If you’re walking the mowed paths of the West Meadow at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center, you may notice a few Trail Closure signs. These signs have been added because Maine Audubon is experiencing a change among the trees that many other places in the country are also seeing. As visitors and readers of our various […]
Emerald Ash Borer
Preparing for the Emerald Ash Borer: Announcing our spring webinar series
Background: Emerald Ash Borer poses a uniquely devastating threat to Maine’s ecology, economy, and cultural history. Three native species of ash, all of which are key ecological and economic keystones, are being destroyed by the invasive pest which has been introduced in North American temperate forests. Climate change has aided the insect’s broadening range, while […]
Putting Gilsland Farm to Work in the Effort to Preserve Maine Ash Trees
Maine is the most forested state in the nation (with almost 90 percent of forest land) so we might be forgiven for taking trees for granted. But many of the tree species in Maine are or have been under threat. Fungal diseases have attacked chestnut and elm trees and invasive insects are threatening hemlocks, oaks, […]
Tracking an Invasion at Gilsland Farm
All the basic information about the Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) is right there in its name: “emerald” refers to the hue of its iridescent body; “ash” for the family of trees that these jewel beetles feed and lay their eggs on; and “borer” for the tunnels young beetles dig through the bark, eventually leading […]
Bad News: The Emerald Ash Borer Has Arrived in York County
Yesterday, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) announced that the invasive Emerald Ash Borer has been confirmed in western York County. From their release: Entomologists have confirmed the presence of emerald ash borer (EAB) in western York County, Maine. This alarming new development follows a spring discovery in northern Aroostook County. The […]