Vanishing Pieces: Wildlife habitat

In the American Tree Farm System’s fifth installment of our Vanishing Pieces of the Puzzle series, they explore wildlife and wildlife habitat. Woodlands provide shelter, nest sites and food for thousands of species. Families and individuals, which make up the largest forest ownership group, are a critical piece to ensuring this habitat remains intact.

There are real threats that must be overcome to protect this habitat: natural weather disasters, invasive diseases, insects and more. Many of these threats know no boundaries and must be addressed at the landscape level.

A great example of this community-style approach is a Tree Farming couple from Pennsylvania who have taken the lead in their community to encourage others to begin actively managing their land. They have developed agreements with neighbors to combat invasive plant species, and have established partnerships for hunting and improving wildlife among bordering properties.

How can you bring together neighbors or members of the community to have a greater impact in your area?

• Host a group of neighbors on your land to share some of your management practices and knowledge.

• Get involved with your local state Tree Farm committee, woodland owner association, or Extension office and help host events and field days for other landowners.

•Discuss goals for your woodland with neighboring landowners and see if there are opportunities to be more efficient (sharing equipment or buying in bulk) in your land management activities.

Tennessee Team Earns Top Honors at National 4-H Forestry Invitational

Tennessee placed first among 14 state teams that competed in the 36^th annual National   4-H Forestry Invitational from Sunday, July 26, through Thursday, July 30. Teams from New York and Alabama placed second and third, respectively. Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia were also represented at this year’s Invitational.

The invitational was held at West Virginia University Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Camp and Conference Center near Weston, West Virginia. The event is sponsored by Farm Credit System, Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Inc., Society of American Foresters, West Virginia University Extension Service, USDA Forest Service State and Private Southern Region, Southern Region Extension Forestry, American Forest Foundation, and Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals.

While at the Invitational 4-H members competed for overall team and individual awards in several categories. Events included tree identification, tree measurement, compass and pacing, insect and disease identification, topographic map use, forest evaluation, the forestry bowl and a written forestry exam.

Tennessee was represented by Emily Palacios and Julia Palacios both from Thompson’s Station and Rebekah Meese from Columbia. The team was coached by Laura Palacios from Thompson’s Station.

Julia Palacios from Tennessee received the high point individual award. Second place high individual award was given to Rosanne Mow from New York and third place high individual award was given to Tim Caswell from Florida.

The Joe Yeager “Spirit of the Invitational” award was given to Devin Hipp from South Carolina.  This award recognizes an outstanding 4-H contestant at the Invitational. It is presented to the individual who takes initiative, is enthusiastic, and is eager to lead academic and social situations.

4-H is a youth education program operated by the Cooperative Extension Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the state

land grant universities. More than six million youth, 540,000 volunteers, and 3,500 professionals participate in 4-H nationwide, and nearly 100,000 are part of the 4-H Forestry Program.

For more information on the National 4-H Forestry Invitational, go to: http://4hforestryinvitational.org/.

Yellow poplar weevil makes presence known in Pennsylvania, mid-Atlantic

Adult yellow poplar weevil shown with feeding injury.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Many residents in Pennsylvania and neighboring states are getting "ticked" about an insect that has made its presence known in a big way this spring and summer. But this bug is not a species of eight-legged arthropod known to carry Lyme disease and other pathogens.

 

It's the yellow poplar weevil, a small (about 3 millimeters long), black snout beetle that has been seen in large numbers crawling on vehicles and other surfaces, including plants in landscapes and in ornamental nurseries. Some people have mistaken these weevils for ticks because they count the insects' pair of antennae as a "fourth pair" of legs. However, yellow poplar weevil is harmless to people.

 

There has been a widespread spike in the population of this native insect in Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, according to Gregory Hoover, ornamental extension entomologist in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. "The level of this year's outbreak has not been seen since 1968," he said.

 

"The yellow poplar weevil overwinters as an adult in the leaf litter," Hoover said. "When the weather warms in the spring, adults emerge and may feed on the swelling host plant buds. Mating and egg laying occur from May to early June."

