Source: NC FOREST SERVICE, 2/11/21


While 2020 proved to be one of the most challenging years we have faced, it was also a year of opportunities and accomplishments for the N.C. Forest Service. COVID-19 brought much of the world and much of our lives to what seemed to be a hard stop, but it did not stop the men and women of the N.C. Forest Service from delivering programs and services that ensure our forest resources and forest products industry remain strong in North Carolina for generations to come. Much work was done in 2020 to prepare our forestry community for the challenges we’ll face in 2021 and beyond.

FOREST HEALTH
Forests are challenged by a variety of threats, both native and nonnative. The recent January 2021 Forest Health Note provides a snapshot of not only the challenges our forests face but also of the state of forestry in North Carolina. In the past 10 years, three nonnative invasive species were detected for the first time in the state: laurel wilt in 2011; thousand cankers disease of walnuts in 2012; and, emerald ash borer in 2013. Pests, such as hemlock woolly adelgid and gypsy moth, have impacted forests in the state for more than 20 years. Others, such as spotted lanternfly and Asian longhorned beetle, have been found in adjacent states and are being monitored closely in North Carolina.

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