HALETHORPE, Md. (AP) - Two state agencies are launching a multi-year effort to restore hemlock trees after massive losses caused by an invasive insect.
Officials of the departments of agriculture and natural resources are introducing the program Tuesday afternoon by helping plant 220 hemlocks in Patapsco Valley State Park near Halethorpe.
The Maryland Conservation Corps is joining the effort. The corps is a youth program geared toward natural resource management and park conservation projects.
The trees have been hurt by the hemlock wooly adelgid (ah-DELL’-jid). The insect is native to Japan but has spread along the East Coast since it was discovered in Virginia in 1951.
The agencies also plan to plant trees at Cunningham Falls State Park near Thurmont, and create habitat for beneficial insects at Big Run State Park near Swanton.
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