Blue Ridge Land Conservancy

Eastern hemlocks are an important tree species of many of the forests we work to protect, providing cool, shaded habitat for wildlife, safeguarding streams, and adding beauty to our Appalachian landscapes. Unfortunately, the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid continues to threaten these iconic trees.

Our colleagues at the Lingering Hemlock Project are working to identify and breed naturally resistant hemlocks, offering hope for the future of this important species.

If you have eastern hemlocks on your property or care about protecting this tree species, we encourage you to learn more about their work, follow their page, and see how you can help conserve eastern hemlocks for generations to come.

The Lingering Hemlock Project aims to support resistance breeding in hemlock trees for long-term control against hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA).
This project is a subset of Tree Species in Peril, a project to further the development of pest-resistant native northeastern tree species at risk from invasive pests. The Lingering Hemlock Project focuses specifically on locating and breeding resistant hemlock trees.
Hemlocks are important trees in eastern North America, creating unique forest conditions because of their densely branching twigs and roots. Many have already been lost to HWA and other pests, but there is still hope to save them.
The Lingering Hemlock Project is a coalition of academic institutions, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Each partner in the coalition plays a different role in the development of HWA-resistant hemlock trees, an ambitious but promising goal. Follow the link in our bio to learn more about this project and how you can become involved!

Contact your state legislators TODAY and ask them to vote YES on Gov. Spanberger’s amendment to include Oak Hill as a new state park in next year’s budget.

[https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/]

Speak up now--help make Oak Hill, home of James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States, Virginia's next state park!

Email Gov. Spanberger at [email protected] and ask her to amend HB30 (the budget bill) to:

* authorize the creation of a new Virginia State Park at Oak Hill
* authorize the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to acquire the property using already secured federal grants and existing non-General Funds from the State Park Acquisition and Development Fund.

Fast facts:

* Leaving Oak Hill out of the budget doesn't save Virginia money. It forfeits $11 million in federal and private funds that have already been awarded or raised to make Oak Hill a state park.

* Oak Hill is the only privately-held home of a Founding Father still standing. Let's make it a state park to guarantee access for all Virginians and ensure the 1,200 -acre property is cared for. The owners have turned down offers from private developers because they want to see Oak Hill be a state park. Let's make this happen!

Again--e-mail Gov. Spanberger at [email protected] today!