Thousands of broken trees line the banks of the Chattooga River.

An analysis of two decades of data collected by the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest and Inventory Analysis (FIA) program shows that the live volume of hemlocks in the eastern United States is increasing despite infestations of hemlock woolly adelgidthat have decimated local populations.

A recent analysis of two decades of USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data shows the live volume of hemlocks in the eastern United States still increasing despite spreading infestations of hemlock woolly adelgid.

An invasive pest, hemlock woolly adelgid, has been marching and munching its way north along the Appalachians — killing pretty much every hemlock it can sink its sap-sucking mouthparts into.

New hemlock hybrids that are tolerant to the invasive insect known as hemlock woolly adelgid have been created by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists.