Source: Fred P. Hain, NEWS & OBSERVER, 10/16/19


In N.C., the American chestnut, once dominant in the Appalachians, was lost 80 years ago to the chestnut blight. We are now losing hemlock to the hemlock woolly adelgid. Emerald ash borer has invaded the state and has already killed millions of ash trees to our north. Fraser fir stands, and the Christmas industry, are being threatened by the balsam woolly adelgid. In eastern NC, laurel wilt disease is killing redbay and sassafras trees, which has already wiped out half a billion redbay trees further south. These are just a few examples of invasive, exotic forest pests threatening the health of our forests.

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