dwhike - Jun 23, 2007 2:22 am - Voted 10/10
Amazing...Amazing how this mighty tree had the ability to grow in such conditions (on top of a rock!) yet can be taken down by something so tiny...
BobSmith - Jun 23, 2007 6:40 am - Hasn't voted
Re: Amazing...The Black Mountains have lost almost all of their hemlocks, now. It's especially agonizing to watch, knowing that the simple application of the nicotine-based insecticide imadacloprid is super effective in killing the invasive pest, and yet the government won't pay to have this done, except in isolated plots in a few parks.
dwhike - Jun 23, 2007 9:13 am - Voted 10/10
Re: Amazing...Is that a result of their hands-off policy allowing what they consider the "natural progression" of nature (aka. the continued loss of balds in the Smokies)?
BobSmith - Jun 23, 2007 6:46 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Amazing...No. They claim it's too expensive to treat the hemlocks with imadacloprid (in fact, it's not). Plus, they were trying to introduce natural predator beetles to combat the invasive adelgids, and it didn't work. In the meantime, the adelgids spread and killed off our hemlocks. At this point, there's the distinct probability that both the Eastern hemlock and Carolina hemlock will go extinct before a biological agent can be brought to bear on the invasive aphids.
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