Best Trail In Smokies to See HWA

Best Trail In Smokies to See HWA

== 2 of 5 ==
Date: Thurs, Jun 26 2008 4:19 am
From: michael matzko

Pete,

Unfortunatley you won't have any trouble seeing HWA. I personally am a huge fan of Porter's creek trail in the Greenbriar district outside of Gallinburg. Porters is about a 7 mile in and out Hike with a pretty sweet Old-growth about 1mile in. You will also get to see a fully healthy Hemlock grove and a fairly devasted one as well. Have fun!

Michael Matzko
Teacher/Naturalist
Great Smoky Mountains Instiitute at Tremont

== 3 of 5 ==
Date: Thurs, Jun 26 2008 7:23 am
From: James Parton

Pete,

Caldwell Fork in Cataloochee Valley. A large number of hemlock are
already dead there from HWA.

JP

== 4 of 5 ==
Date: Thurs, Jun 26 2008 8:05 am
From: Carolyn Summers

It is in NY. Where are you looking? The only live hemlocks in southeastern
NY are the ones in people's yards that are regularly sprayed. The fine old
growth stand in NYBG has been devastated. There is another TNC preserve in
northern Westchester, it was their very first, I believe, a hemlock ravine
with hemlocks still struggling against the adelgids. HWA have gone through
the Shawangunks into the Catskills and continue to move northward. There
seems to be no stopping them as the climate continues to warm.
--
Carolyn Summers

== 5 of 5 ==
Date: Thurs, Jun 26 2008 8:47 am
From: Elisa Campbell

According to Thom Kyker-Snowman, resource planner at the Quabbin
Reservoir in mid-state Massachusetts,
10 consecutive days of temperatures that never exceed 10 degrees F do
kill off a lot of HWA. However, we don't often have weather like that
anymore. Plus, each individual adelgid is capable of producing 300+
offspring *twice* per year (remember, they reproduce by parthenogensis -
they don't need to mate) so even when we have a significant winter
die-off they bounce back very quickly.

Elisa
Amherst MA

== 2 of 4 ==
Date: Fri, Jun 27 2008 9:09 am
From: Pete Allen

Thanks for the feedback. I will have to check these places out. I'm
from western New York and have not noticed HWA here ,Maybe I'm wrong.

== 3 of 4 ==
Date: Fri, Jun 27 2008 12:46 pm
From: Carolyn Summers

It may move along the coast northward faster, possibly with migrating birds,
before it can move inland. But I'm sure it's headed your way. You might
check with Cornell to see if it has arrived in Ithaca yet.
--
Carolyn Summers

== 4 of 4 ==
Date: Fri, Jun 27 2008 1:06 pm
From:

All,

The following link shows the distribution of HWA as of late February 2008 even though it is titled 2007:

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/hwa/maps/hwa_2007.jpg

hwa_2007.jpg (226187 bytes)

Regards,

Paul

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TOPIC: best trail in the Smokies
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/1e88ff7a5c67b743?hl=en
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Mon, Jun 30 2008 11:52 am
From: "Jess Riddle"

Pete,

In the Smokies, hemlock is one of the most common species on moist
sites at low to elevations, and the adelgid is abundant throughout the
park. Hence, it would be hard to visit the park without seeing
heavily impacted hemlocks. Perhaps the easiest place to see what the
adelgid has done to old-growth hemlock groves is along Highway 441
through the middle of the park. If you drive up 441 from Gatlinburg,
you'll pass through rich, second-growth hardwood forests, then into
mixed, old forests including many dead hemlocks, and finally old
yellow birch-red spruce forests as you approach the crest of the
Smokies. If you take the spur out to Clingmans Dome you'll also see
what the balsam woolly adelgid has done to the fraser fir stands, and
if you continue over the crest on 441 some of the overlooks provide
good views into the Deep Creek watershed with dead hemlocks scattered
over the slopes. you may also see a few green hemlocks near the road
that have been treated. Chimney Tops, Deep Creek, and Alum Cave
trails, all with trailheads on 441, could give you a closer look at
the adelgid damage, although the last one climbs above the hemlocks
fairly quickly.

Many other trails pass through extensive forests of old hemlocks. I
agree, Caldwell Fork is one of the best, and Rough Fork is another
good one in the Cataloochee area. In Greenbrier, both Ramsey Cascades
and Porters Creek offer good views of hemlocks, and closer to
Gatlinburg, Grotto Falls and Rainbow Falls trails pass by impressive
hemlocks. On all of those except Caldwell Fork and Grotto Falls, the
first mile to mile and a half of the trails pass through hardwood
dominated forests before reaching extensive areas of hemlock.

Around Syracuse, NY, I haven't seen any adelgid. I assume it will
take the adelgid several years to cross the Catskills, but the winters
in central NY aren't cold enough to provide long term protection.

Jess

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