskills and NYS in general.
• Best management methods for HWA, covering insecticides and biological controls, weighing the ecological costs of a mass loss of hemlock against the ecological costs of insecticides; past use and missteps of biological control and the current intense efforts that go into ensuring bio-controls are safe to release, including success stories to date.
• How citizens can help stop HWA and preserve the hemlocks across the New York landscape; hemlock hedges as good release locations for bio-control agents; the need for citizen scientists to help survey for HWA, so agencies can prioritize when/where to release or use insecticides; CRISP citizen scientist survey protocol, iMap discussion as a reporting tool, and creating iMap accounts for volunteers.

Field Program:

• Practice survey methodology in a nearby hemlock stand that can serve as a volunteer survey area. Learn survey protocols and practice methods on nearby hemlocks, covering diameter-at-breast-height measurements, crown transparency, live-crown ratios, new growth tip measurements, HWA density measurements, and GPS navigation
• Optional (if time permits), participants will split into smaller groups, depending on group size and partner leader staff, and survey additional hemlock stands.

For more information visit our website at http://cceschoharie-otsego.org/events or call 518.234.4303.  Cooperative Extension is an employer and educator recognized for valuing AA/EEO, Protected Veterans, and Individuals with Disabilities and provides equal program and employment opportunities.  Accommodations for persons with special needs may be requested by contacting Cornell Cooperative Extension Schoharie and Otsego Counties prior to a program.

CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SCHOHARIE AND OTSEGO COUNTIES: Hemlock Woolly Adelgid: Finding Hemlock Stands posted first on Green Energy Times