April 24, 2023

Greetings from Laporte!

What do you get when you add together nearly 7600 CoreTect pellets + approximately 3800 inches of diameter from about 225 trees + nearly 40 volunteers + 7 hours of good weather + 48 donuts + about 10 yummy lunch choices? That’s a rather odd equation, so I’ll help you out. What you get is ONE awesome hemlock tree treating operation with ONE wonderful common denominator: LMA! Sarah Johnson (DCNR Forest Health Specialist) said she had never worked with such a large group of volunteers who were so energetic and amenable! Our LMA volunteers transitioned quickly from a large group of disparate individuals with little to no knowledge of how to accomplish our task to a coordinated unit of four teams who moved through the forest efficiently and effectively choosing, measuring, treating, marking, and recording data for affected hemlock trees. 

On behalf of the LMA Board of Trustees and the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Task Force, I want to thank Sarah, Ken Miller (HWA Task Force Chief), Dave Deckard (who negotiated a great price for the pellet order, delivered them, and served as a team leader), Christie Mann, Eileen Miller, Gerry Mann, and myself (cooks and food organizers), and the many volunteers who came together at the LMA Cottage on April 15 to begin our HWA treatment plan. After a light breakfast, we crowded into the cottage meeting area for a brief explanation and Q&A about the adelgid, its treatment options, and the reasons we selected the imidacloprid treatment found in CoreTect. 

Next, we went outside and gathered around one of the hemlocks near the picnic area, and Sarah explained how to measure, treat, and mark each tree. After that, we split into four teams, gathered our supplies, and headed off into the woods. Because Sarah had come on Friday also, she, Ken, Gerry, and I had already marked and measured some trees in the treatment area—which ultimately covered about 18 acres. This allowed treatment teams on Saturday to immediately begin the process of poking holes around the base of the targeted trees and inserting pellets into the soil. 

Here's a little more math for you. The number of pellets used to treat each tree is twice its diameter measured at breast height (4’ 6”). Most of the 200+ hemlocks treated on April 15 were on LMA property; we began at what we will call Rader’s cove, continued past both marinas on East Shore Drive, around the south shores of the Lake, and along the shoreline adjacent to Railroad Bed Lane. Some trees, approximately 60 treated along Railroad Bed Lane, were on private property. Those homeowners, many of whom were on our April 15 crew, signed on for spring treatment and are being charged per pellet that was used to treat trees on their property. Homeowners whose properties are in zones be treated in subsequent years who have agreed to allow the HWA Task Force to treat their area will be charged the market price of that year’s pellets. 

This has been a learning experience for all of us. We originally had no real concept of how many trees we could actually treat within a particular zone. A result of that gained knowledge and experience is that the Task Force has decided to use the remaining pellets from our initial order to continue moving around the lake shoreline—and to make an additional pellet order to accomplish that goal. Private owners around the lake who have already agreed to participate will be notified before we treat trees on their properties, but we hope to continue treatment on Memorial Day Weekend. 

Part of the reason we feel the need to make an additional CoreTect pellet order is that so many LMA members whose properties are not part of the three-year treatment area have contacted us about purchasing pellets. We are incredibly excited and encouraged by the prospect of a much wider treatment area than we had originally hoped. Given the strict regulations that control the amount of the chemical that may be used per acre per year, however, and the very specific instructions that need to be adhered to regarding choosing, measuring, treating, and marking trees, LMA will only take orders for pellets from home owners who will allow HWA Task Force members to treat the area with, or for, them. 

If you are interested in more information or in acquiring pellets to treat hemlocks on your property, please email LMA at lakemokomaprojects@gmail.com with your request. Task Force Members will get back to you as soon as possible with additional information.

I was so excited and grateful for the energy and camaraderie and cooperative spirit that pervaded the forests around Lake Mokoma on April 15. 

Hope to see you soon in this truly singular place. 

All the best,

Suzan