“Crews moving quickly on Dome Island to eradicate invasive insect,” The Post Star

“Crews moving quickly on Dome Island to eradicate invasive insect,” The Post Star

“Crews moving quickly on Dome Island to eradicate invasive insect,” The Post Star

Chad Arnold, October 31, 2020

The Nature Conservancy next week will begin treating a number of trees on Dome Island infested with hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive species that threatens around 80% of the trees in the Lake George basin.

The insect was first identified on a handful of trees on the protected island’s south end during an Oct. 8 survey led by Mark Whitmore, an entomologist with Cornell University’s New York State Hemlock Initiative.

After consulting with a number of regional partners, including the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program and the Lake George Land Conservancy, the Nature Conservancy decided to begin treating the infected trees in order to preserve the character of the island and prevent the invasive insect from spreading further.

“The Nature Conservancy is moving quickly on Dome Island to act before spring, when birds most often carry hemlock woolly adelgid crawlers and could further spread this infestation around the lake,” Peg Olsen, director of the Nature Conservancy in the Adirondacks, said in a statement.

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