To help save the Hemlocks from the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA), the US Forest Service is releasing small Sasiscymnus tsugae (Sasi) beetles in specific areas of the Chattahoochee National Forest. These Japanese beetles are natural predators of the HWA. As one of our on-the-ground habitat conservation efforts, Atlanta Audubon Society volunteers are collecting data for Clemson University researchers on Hemlock trees in Cooper Creek and Mulkey Gap in the Chattahoochee National Forest in Union County. AAS Volunteers are doing photo monitoring of beetle release sites to help researchers understand the impact of the Sasi beetles on the HWA and the corresponding impact on the Hemlocks. The Chattahoochee National Forest is also one of our Georgia Important Bird Areas (IBA). While we are doing photo monitoring for Clemson, AAS volunteers will also be collecting data on priority bird species for the IBA program.

If you have property in North Georgia and see evidence of the HWA, i.e., white egg casings on the bottom of your Hemlock branches, refer to the Lumpkin Coalition’s website on what you can do.