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News Release RI Department of Environmental Management 235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908 (401) 222-2771 TDD/(401) 222-4462
DEM SEEKS PARTICIPANTS FOR HEMLOCK WOOLLY ADELGID SURVEY PROVIDENCE - The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management's Division of Forest Environment, in conjunction with the Southern New England Forest Consortium, Inc., is seeking people to participate in a survey assessing the impacts of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid in Rhode Island.Rhode Island is generally infested with Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, an invasive insect that is responsible for the decline and death of substantial numbers of hemlock trees in the eastern United States. Hemlock has long been a favorite for landscape plantings in urban and suburban areas of the state. In Rhode Island's forests, hemlock trees provide a unique ecological component that is now threatened by this tiny invader. Hemlock mortality is now significant in the urban, suburban and forested landscape of RI. Persons impacted by Hemlock Woolly Adelgid include forest landowners, suburban property owners, and the nursery industry in Rhode Island. Survey participants will be asked questions regarding the economic and aesthetic costs they have realized due to damage from Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. Urban and suburban property owners are sought as survey participants, in particular, because these groups, along with the nursery industry, have incurred costs that have largely been overlooked in other studies regarding Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. The goal of this survey is to provide data on the location of hemlock resources, levels of pest densities, tree health conditions, and an overview of the economic impacts of this pest in the state of Rhode Island. It will attempt to assess the success of hemlock treatments, ascertain property owners' attitudes and commitment to long-term pesticide options, and economic impacts of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid on forestry-related industries. Questionnaires will be mailed to participants later this fall and the results analyzed by late spring 2004. Funding for the survey comes from a $15,000 grant provided by the US Forest Service Cooperative Forest Health Program. The goal of the Cooperative Forest Health Program in Rhode Island is to protect the state's timberland, urban forest, and non-commercial forest resources from significant loss of economic, ecological, or aesthetic value due to insects, diseases, other stressors, and unknown causes. For further information, or to become a participant, contact Catherine Sparks at DEM's Division of Forest Environment at 647-4389, or call the Southern New England Forest Consortium at 568-1610. -30- |
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