Conservancy Partners and Bayer CropScience Battle Invasive Species in Kentucky’s Mountains
LEXINGTON, KY — The Nature Conservancy and Bayer CropScience teamed up with the Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission, Kentucky Natural Lands Trust, and Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources last spring to fight a deadly invasive species of pest in Bad Branch State Nature Preserve. The target is the hemlock woolly adelgid, which is infesting hemlock trees at an astounding rate and threatening the fragile hemlock-dominated ecosystems found in Kentucky’s mountains. The solution the group used for treatment was a Bayer CropScience insecticide and over 890 hours of tedious work by staff.
“This is an urgent and time-sensitive project. All hemlock trees are threatened by the hemlock woolly adelgid, an exotic insect which was accidentally introduced from a tree imported from Asia in the 1950’s. Once infested, more than 90 percent of hemlocks in any given stand are dead after 10 to 12 years. It is a crisis facing forests throughout the Appalachian Mountains,” says Kyle Napier, project leader with the Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission. Jeff Sole, Director of Conservation Programs for The Nature Conservancy of Kentucky explained, “Each infested tree must be treated individually by hand, which means an enormous expenditure of resources. The Nature Conservancy was fortunate that Bayer CropScience donated their very effective product to us. As a team we accomplished treatment to more than 14,000 trees at Bad Branch.”
“This was a great opportunity for two distinctly different organizations to collaborate for a common cause of protecting our environment,” said Jack Boyne, PhD, Director of Communications for Bayer CropScience. “Bayer CropScience’s continued dedication to innovation helps us keep on the leading edge of the non-agricultural pest control industry.”
According to the Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission report released in July, 14,218 hemlock trees of varied age and size classes were treated on 131 acres of the upper gorge at Bad Branch State Nature Preserve. The group applied a water-based solution into the soil around infected trees. The project requires a labor-intensive and time-consuming process due to limited access to the high-elevation and steep slopes. The solution will protect the trees from the pest for a period of 2 to 5 years. After that, the trees will require another treatment. That is part of the reason why the hemlock woolly adelgid is such a huge challenge and dangerous threat.
“Unfortunately, this treatment is not practical or economically sustainable on a large scale in a forest setting. But this mix of chemical treatment has been found to be very successful at saving a limited number of trees in special areas,” says Sole.
Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) trees densely populate shady, moist, acidic soils in temperate rainforests in the Southern Appalachians. The Bad Branch Nature Preserve contains over 2,500 acres of forested slopes surrounding several deep, rugged gorges on the south face of Pine Mountain in southeastern Letcher County. The Nature Conservancy retains ownership of 1,031 acres which protect the upper gorge of Bad Branch.
Approximately 448 acres of the property is a hemlock-dominated forest with a mixture of yellow birch, Fraser magnolia and tulip poplar. Much of this forest type was selectively logged during the early 1940’s; however several large groves still remains virtually untouched.
Bad Branch is open to the general public and contains a 7.5 mile hiking trail. Approximately 3 miles of preserve hiking trail is located on The Nature Conservancy portion of the preserve. The largest portion of the trail follows the stream corridor lined with hemlock trees. This 194-acre site was selected as a priority based on contributing factors including visitor safety, site accessibility, rare species, old-growth characteristics and stream quality and aesthetics.
Bad Branch, noted for its excellent water quality, flows south past hemlock- and rhododendron-lined banks to the Poor Fork of the Cumberland River at the mouth of the hollow. Because of its pristine condition the stream was designated as a state wild river in 1986. The cold mountain stream and the narrow, shaded gorges help maintain the necessary conditions to support a large assemblage of species more typical of northern climates or higher elevations. Among these rare species is the federally threatened blackside dace. Bad Branch is also one of the few streams that support a population of native brook trout in Kentucky. Loss of the hemlock trees in this area would cause changes in water temperatures in Bad Branch, making the stream unsuitable for these species.
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The mountains surrounding Bad Branch Nature Preserve. Photo © Lisa Morris/The Nature Conservancy
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The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.
Kentucky State Nature Preserve Commission’s mission is to protect Kentucky’s natural heritage by: (1) identifying, acquiring and managing natural areas that represent the best-known occurrences of rare native species, natural communities and significant natural features in a statewide nature preserve system; (2) working with others to protect biological diversity; and (3) educating Kentuckians about the value and purpose of nature preserves and biodiversity conservation. The commission inventories Kentucky for significant natural areas and protects the best examples in the statewide nature preserve system. More information about the commission can be obtained by mail (KSNPC, 801 Schenkel Lane, Frankfort, Ky. 40601-1403), by telephone (502-573-2886) or via Internet (www.naturepreserves.ky.gov).
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience AG, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales of about EUR 5.8 billion (2007), is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology. The company offers an outstanding range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of about 17,800 and is represented in more than 120 countries. Bayer, the Bayer Cross, and Merit are trademarks of Bayer.
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