MUSKEGON, Mich. — There are an estimated 170 million eastern hemlock trees in Michigan. An invasive pest threatens to kill the entire population, so a task force has assembled to fight it.
Hemlock woolly adelgid, or HWA, first came to Michigan on a landscaping tree planted in 2006. When conservationists discovered it, they sprung into action.
"They tried to destroy it, but unfortunately, it was too late," says Emily Grasch, Executive Director of the Muskegon Conservation District.
Since then, its spread into counties up and down the lakeshore, including Ottawa, where the requests to remove HWA have piled up.
"They have a two year waiting list for treatments," says Grasch. "Some of those trees that are right on the edge, they need those treatments before two years."
That's why the Muskegon Conservation District is stepping in to help with a task force of its own.
"We're still planning on working with Ottawa Conservation District as well," explains Grasch. "Trying to team up with them, the goal is to treat as many trees as possible."
So how does that treatment work?
First, they drill holes into the infected trees before injecting them with a HWA killing chemical.
"It has a loaded air tank supply that we use," says Grasch. "And then we have a bottle of the chemical in here as well. And then from here we have a gun that has a little measurement and it's a loaded chemical on here."
The public's help is needed to identify trees that need treatment.
"If you look at the underside, and you look at the the needles, you'll see it's almost like dryer lint, little white balls," explains Grasch.
Because if the hemlock trees die out, it could severely hurt the lakeshore ecosystem, destroying habitats for everything from birds to fish.
"Without that shade from those trees, our temperatures are going to warm up in our streams and our trout and other cool fish are going to not do so well," says Grasch.
The new task force has an online app where you can report sightings of hemlock woolly adelgid. To use the app, click here.
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