Many homeowners believe that the trees in their landscape have significant economic value for use as lumber or other wood products. These trees, whether pine or hardwood, seem to occupy such a large space in the landscape that it’s difficult to imagine they can’t be used to build houses, furniture or put to some other valuable use. Landowners also hope that this value will help offset the cost of the tree’s removal, which can be very expensive.

Vibrant cities cultivate urban forests that support public health, safety, sustainability, and economic growth.

Hemlock trees in eastern forests are late successional tree species that provide shade for the forest understory. Globally, there are ten hemlock species, with populations located in Asia and eastern and western North America12. Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) and Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana) grow in the eastern U.S. These trees have great ecological and cultural value in forests. However, the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae or HWA) is decimating hemlock populations throughout much of the trees’ native range, altering landscapes, and threatening these iconic tree species in both rural and urban areas.