WATER QUALITY & BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
The Lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook Wild and Scenic Committee is proud to have the opportunity to continue supporting Dr. Carole Cheah’s work protecting hemlocks along the lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook and their tributaries. Using a tiny beetle from Japan, S. tsugae, which co-evolved with the hemlock woolly adelgids and eats only hemlock woolly adelgids, Dr. Cheah’s program has led to the recovery of hemlocks in treated areas in northwestern Connecticut.
In 2024, with Dr. Cheah’s help and supervision, S. tsugae were released in Avon, Bloomfield, Burlington, Granby, Simsbury and Windsor. In both Bloomfield and Simsbury, there were releases to protect hemlock trees on town-owned land. The release in Bloomfield’s Farmington River Park was a follow up to the 2023 release after additional infested trees were found there. The releases at Town Forest Park, Ethel Walker Woods and Darling Hilles Forest along Stratton Brook in Simsbury were all at new release sites.
Protecting hemlock trees along rivers and streams is particularly important because they have a substantial role in keeping water temperatures cool enough to support fish and other aquatic organisms. They also provide breeding sites for some species of birds.
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Lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook Wild & Scenic 