Blue Ridge PRISM’s 2023 Spring Meeting
"All About Callery Pear"
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
11:30 am – 1:00 pm
(via Zoom)
Join us via Zoom for our Spring Meeting when we welcome David Coyle as our speaker. We are excited to offer this opportunity to spend some time with Dr. Coyle who has been instrumental in spearheading Bradford pear bounties in South Carolina. On October 1, 2024, South Carolina will become only the second state in the United States to ban the nursery sale of Bradford pear trees and any other pear trees grown on the commonly used Pyrus calleryana rootstock. Doug Tallamy has called the Callery pear one of the worst threats to our forests.
A recognized expert on forest health and invasive species, Dr. Coyle will take us through the problematic history of Callery pear, how and why it got to the United States, and its current infestation status. He will also talk about the applied research he’s done to demonstrate ecological impacts as well as discuss some management strategies that do (and do not) work to mitigate and manage its spread. Dr. Coyle will answer questions from the audience at the end of his presentation.
You can read more about Dr. Coyle's work in this New York Times article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/
This is a free online event and includes a question & answer period with the audience. Those who register will receive access to the recording.
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Dr. David Coyle teaches about forest health and invasive species in the Forestry and Environmental Conservation Department at Clemson University. He is a member of the Society of American Foresters and the Entomological Society of America, serves on the Board of Directors for the North American Invasive Species Management Association, and is Co-Director of ProForest (an organization working to promote proactive forest pest management). Dr. Coyle has been instrumental in the success of South Carolina's Bradford Pear Bounty program.
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/551792214367