Hemlock Conservation Areas

Key stands of Hemlocks on public land (national forests, state parks, recreation areas, etc.) are being treated with carefully managed programs of chemical and/or biological controls. The treatment plan adopted by the U.S. Forest Service (shown in the map and chart below) is officially called 'Alternative 4, Modified Proposed Action'. This alternative uses releases of predator beetles that eat Hemlock woolly adelgids to establish long-term population control and Imidacloprid treatment to maintain genetic reserves of Hemlocks in 144 USFS-designated Hemlock Conservation Areas covering 19,710 acres. Here is information from the Environmental Assessment 2005: Conservation of the Eastern Hemlock by Suppression of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Infestations in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests performed by the U. S. Forest Service.

"Under this plan, first priority areas are: (1) the genetic conservation network; (2) habitat for PETS and locally rare species; and (3) foreground area along the Appalachian Trail within the mapped treatment area at Three Forks on the Toccoa Ranger District." PETS is an acronym for Proposed, Endangered, and Threatened Species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and also includes species on the Regional Forester's Sensitive species list.

"Identification of PETS and locally rare species habitat or AT foreground as first priority does not automatically mean that the conservation design will be altered in those situations to treat more or different area than described in the alternative description. However, real-time, site-specific information in these situations will be considered under the new information or changed conditions procedure for NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act of 1969)implementation."

"Remaining areas are identified as second level priorities.  These are of some degree of importance but are not necessary to a genetic conservation design nor needed as habitat for species of special concern: (1) scenic viewsheds from public viewpoints, (2) potential old growth, (3) dispersed recreation areas, and (4) private land viewsheds."

Click here for the full text of the Environmental Assessment (August 2005) on which the treatment plan in Georgia is based and the Decision Notice (August 2005) explaining the rationale for selecting Alternative 4 as the preferred treatment method.  Note that an updated Environmental Assessment (August 2010) has been published for the Pisgah National Forest and the Nantahala National Forest.  An Implementation and Status of Biological Control of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid was published in December 2011.

The maps below show the original Hemlock Conservation Areas in Georgia being (or to be) treated, and the chart that follows indicates the original name, treatment method(s), and number of acres for each.  You may click on each map for a larger image.  NEWS:  Click here for a new HCA map and list of HCAs prepared in March 2020 by Gregg Slezak, USFS Zoned District Silvliculturalist for Blue Ridge & Chattooga River Districts.

Map - Treatment Methods

Map - Treatment Areas

Details - Treatment Areas & Methods

Note: In the chart below, Forest Types are 4 = white pine - hemlock, 5 = hemlock, 8 = hemlock - hardwood, and 41 = cove hardwood - white pine - hemlock. As we receive additional names for the various HCAs, we'll add them to this chart.