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The eastern hemlock is a familiar and important tree species throughout the
state of Maryland. Common in the western part of the state, stands of hemlock
trees are usually found amongst deciduous old growth tree stands on north-facing
slopes. Hemlocks become rarer as you head east, found only in small pockets on
the coastal plain. These pockets are remnants from a far-distant time just after
the last ice age, when the climate was much colder and hemlocks thrived all over
the state.
Unfortunately, all hemlocks in Maryland are under attack by an
introduced insect, the hemlock woolly adelgid, which infests and destroys entire
stands of trees. The adelgid feeds on the sap of the hemlock, causing
defoliation and eventual death. The only way to prevent the death of the tree is
to inject an insecticide into the trunk of each individual tree, or the ground
immediately below it. The Landowner Incentive Program is funding this control of
hemlock woolly adelgid to benefit stands of hemlock on private land across the
state. Projects are underway in Harford, Calvert, Washington, and Caroline
counties. |
Wherever
they are found, hemlocks play an essential role in providing shade and cover for
aquatic and terrestrial species. Hemlocks provide the shade conditions necessary
for rare plants like the climbing fern, and forest-dwelling birds like the
Blackburnian warbler. They also shade streams and filter runoff, allowing
aquatic species like the green floater mussel and the brook trout to thrive.