A nasty tiny insect is sucking the life out the state tree, the Eastern hemlock, hitting iconic trees at the Flight 93 crash site, Cook Forest, Fallingwater and one of the wildest landscapes close to Pittsburgh — the Buffalo Valley watershed in Buffalo Township. Known as the woolly adelgid, this
Gypsy moth spraying has begun on over 200,000 acres of state land
Updated 10:28 AM;
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Aerial spraying of woodlands against impending outbreaks of the gypsy moth has begun across Pennsylvania.
A total of 203,569 acres at 146 sites will be sprayed through an effort led by the Bureau of Forestry in the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Those sites will include 9 state forests, 9 state parks, 25 state game lands and sections of the Allegheny National Forest in 19 counties.
“As the insects emerge and begin feeding, the suppression effort will begin in early May,” said Cindy Adams Dunn, DCNR secretary. “Our recent cool, wet springs had emerged as an enemy of the gypsy moth in years past, but populations have climbed in some areas to a point where aerial spraying is needed to keep this invasive pest in check and protect the trees from defoliation.”