To combat the spread, DEC has entered into a public-private partnership to launch a pilot program that will use satellite imagery to detect the species early on, which will allow ground crews to be deployed to areas of the Lake George basin that may be infected by hemlock woolly adelgid.  

The $125,000 program was made possible through a partnership with The Fund for Lake George, the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program, Lake George Land Conservancy, City University of New York’s Advanced Science Research Center, Cornell’s New York State Hemlock Initiative, U.S. Forest Service and Adirondack Research.

“This is an all hands on deck … effort to save our Lake George hemlocks,” said Eric Siy, executive director of The Fund for Lake George.

The program is part of the “Save Our Lake George Hemlock Initiative” and will be rolled out in four stages over the next couple of months. Crews have already started the program’s first phase, which is detection, and plan to begin treating infected trees in the coming weeks under the program’s second phase. 

During the program’s third phase, surveillance crews will examine satellite imagery to detect changes in hemlock trees. From there, ground crews will be deployed to inspect any troubled areas, and insecticides will be deployed to kill any infestations that are found.