Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Mike Davis to discuss “Today’s Topic.” Our N.C. Forest Service creates a report each year outlining the status of forestry resources in the state. Around 61 percent or 18.7 million acres of the state’s land area is forested. Of that 2.9 million is … Read more
“The project was very complex and difficult.” That’s just part of the way Robert Trickel with the N.C. Forest Service described a project that prompted a recent award for 41 Forest Service employees. Their success in rising to the challenge earned them the NCDA&CS Excellence in Team Accomplishment Award. After the nomination and selection process, … Read more
N.C. Forest Service Nursery & Tree Improvement Program makes hemlock seedlings available to the public. In 1995, the hemlock woolly adelgid was found in North Carolina for the first time. Although tiny, this invasive insect can kill a massive hemlock in four to ten years. The devastation caused by the hemlock woolly adelgid is hard … Read more
The N.C. Forest Service Nursery and Tree Improvement Program grew both Eastern and Carolina hemlock for the first time at the Linville River Nursery in 2018 as part of a test program. Having never grown hemlock seedlings, nursery managers wanted the opportunity to see if the imperiled trees would grow well at the mountain nursery … Read more
Nestled in Cary, Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve is home to an isolated population of more than 200 eastern hemlock trees. Hemlocks, primarily found in the mountains, are long-lived evergreens prized in nature for their vital role in the ecosystem and valued in landscapes for their graceful appearance and response to pruning. Remnants from an era … Read more
The Hemlock Restoration Initiative brings hope to hemlock’s future For years, the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid has slowly but surely eaten away at the native hemlocks gracing our state’s beautiful mountain landscapes. Many of these once stunning and elegant trees are now gray ghosts, killed by an insect not much larger than the period at … Read more
The distinctive forests of Western N.C. are prized and enjoyed by many. Evidenced by the fact that Great Smoky Mountains National Park boasts the most visitors of all National Parks, visitors flock to the area to take in mountainous vistas or navigate trails winding through forests and past waterfalls. The area truly is a gem for … Read more
