ORIGIN OF RESOLUTION:
Northeastern Area Association of State Foresters (NAASF) and the NASF Forest Health Protection Committee

ISSUE OF CONCERN:
Spread of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid.

BACKGROUND:
In the eastern United States, the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) infestations occur in 15 States from New Hampshire to Georgia. Many of these States have been experiencing an alarming increase in hemlock decline and mortality rates since 1992. State Foresters in newly infested states as well as non infested states bordering infestations are extremely concerned about the high risk of spread to their states and are looking for management recommendations to help "Slow the Spread" or advice on what actions to take when infestations are first detected. There are no native predators to control HWA populations, and at present, there are no practical insecticides available to protect hemlock forests. Several exotic predatory beetles with potential to control HWA, and entomopathogenic fungi, are at various stages of evaluation and development. Little information exists on how to help restore the function of affected ecosystems.

Eastern and Carolina hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis and Tsuga caroliniana) are an important part of many forest ecosystems. In many cases, they play an irreplaceable role in certain forest types and settings. Hemlocks are valued by recreational forest users as well. There are more than 270 cultivars of Eastern hemlock, making it one of the most cultivated landscape tree species.

In 2000, the NASF, NAASF and the Eastern and National Plant Boards approved resolutions requesting that the Forest Service and APHIS prepare a comprehensive plan addressing research, biological control and management of HWA; a plan that would address the concerns of the State Foresters and State Plant Regulatory Officials. NASF urged the Forest Service to seek increases in its Forest Health Management and Research budgets to implement the plan.

The NASF commends the Forest Service for their efforts in preparing a hemlock woolly adelgid strategic plan and organizing a steering committee made up of representatives from the Forest Service, APHIS, state forestry and state plant regulatory agencies. The NASF also wants to commend the Forest Service for allocating resources to begin implementation of the plan. In 2003 the Forest Health Management program provided significant funding for biocontrol, management, information transfer, and technology development activities, while Research and Development provided partial funding for supporting research.

The NASF recognizes an on-going need to continue the current level of commitment to evaluate and implement methods to manage HWA populations, slow HWA spread, reduce the potential for short- and long-range spread of this non-native pest, and to rehabilitate and restore hemlock ecosystems affected by this pest. There is also an urgency to allocate funds specifically to implement the research component of the HWA plan.

RESOLUTION:
The National Association of State Foresters wishes to commend the USDA Forest Service for the quick action that the agency has taken to date to address the HWA situation, and to urge the agency to support and implement the HWA initiative in Federal fiscal year 2004. Specifically the NASF urges the Forest Service to:

• Maintain and increase as needed the current level of support from the Forest Health Management program to support the biocontrol, technology development, detection and monitoring, information transfer, management and other related aspects of the plan;
• Encourage the Forest Service to include, in the development of the annual HWA work plan, provisions for rapidly responding to initial detections of small infestations in newly infested states; and
• Allocate resources within the Research budget for support of the research and development activities needed to support implementation of the HWA initiative in FY 2004.

NASF ACTION:
(X) Approved

DATE OF ACTION:
Sept. 17, 2003