The Crossville Division of Forestry office has been awarded a 2020 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards.
“Tennesseans continue to show their commitment to the environment in innovative ways, and we want to recognize their outstanding efforts,” Governor Bill Lee said. “These awards show that responsible environmental stewardship is happening across our state.”
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry created a Strike Team over 18 years ago to solve the problem of the Hemlock Woolly adelgid (HWA). It is a non-native invasive insect causing extensive mortality and decline in the Eastern and Carolina Hemlock across Tennessee. Over the past six years, the HWA Strike Team has been staffed by three to six seasonal personnel.
Due to the tremendous success of the Strike Team’s approach, a full time Strike Team coordinator was hired in 2019. That person oversees the continuity of operations and provide planning and administrative support to the seasonal team. The team has treated over 53,800 hemlocks over 4,500 acres and facilitated the release of over 10,000 predator beetles. They were reared by the Lindsay Young Beneficial Insect Laboratory at the University of Tennessee as well as hosted dozens of workshops to private landowners about the importance of hemlocks.
The awards are in the 34th year.
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