April 10, 2007  by Lyndon Sidelinger

"If left unchecked, it has the potential to kill off most of the native
hemlocks in the Southern Appalachians," said Alan Polk, District Ranger
for the Brasstown Ranger District. To fight this threat to the Hemlocks,
the Young Harris College Beetle Laboratory was established in July 2005
under the direction of Dr. Paul Arnold, Biology Professor. “Beetles from
the Young Harris lab were released on National Forest lands at Soapstone
Creek in Towns County on March 15, 2006. These were the first beetles
raised by a facility in Georgia. Since then, we have released around
40,000 adult beetles and 30,000 eggs into the field. Released primarily on
USFS land in both Towns & Union counties, for the first time last week,
we released beetles in Fannin county.” says Paul Arnold. “We are
working on a new beetle lab and plan to move in by mid summer of 2007.
I am thankful for the many individuals and organizations that have
donated funds and their time to this project.” To get involved and
volunteer, please contact Paul Arnold via email at ptarnold@yhc.edu
For more information on the Wooly Adelgid: www.fs.fed.
us/conf/press/20060327-bt-hwa-trtmnt.htm