TREPA

— John Sollows

Ron Neville of Canada Food Inspection Agency, who gave April’s talk on this serious pest, gave me contacts for Donne McPhee, when I asked about banking seed.

Ron advised that the seed bank in Frederiction is at the Canadian Forest Service Atlantic office in Fredericton and there are some plans in the works to enhance the locations of where seed has been collected.

Natural Resources Canada
National Tree Seed Centre
1350 Regent Street
Fredericton, NB E3C 2G6

Donnie McPhee
National Tree Seed Centre
506.452.3289
Email: donnie.mcphee@canada.ca

http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/forests/research-centres/afc/13449

I have contacted Donnie, who advises as follows:

“Viable Hemlock seed cannot be picked until they ripen on the tree. Historically for NS we are looking at early to mid Oct. Seed collected before it is ripe results in low vigor, low quality seed.

“What can be done starting early July is forecasting if and where good seed crops are located.
To do this you are looking for small green cones at the tips of new shoots.

“There is a lot of interest is the preservation of seed of eastern hemlock due to HWA. We want to make sure we get collections from across its range in order to preserve any genetic diversity the remains in the natural forest.

“Please let us know what you are seeing out there regarding a cone crop. So that we can coordinate what is being collected and making sure energy and resources are being put in the right areas.

“Currently we do not have collections from South western NS so this is a priority area to collaborate collections from!
“We will be updating out website to include a section on Hemlock but for now the principles would be similar to those for ash collections.

http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/forests/research-centres/afc/13449#collection”

This in from Karen McKendry of Nova Scotia Nature Trust. Sounds useful and fun:

Hello fellow birders! Karen McKendry here, conservation biologist with the Nova Scotia Nature Trust. If you are looking to support bird conservation even more in the province, please consider sharing your excellent birding skills with our volunteer program that relies on birders, called Bird’s Eye View…

The Nature Trust is seeking experienced birders to join one of our field-based volunteer programs, called Bird’s Eye View. These volunteers are asked to visit one or more of our Conservation Lands (there are now 91, found all over Nova Scotia), identify birds, create bird lists, then share them with us via eBird. This helps inform us of important areas for birds on our Conservation Lands, and is a vital part of caring for our protected lands. Occasionally, volunteers are selected to visit properties being considered for protection, and help to gather some of the first biological data collected for these sites.

Bird’s Eye View volunteers are part of the Nature Trust’s official network of volunteer supporters, and as such they receive an orientation to the organization, support from staff, and recognition for the valuable work that they do.

Make your bird lists count by joining the Bird’s Eye View program this spring! Contact karen@nsnt.ca to find out more or to apply to be a volunteer.

Karen McKendry
Conservation Coordinator
Nova Scotia Nature Trust

A TREPA-RBC roadside garbage clean-up will start at 6 P. M. May 22. Meet at the Wesleyan Church Parking Lot, corner of Forest and Haley Road, and work toward the Petrocan Station. Refreshments available!

Many hands make light work. Bring a friend!

— John Sollows

On Tuesday, April 10. Ron Neville of Canada Food Inspection Agency gave us a very enlightening talk of the threat to hemlocks posed by the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid.

In a nutshell, our hemlocks are in serious trouble.

In the U.S., introductions of predators, use of insecticides, thinning, and cuts of affected trees have been tried with varying effect. Regulations prevent some of those approaches in Canada. The threats posed by introduced species of any sort are unpredictable. Pesticides carry their own risk and would require very careful application, in any case. And these little bugs are easily transportable.

I want to raise the idea of collecting hemlock seeds. When I raised the idea with Ron, he seemed positive to the idea, and has shared some information as to how to proceed:

“It is at the Canadian Forest Service Atlantic office in Fredericton and there are some plans in the works to enhance the locations of where seed has been collected. If your group is interested in getting involved, perhaps you could contact them?

“The contact there is Donnie McPhee

Natural Resources Canada
National Tree Seed Centre
1350 Regent Street
Fredericton, NB E3C 2G6

Donnie McPhee
National Tree Seed Centre
506.452.3289
Email: donnie.mcphee@canada.ca

http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/forests/research-centres/afc/13449”

So, anyone interested in saving hemlock seeds is advised to contact Donnie McPhee, as detailed above.