History, Natural History & the Arts
In summer 2025, DEC and Cornell University’s New York State Hemlock Initiative (NYSHI) confirmed the first establishment of Leucotaraxis argenticollis, a type of silver fly, in New York State.
These silver flies were released to help control hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), an invasive insect that attacks and kills hemlock trees. The silver fly population was confirmed in the own of Bath, in Steuben County, NY. [Read more…] about Silver Fly Combating Invasive Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
Hemlocks are an important part of New York’s forests providing unique environmental conditions under cool, dense canopies that protect wildlife, fishery habitat, water quality, and prevent soil erosion. An HWA infestation can kill a healthy tree within 10 years. [Read more…] about Invasive Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Found at Lake Champlain, Great Sacandaga Lake
The Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) has released its 2024 annual report.
The report celebrates the accomplishments of APIPP staff, volunteers, and partners while also providing updates on the presence of invasive species in the Adirondack region, special initiatives, ongoing research, and more. [Read more…] about Adirondack Park Invasive Species Report Issued
The new year ushered in an arctic blast that has only recently let up. This extreme plunge in temperature is referred to as a Polar Vortex. While it may seem that this is a new term, it has been in use since the 1800s. These periods of intense cold can impact the survival of many native and invasive species, including plants and pests. [Read more…] about Surviving the Cold in a Polar Vortex
My family’s first Christmas tree in the Adirondacks was a hemlock. I know this for a fact because my father wrote about it in one of his first essays as a country editor, something he became when he and my mother moved us from Manhattan to Lewis, New York in 1956.
In his essay, he quotes a favorite author, John Burroughs, who remarked somewhere that “the hemlock is a clean, healthy, handsome tree” and a new neighbor, a tree farmer who told him that “trees seem to do better where there are people around.” [Read more…] about The Hemlock: The Adirondack Park’s Family Tree
The New York State Senate and Assembly have proposed budgets that will restore funding for critical programs in the Adirondack Park, adds potential funding for road salt management, but leaves out funding for the carrying capacity study required for the Saranac Chain of Lakes. The proposed budgets provide significant funding for Adirondack programs that were reduced or eliminated from the Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget. [Read more…] about Legislative Budget Would Restore Funding for Adirondack Park Initiatives
Forests in New York cover 18.6 million acres of land making the State 61% forested. Whether it’s hiking, hunting, camping, or birdwatching, these forest lands provide recreational opportunities for millions of residents and others. [Read more…] about New York Forest Health Highlights Summary
Dome Island is that rarest of things, an undisturbed piece of wilderness in the middle of Lake George, protected for the past seventy years by the Nature Conservancy and a committee of local volunteers and, in recent decades, by the Lake George Land Conservancy.
More than 60% of its forest canopy is composed of hemlocks, and every year since 2020, when hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) was first discovered among the evergreens’ needles and branches, the Nature Conservancy has treated the invasive pest with insecticides. [Read more…] about Saving Lake George’s Dome Island Hemlocks
Native to Asia, the hemlock woolly adelgid, or HWA, is an invasive, aphid-like insect that attacks North American hemlocks. Juvenile HWA, known as crawlers, search for suitable sites on the host tree, usually at the base of the needles. [Read more…] about Winter Cold Snaps Help Control Hemlock Wooly Adelgid
Most forests in eastern United States national parks are at risk due to browsing by overabundant white-tailed deer and crowding by invasive plants, according to a National Park Service (NPS) study published in the journal Ecological Applications. [Read more…] about Report: National Forests Threatened By Poor Wildlife Management, Invasives
’Tis the season for balsam fir, the fragrant evergreen that adorns our homes through the winter holidays. Its scent and long lasting needle retention make this the most popular Christmas tree and wreath species. Balsam fir is also an important timber species used for lumber. Native to North America, balsam fir (Abies balsamea) grows throughout the more northern latitudes and highest elevations of the country, including in the Northeast.
However, researchers predict a northward shift of balsam fir in an increasingly warming climate. Warmer temperatures are also contributing to a rise in populations of an exotic invasive pest – balsam woolly adelgid (Adelges piceae) – which feeds on fir trees, affecting their health and viability as lumber and Christmas trees. [Read more…] about Balsam Woolly Adelgid: A Foe to Firs
Hemlock trees are being threatened by an invasive insect called the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA). Only the size of a sesame seed, this tiny aphid-like insect has the ability to take down an entire forest by feeding on and weakening hemlock trees – causing mortality within 5-7 years if left untreated.
As a foundation species, hemlocks are an important component of forests and provide many beneficial ecological services, like filtering water, shading streams, and providing food and habitat for wildlife. [Read more…] about Beetles, Silver Flies Being Used Against Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Infestations
From February 12th through March 12th, NY iMapInvasives and the NYS Hemlock Initiative are hosting NY’s first statewide hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) Winter Mapping Challenge. [Read more…] about Join the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Winter Mapping Challenge
Winter is the best time to survey for invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), a tiny insect that is a big problem for forests and water resources in the Northeast.
HWA threatens the native conifer, the eastern hemlock, which makes up large portions of the canopy in many New York forests and maintains water quality in streams by providing shade. HWA lives, reproduces, and feeds on hemlock trees, killing trees within four to 10 years. [Read more…] about Winter Chores: Check for Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
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. [Read more…] about Virtual Hike Challenge in St Lawrence, Eastern Lake Ontario Region
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and partners are reporting that they have completed this year’s treatment to control and prevent the spread of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) on New York State “Forever Wild” Forest Preserve lands at Lake George in Washington County, as part of an ongoing, multi-year effort.
DEC confirmed the HWA infestation in August. The affected hemlock trees were located in the Glen Island Campground on the shore of Lake George, along the shoreline of Shelving Rock Special Management Area, at the Buck Mountain Trailhead, and on Dome Island. [Read more…] about Lake George Invasive Species Infestation Update
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which confirmed an invasive Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) infestation at Lake George in August, says that the infestation affects nearly 250 acres and 1.5 miles of shoreline on Forest Preserve lands in the towns of Dresden and Fort Ann, Washington County.
The affected hemlocks are located along in the busy Glen Island Campground area of the Narrows, including Glen Island and camping areas on the eastern shoreline. This is the second known infestation of HWA in the Adirondacks; an earlier infestation is believed to have been brought under control at the summit of Prospect Mountain, reached by the Prospect Mountain Veteran Memorial Highway, just outside Lake George Village.
[Read more…] about 250 Acres, More Than A Mile Of Lake George Shoreline Infected With Hemlock Pest
An infestation of invasive Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae) has been confirmed on Lake George in the town of Dresden, Washington County.
The affected hemlock trees were located near a campsite within Glen Island Campground on the shore of Lake George. This is the second known infestation of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) in the Adirondacks. The first was located at Prospect mountain near Lake George three years ago. [Read more…] about Another Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Infestation Found At Lake George
One spring-like afternoon this winter, I was skiing near Middlebury, Vermont. The trail followed Otter Creek, weaving through cedar patches, hemlock groves, and past the occasional hardwood. It was one of those days where you can shed a few layers and still break a sweat when the sun spills through gaps in the canopy. [Read more…] about Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Remains A Threat
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