The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and SLELO PRISM have invited all hikers, cross-country skiers, and snowshoers in the Saint Lawrence/Eastern Lake Ontario (SLELO) Region to take a hike to protect the region’s hemlocks this winter through their Virtual Hike Challenge.
The challenge is running now through March 1st, and you can participate any time you get outside. All you need to do is take a hike, check a hemlock for signs of invasive hemlock woolly adelgid, and take a photo. Share a photo of your experience on Facebook with the hashtag #VirtualHikeChallenge for a chance to win prizes.
More information about the challenge, including featured trails, can be found on the SLELO PRISM website. More information on identifying hemlock and hemlock woolly adelgid, as well a quiz to test your knowledge, can be found on the New York State Hemlock Initiative website.
Photo of white woolly egg masses of invasive HWA on a hemlock branch provided.
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