Conservation Leaders Mix Fun and Education

Lansing, West Virginia - State and national conservation leaders mixed business with pleasure in Mill Creek's hemlock and rhododendron canyon during a recent visit to TreeTops Canopy Tours in Fayette County, West Virginia. Among those who participated in the event were: Rick Persinger, Mead Westvaco forester; Tom McAvoy, research entomologist for Virginia Tech; Rodney Bartgis, West Virginia state director for The Nature Conservancy; Amy Cimarolli, ecologist for The Nature Conservancy; Brad Onken and Dan Twardus, entomologists with the USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area; Tim Tomon, forest entomologist for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture; and Kristen Carrington, forest technician for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.

The owners of TreeTops invited conservation experts to take part in a guided canopy zip line tour and to share knowledge on the fast spreading invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) that is destroying the eastern hemlock tree, considered by some to be the redwood of the east.

Native to Asia and western North America, the hemlock woolly adelgid is a small, aphidlike insect that threatens the health and sustainability of eastern hemlock and Carolina hemlock in the eastern United States. HWA was first reported in 1951 near Richmond, Virginia. By 2008, it was established in portions of 17 states from Maine to Georgia, where infestations covered about half the range of hemlock. So far this small, white insect has killed or severely damaged thousands of acres of hemlock throughout the eastern states. The adelgid is reaching forests in the New River Gorge at rapid speed.

There is hope, however, that the HWA can be slowed with a plan at TreeTops that allows guests to enjoy the fun of a canopy tour while contributing to a fund that will pay to help control the pest and protect the hemlocks.

Class VI - Mountain River introduced the first sustainable mile long canopy tour in West Virginia in spring 2009. The 3 ½ hour tour guides guests through a network of cables and sky bridges from one tree platform to another, providing unique opportunities to learn about the forest environment. Tour participants in the conservation visit sailed high above the forest floor on 10 zip lines and crossed five sky bridges, often stopping to observe the current stage of the HWA infecting the hemlocks.

"We want our guests to experience the forest from an exciting and different vantage point while educating them about the severity of invasive species," said Dave Arnold, managing partner of Class VI - Mountain River and TreeTops. "We want to reach as many people as possible, balancing outdoor recreation fun with an opportunity for everyone who visits to be a partner in stewardship of the New River Gorge."

Those who took part in the tour discussed additional ways to stop the rapid decline and mortality of the hemlocks, including pest control alternatives and public education options.

Ultimately, Arnold said he wants to get people interested in land stewardship and to leave with a positive experience and a desire to help.

"During the tour planning process we found these big, beautiful hemlocks and were so excited about their potential; then we found out we had a problem," Arnold said. "After a few minutes of being shell shocked we said, 'This is an opportunity to draw attention to a problem, to make a commitment to preserving the remaining hemlocks,' but we need help with that."

One dollar per guest goes toward preservation efforts to save the hemlocks within the canopy tour corridor and is included in the $89 price. Class VI - Mountain River matches each dollar.

For more information or to make reservations for the canopy tour, visit newrivergorgecanopytour.com. For more information about the hemlock woolly adelgid, visit http:/na.fs.fed.us/fhp/hwa.

Contact:
Erin Thompson (304) 417-3746 or nirehaley@hotmail.com