 

He noted that eggs are laid in the midrib on the lower leaf surface of the host, and newly hatched larvae bore into the leaf tissue to feed as leafminers. There may be from one to 19 larvae that develop in one leaf mine blotch.

 

Blotched leaf caused by weevil larva.

"The larval stage of the yellow poplar weevil may mine the foliage of tuliptree or yellow poplar, magnolia and sassafras," he said. "Larvae undergo the molt into the pupal stage in the leaf mine. Adults start to emerge in southern Pennsylvania during mid- to late June. Adults have a snout with chewing mouthparts that they use to feed on host plant tissue and may cause the most foliar damage to the host plant."

 

Hoover explained that premature leaf drop may occur on damaged tuliptree or yellow poplar foliage during drought conditions. By mid-July, he said, most adults enter a period of inactivity and will enter the leaf litter to overwinter. This species has one generation each year.

 

"If indicated, yellow poplar weevil adults may be managed with registered insecticide formulations containing the active ingredients bifenthrin or carbaryl that should be applied in late June to early July according to all label directions," advised Hoover. He is attempting to document the geographic distribution of the weevil outbreak.

 

"I'd like to know where in Pennsylvania -- besides the counties of Allegheny, Centre, Cumberland, Franklin, Indiana, Somerset and Westmoreland -- the yellow poplar weevil has been abundant in the past few weeks," he said. Residents can report infestations to Hoover via email at gah10@psu.edu.

Public invited to workshop on improving land for plants and wildlife

Anyone interested in improving their land for the benefit of flora and fauna will not want to miss the third in the “Woods in Your Backyard” series of programs to be held in the State College area. Woods in Your Backyard: Seeing Your Land – Envisioning its Future will be held Saturday, August 29 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at Chicory Lane Farm in Spring Mills, Pa., and will include information, discussion, and tours of conservation and habitat improvement projects in old fields, woods, and wetlands.

Jim Finley, Ibberson Professor of Forest Resources Management and Director of the Center for Private Forests at Penn State, will frame the day's program by helping participants look at their land for the values they find important - why they own and love their land. Jim states, “Too often discussions between landowners and resource professionals start with objectives; that is, what do they want to do? How do they want to shape the land? These are complex questions and really secondary to understanding what is important to them about their land, how they use it, and what they want for tomorrow.” Jim's presentation will focus on helping landowners think about and articulate their relationship to the land.

The morning session will emphasize understanding your land by seeing key features of different areas. The afternoon session will focus on envisioning future possibilities through in-depth discussions with natural resource professionals from various agencies at different locations across the property. Relationships between plants and wildlife in the landscape will be illustrated and explained. This workshop will be conducted in a “walking-and-talking” instead of “sitting-and-listening” style.
 

The program is sponsored by Penn State Extension, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and ClearWater Conservancy with additional support from: Center for Private Forests at Penn State, DCNR Bureau of Forestry, Centre County Conservation District, Wildlife Management Institute, Pennsylvania Game Commission, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Penns Valley Conservation Association.

Topics include: Developing cool and warm-season grasslands, establishing  native wildflower meadows, identifying and controlling invasive plants, vernal pools and wetlands for wildlife, managing streamside and early successional habitats for wildlife, planting a new hardwood forest, landscaping with native plants, and tree and shrub identification.

The workshop uses the manual “The Woods in Your Backyard: Learning to Create and Enhance Natural Areas Around Your Home.” All participants will receive the full-color, 139-page manual. This self-directed
book will guide you through the process of developing and implementing projects to enhance your land’s natural resources.

There are two ways to register for this workshop:  Online with any major credit card by clicking here or call the Penn State Extension-Centre County office at 814-355-4897 to register over the phone. The fee for attending the workshop is $15 per person (includes lunch and educational materials). Pre-registration is required by Monday, August 24.  Space is limited so register early.