This webinar will focus on silviculture strategies that help woodland stewards prepare for, and adapt to, the arrival of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA). Practices such as stand thinning can improve tree vigour in advance of infestation. Silviculture can also play a mitigative role in cases where insecticide treatments are feasible, where the focus is on promoting species and structural diversity.
Presenters Mary Jane Rodger and Michael Stastny will share practical guidance informed by ongoing research and on-the-ground management experience. Woodland stewards will gain clear considerations and proactive steps to help conserve and strengthen hemlock stands before and after HWA establishment, supporting long-term forest resilience and ecological health.
This webinar is part of a three-part series designed to equip woodland stewards with practical, research-informed tools for responding to Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA), an invasive, aphid-like insect that has been devastating hemlock forests in Nova Scotia since its discovery in 2017. Follow the links below to register for parts 1 and 2.
Webinar 1: Chemical Treatment Options and Resources for Woodland Stewards (February 26th)
Webinar 2: Understanding Biological Control and Research in Nova Scotia (March 5th)
Presenter Bios
Mary Jane Rodger
Mary Jane Rodger is a registered forester who has worked with the MCFC since 2015, minus a small term with the federal government in 2022-2023. She is happy to be back at the MCFC and managing several innovative projects to steward and restore Wabanaki forests on both Crown and private lands. Mary Jane has been involved with many facets of Nova Scotia’s shift to ecological forestry, playing an influential role the Lahey Forest Practices Review and serving on the Department of Natural Resources initial Minister’s Advisory Committee.
Michael Stastny
Michael Stastny is a Forest Insect Ecologist with the Canadian Forest Service at the Atlantic Forestry Centre in Fredericton NB. With a broad background in community ecology, his research examines the outcomes of interactions between insects and their environment. Studying both native and invasive insects on trees, his work focuses on their ecological effects on forest ecosystems, and on strategies to control insect pest populations or mitigate their impacts.