PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 16, 2026
Guild Park looks jarringly bare from the road, a noticeable clearing catching the eye. Until recently, the park was chock full of trees, with a vast canopy that gave way to little sunlight. But in the past few years, an invasive insect moved in, and more than 500 trees were recently removed in an effort to keep its impact on the forest at bay. The hemlock woolly adelgid has likely been plaguing the trees for years, attacking the sap and needles of a tree until it dies. Guild Park was designated as a conservation easement and has been acting as a park since the late 1800s.