Coming soon ...

I recently had the distinct pleasure of introducing the Untamed Science film crew to some of our hemlock sites and research.  You may remember a fire video I shared on a previous post.  That was them.  Most recently, Untamed Science did this excellent short on the USFS Hydrological Lab at Coweeta.  Now, Rob and Trenton are making a film about invasive pests of southern forests and will be relating the loathsome tale of how hemlock woolly adelgid is reshaping our forests.

 Trenton mounting a Gopro camera to one of the vehicles.

Our first stop was to meet Dr. Pat Parkman who runs the beneficial insects laboratory at UT-Knoxville.  I showed the guys some hemlock habitat on our way through the mountains to TN, then we got the full tour of his facility including a primer on beetle life cycles.

Dr. Parkman sketches out the Laricobius life cycle for Rob.

We only had 2 full days with the crew and oh so much to show and tell.  Our cooperators from CAMCORE, Dr. Robert Jetton and Andy Whittier, met up with us at Dupont S.F. where we talked about cone collection and seed conservation.  I am especially hoping the tree climbing shots make it into the film.  You will also see gripping interviews with Forest Service scientists including our very own Dr. Bud Mayfield, who will educate us on hemlock conservation efforts.

Trust me you are not going to want to miss this...