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As we sat on the rocks along North Creek after a morning of birding, Michael and I used our binoculars to look at the tiny fish wiggling nearby.
One had bright yellow fins, like some exotic fish you might see on a coral reef; another a long black stripe. I am clueless when it comes to fish species, but I know beauty when I see it.
A breeding bird survey Michael is doing for the U.S. Geological Survey is taking us through trout fishing territory along North Creek and Jennings Creek in Botetourt County off the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Several new scientific discoveries give hope that eastern hemlocks will not go the way of chestnut, elm and ash trees and largely disappear from forests in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Hemlocks are one of the most prevalent, longest-living, beautiful and ecologically vital trees in Appalachian forests. Sometimes called the redwoods of the East, they can take 250â300 years to mature and live more than 800 years.
They also have a long history with humans. Native Americans used hemlocks for medicines. Settlers used the tips of branches for tea and as a dye for wool and cotton. The mountains of Pennsylvania have ghost towns where leather factories sprung up to receive the tannin from hemlock bark to turn animal skins into leather. The treesâ intense shade cools streams and supports fish habitat. And many homeowners still want hemlocks in their landscaping tableaux.