This winter season the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History, Jamestown Community College and Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy are teaming up to survey for Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) at a number of sites within Chautauqua County. The public is welcomed to join in the survey efforts and will receive on-site training encompassing general information about hemlock trees, the threat of HWA as well as the protocols utilized to survey for the invasive insect. The survey team will evaluate South Valley State Forest in Cattaraugus County, New York on February 13th from 1:00-5:00pm and Hatch Run Conservation Demonstration Area in Warren County, Pennsylvania on February 27th from 1:00-5:00pm. Prior to each survey, the group will be meeting in the RTPI parking lot (311 Curtis St., Jamestown, New York) at 12:30pm and will drive to each site from there. Anyone interested in joining should bundle up and be prepared to walk off trail in possibly deep snow. Early detection is the best way to prevent the spread of HWA, so help us in searching for this destructive invasive insect!
