WEBVTT

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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We are very concerned about
invasive species in the park.

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They are one of the
biggest problems

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that we have because they
can displace native species,

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they can even change
whole ecosystems.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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So, invasive species are
basically a problem worldwide.

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Even in our national
parks, which

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have the highest
level of protection,

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there are invasive
species problems,

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either because they were planted
a long time ago or species just

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move in by either
people moving them in

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or a lot of birds
disperse berries.

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So, they come in, they
become established,

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and then they create
problems ecologically.

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The best way to deal
with invasive species

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is to prevent them from
getting into the park.

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The next best way
is to eradicate them

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as soon as they are found.

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And if we can't do
either of those,

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then we have to make decisions
about which we will battle.

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Because once they
become established,

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it becomes much more
difficult and expensive to try

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to control them.

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[BIRDS CHIRPING]

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Hemlock woolly adelgid is a
tiny insect that came from Japan

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and has spread throughout
the Eastern United States

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from Georgia to Maine.

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We discovered it in Delaware
Water Gap National Recreation

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Area in 1989.

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From our monitoring studies
we estimate more than 40%

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of the hemlock trees have died
and most of the remaining trees

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are in various stages of
moderate to severe decline.

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Hemlock woolly adelgid is a
case of what some people call

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an invasive species meltdown.

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So, you have, initially,
just one invasive species

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leading to a cascade invasion of
many, many, many other invasive

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species, changing the whole
habitat and ecosystem.

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We have treated well over
10,000 trees in the park

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but those treatments
are neither financially

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or ecologically sustainable.

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We do not want to be treating
many, many thousands of hemlock

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trees indefinitely
with insecticides.

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So, we just did that
as a stopgap measure,

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largely to maintain
habitats that

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were very important for other
species like brook trout.

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That's why the woolly adelgid
is such an important pest

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for us to try to control,
because it doesn't just

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affect a tree or trees, it can
change the whole ecosystem.

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It changes the whole habitat.

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The whole forest is changing.

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Inventory and monitoring is
something that goes on often

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behind the scenes.

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A lot of visitors aren't even
aware that it's going on,

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that there are
teams of scientists

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out there monitoring the
health of these ecosystems.

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Each Inventory and
Monitoring Network

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has a list of vital
signs that are

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a way for us to really check
up on the health of the park,

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whether that's looking at forest
health monitoring, measuring

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tree regeneration
and soil quality,

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or we can look at something
like water quality.

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Invasive Species Early
Detection and Monitoring Program

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is a protocol that we
set up and is designed

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to look at new invasive
species and incipient plants,

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insects, and other
organisms that

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are not in the parks yet but
may pose a threat in the future.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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We have great concerns
about invasives, both plants

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and animals, that
are coming our way.

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Emerald ash borers, for
example, that attack

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ash trees and red pine scale.

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So far, knock on wood, we do not
have any hemlock woolly adelgid

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in Acadia National
Park, but we expect

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that it's on the doorstep.

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The Inventory and
Monitoring Network,

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because they're out in the
park on a regular basis,

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provide real-time
eyes on the ground

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and will help with really
rapid early detection

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of those invasives.

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That's a really
powerful opportunity

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when something has not yet
established a foothold here.

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And we can actually go in
and remove it and keep it out

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of the parks.

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So, the exotic plant
management team's job

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is to remove exotic plants
that are invasive in the park.

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They're generally
focused on species

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that could become a
problem but they're still

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at levels that are manageable.

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And a lot of what they do is
either mechanical removal where

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they're cutting down shrubs.

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So, in some areas
where there's really

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dense example of a
invasive species,

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they'll actually spray the
leaves with a herbicide.

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It's the easiest way for
them to kill the plant.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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The mission of the
National Park Service

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is to protect the natural
and cultural resources

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of all our parks forever.

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So, we take that
mission really to heart.

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The Inventory and
Monitoring Network work

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is a perfect example of
that mission in action.

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The I&M scientists
are out in our parks

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so that they can provide
real-time, good science

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for management
decisions so that we

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can take care of those
resources in perpetuity

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for the American people.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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