MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI – A Lake Michigan park that’s heavily infested with a deadly pest that’s killing its hemlock trees will get some treatment this fall.
The city of Norton Shores has arranged for treatment of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid at a small portion of its Lake Harbor Park.
Trees in a 28-acre section of the park’s southernmost end will be treated in September, said Keith Hogan, an arborist with Bartlett Tree Experts, which has been contracted by the city to do the work.
Treatment will involve injection of insecticide into the trunks of “hundreds” of trees, Hogan said.
The tiny bug has moved aggressively into West Michigan, literally sucking the life out of the majestic evergreens.
“It’s pretty advanced in that park,” Hogan said. “The worst of the trees, where it’s the heaviest and where the trees most imminently are going to die is on the south side of the park in the section closest to Mona Lake Channel.”
The city agreed to spend $28,650 this year on HWA treatment. It intends to spend $30,000 next year to treat another 39 acres on the northern end of the park.
There are “large sections” of hemlock in the middle of the park that aren’t included in treatment plans, Hogan said. The park is about 200 acres and treatment is planned in areas with hiking trails.
“What we’re working on right now is the areas where there’s the most public interaction,” Hogan said.
Part of the reason for that is the fact the bug can easily hitch a ride on passing hikers and move on to infest more trees, said Norton Shores City Administrator Mark Meyers.
Related: Tiny pest threatening to decimate Michigan’s hemlock forests along Lake Michigan
Since the current infestation in Michigan began about seven years ago, the hemlock woolly adelgid has spread quickly and threatens to decimate the state’s estimated 170 million eastern hemlock trees – just like it did in the eastern United States.
Hogan said he’s seeing infestations in Olive Township and Grand Haven in Ottawa County that he hadn’t seen a year ago.
“It spreads so fast,” Hogan said. “It’s everywhere – all along the lakeshore.”
A co-worker of Hogan’s first discovered HWA in Fennville in 2013. Since then, the bug has moved as far north as Ludington.
“I feel like all I do is hemlocks,” Hogan said. “It’s been my life lately. It’s been fairly overwhelming.”
The bugs aren’t very noticeable, but their egg sacs are especially visible in the spring. The tiny white, cottony balls cling to the needles of hemlocks.
Without treatment, death is all but certain within about five years for an infected tree, and trees are dying at Lake Harbor Park.
But the good news is that even fairly heavily infested trees can recover, Hogan said.
He said he’s seen trees that are half defoliated by HWA recover to be “gorgeous trees again” after treatment.
“It’s definitely not a death sentence if you’re aware of it and do something about it,” Hogan said.
Norton Shores officials were alerted to the infestation at Lake Harbor Park by the neighboring Forest Glen condominium subdivision.
An arborist hired by the condo association first discovered HWA at the subdivision in 2020. Condo owners there have pooled their resources to treat hemlocks in common areas there.
State officials are racing to prevent the pest from moving north along Lake Michigan and turning coastal forests into the barren images of those in the Appalachians and Eastern seaboard where HWA has claimed hundreds of thousands of eastern hemlocks.
If they fail to act, officials say the ecology of the forests will be disrupted. The eastern hemlocks provide important overwintering habitat for deer and birds and regulate cold water streams that they line.
Dunes stripped of hemlocks, which comprise 80% of their trees, could be stabilized and even become tinder boxes for devastating fires.
The State of Michigan has been aggressively treating HWA at Lake Michigan parks.
All of the trees at Holland State Park, one of eight state parks that have suffered infestations, have been treated and the state has been working for years to treat all the hemlocks at P.J. Hoffmaster State Park located just south of Lake Harbor Park in Norton Shores.
Among other impacted state parks are Silver Lake, Muskegon, Duck Lake, and Ludington.
Elsewhere, government and nonprofit organizations, and even a civilian conservation corps, are working to identify and map hemlock infestations.
Homeowners also are being encouraged to be vigilant about infestations on their properties.
The idea is to try to contain HWA – but eliminating it is unlikely, Hogan said.
“If the goal is eradication out of Michigan, unfortunately I think we’re losing the battle,” he said. “It’s so widespread you basically need to treat every single hemlock in Western Michigan at this point.”
Treatment can last between three and 10 years before it has to be re-applied.
Because of heavy infestation and the fact there will be untreated trees at Lake Harbor, treatment there probably will last for about three years before it needs to be reapplied, Hogan said.
“It is one of the most awesome parks,” he said. “I’m really happy to see everyone caring about it.”
Below is a contact list for additional Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) information and support:
· Landowners are encouraged to seek help identifying and treating HWA on their property. Those seeking advice and surveys can call Drew Rayner at 517-231-8763 or email him at raynerd1@michigan.gov.
· The Ottawa County Conservation District is very active in combatting HWA. It can be contacted via email at ottawacd@macd.org, through its website, or by calling (616) 842-5852 ext. 5.
· Anyone who believes they’ve found a suspected HWA infestation can report the information through the Midwest Invasive Species Information Network, by sending an email to MDA-info@michigan.gov, or by calling the MDARD customer service center at 800-292-3939. Authorities said those making reports should note the location of the trees suspected to be infested, along with taking one or two photographs, but not collect any samples to avoid spreading the pest.
· The state has a comprehensive website, savemihemlocks.org, where additional information and resources can be found. More details about the state’s efforts to combat HWA can be found at www.michigan.gov/HWA.
Also on MLive:
New double red flags mean no swimming at Grand Haven State Park and, soon, other beaches
Scientists list monarch butterflies as endangered species
Planned closure of coal-fired power plant sparks lawsuits between utilities