WNC Communities

Hemlock Restoration Initiative (HRI): The objective of HRI is to restore eastern and Carolina hemlocks to their native habitats throughout North Carolina and to mitigate damage to hemlocks caused by infestation of the hemlock woolly adelgid. More specifically, the goal is to work with a variety of partners and current restoration initiatives to ensure that eastern and Carolina hemlocks can resist the deadly hemlock woolly adelgid and survive to maturity on North Carolinas public and private lands. This involves Identifying and establishing hemlock conservation areas, educating landowners on how to economically treat and manage the hemlocks, increasing the number of trees being treated on public lands, implementing Integrated Pest Management and long-term biological controls and advancing the development of other control strategies and restoration techniques. In 2022, over 21,200 trees were treated in 16 counties in WNC, over 1450 predator beetles were released, 28 outreach events, educational hikes, and presentations were given, 5 management workshops/demonstrations were provided and 899 volunteer hours were utilized to support the HRI program.