Posts Tagged ‘Invasive Species’

Monday, July 11, 2016

Emerald Ash Borer Confirmed in Oneida County

emerald ash borerThe presence of emerald ash borer (EAB) has been confirmed for the first time in Oneida County by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). According to a press release issued by the Department, DEC staff discovered the presence of EAB in Rome, NY as a result of the regular monitoring efforts to detect the beetle.

The confirmation in Oneida County brings the number of New York counties with EAB to 35. In June it was announced that EAB had been found in Waterford, and Ballston Lake, in Saratoga County. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Adirondack Forest Pest Summit Planned For Monday

Hemlock woolly adelgidThe Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) and the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) are co-hosting an Adirondack Forest Pest Summit, a free conference meant to help raise awareness about invasive insects negatively affecting New York forests. The event will take place at the Tannery Pond Community Center in North Creek from 10 am to 4 pm on Monday, July 11th.

Forest pests such as hemlock woolly adelgid, emerald ash borer, and Asian long-horned beetle have the potential to cause major environmental and economic damage to the Adirondack region. These forest invaders are often spread by accidental transfer of firewood or nursery stock from an infested area. Prevention, early detection, and rapid response are critical to successfully combating any invasive species. » Continue Reading.


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Monday, July 4, 2016

Adirondack Boat Inspectors Find 284 Invasives In First Month

DataMonikaLaPlanteLakeGeo3005In its first month of operation, the 2016 Adirondack Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Prevention Program intercepted 284 invasives while inspecting nearly 8,450 trailered boats at over 50 locations throughout the Adirondack region.

Some of these “close calls” took place on lakes that are not currently invaded by the species found. For example, zebra mussels and curly-leaf pondweed were found on boats attempting to launch into Long Lake and Upper Saranac Lake. Both Long Lake and Upper Saranac Lake have existing infestations of other AIS which lake associations and partner organizations have been spending millions of dollars to try and manage. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Great Lakes Research Focuses On Fisheries, Algal Blooms

Dr. Jacques RinchardThe Great Lakes Research Consortium has awarded $44,819.00 for research projects that will investigate vitamin B deficiency in Lake Ontario fish, analyze a dataset on harmful algal blooms in nearly 200 lakes in New York State, and test DNA-based barcoding as a way to more accurately analyze the Great Lakes food web.

The Great Lakes Research Consortium, based at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) in Syracuse, is awarding funds to The College at Brockport, Cornell University, the Upstate Freshwater Institute, and SUNY-ESF. Project collaborators include the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Federation of Lake Associations, and U.S. Geological Survey Lake Ontario Biological Field Station. » Continue Reading.


Friday, June 10, 2016

Emerald Ash Borer Confirmed In Saratoga County

emerald ash borerEmerald ash borer (EAB) has been confirmed for the first time in Saratoga County by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the Capital-Mohawk Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM) and the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

DEC staff and the CapMo PRISM coordinator verified the presence of EAB in Waterford, NY after a concerned landowner contacted the organization to report their discovery. Additionally, APHIS confirmed EAB in Ballston Lake as a result of the regular monitoring efforts to detect the beetle.

With the confirmation in Saratoga County, the number of New York counties with EAB has climbed to 34 according to a statement sent to the media by the DEC. A northern portion of Saratoga County lies within the Adirondack Park. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Volunteers Needed At Cook Mountain Near Ticonderoga

GF middle school vwdThe Lake George Land Conservancy is hosting a three-day effort to eradicate invasive shrubby honeysuckle from the Cook Mountain Preserve in Ticonderoga, June 7-9, 10 am to 6 pm.

The forest of the Cook Mountain Preserve has become overtaken by invasive shrubby honeysuckle, an aggressive non-native plant that overtakes forest understories, pushing out native plants that are needed to provide food and shelter for wildlife. Their growth is often so dense that no other plants grow beneath its branches, leaving the ground bare. » Continue Reading.


Saturday, April 30, 2016

Paul Hetzler: Consider The Dandelion

dandelion by greg humeApril showers bring May flowers, but not all posies are a welcome sight. Although it is quite possible they arrived on the Mayflower, dandelions do not get the esteem they deserve as plucky immigrants that put down firm roots in a new land, or as a vitamin-packed culinary delight, or as a multi-purpose herbal remedy.

On this latter point, dandelion is so well-respected that it garnered the Latin name Taraxicum officinale, which roughly means “the official remedy for disorders.” There are many reported health benefits of dandelion, including as a liver support and for alleviating kidney and bladder stones, as well as externally as a poultice for skin boils. I don’t pretend to know every past and present medicinal use of the plant, and I strongly recommend consulting a respected herbalist, as well as your health care provider, before trying to treat yourself. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, March 24, 2016

9th Graders Become Beetle Busters

The Beetle Busters of Indian Lake Central School learned how to check trees for invasive Asian longhorned beetle and emerald ash borer. During National Invasive Species Awareness Week, I had the good fortune to teach Indian Lake Central School’s 9th graders how to become beetle busters. On February 22, they discovered how invasive insects can cause economic, ecologic, and societal harm. For this lesson, we zeroed in on emerald ash borer and Asian longhorned beetle.

The class already had a solid understanding of what invasive species are because their teacher Sandra Bureau had been incorporating invasive species curriculum into their studies since September. Hands shot up when I asked for a definition. I detailed that Asian longhorned beetle and emerald ash borer probably hitched a ride from Asia to the United States in wood packing crates. Without the ecological checks and balances found on their home turf, they reproduce rapidly. » Continue Reading.


Sunday, March 6, 2016

Hearing Planned On Lake George Boat Inspections

LG boat inspection stationThe Lake George Park Commission will hold a public hearing on its mandatory boat inspection program on March 30 in Bolton Landing.

The hearing, which will be held in the Town hall from 4 to 6 pm, is a necessary step in the process of making a two-year, pilot invasive species protection program a permanent one.

That program required all boats trailered to Lake George to be inspected for invasive plants and animals before being allowed to launch. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, February 16, 2016

LCBP Launches 2016 Boat Launch Steward Program

APIPP Photo Steward Inspecting KayaksThe Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) has announced that they are hiring up to ten seasonal Lake Champlain boat launch stewards to work at New York and Vermont public boat launch access areas this summer. This will be the tenth season of boat launch stewards on Lake Champlain.

In 2015, LCBP stewards surveyed 12,555 boats and offered courtesy boat inspection to remove and prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. Stewards spoke to 26,306 visitors about steps they could take to ensure their boats and equipment were clean, drained, and dry. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, December 2, 2015

A Return To The Pharaoh Lake Wilderness

Cathy Pedler's family on the summit of Pharoah Mountain around 1900Although I’ve been working in Albany with the Adirondack Mountain Club over the past two years, the Adirondack Park is relatively new to me.  It’s not new to my family. I am beginning to discover a long familial history with the Adirondacks.

My father recently found an old photo album documenting trips from Philadelphia in 1900 and 1903 when my great-grandmother visited Schroon Lake and hiked Pharaoh Mountain with her family. They traveled to NYC and then made their way north on the Hudson by riverboat.

This summer I traveled back to the area my family visited 115 years ago. I walked to the shore of Schroon Lake for the first time and paddled Lost and Berrymill Ponds in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Peter Bauer: In Lake George Election, The Lake Won

The election last night in Lake George was a referendum on protecting the lake and the lake won. Last night, the team that was swept into office in 2011 on a platform of real change in town government built around protection of Lake George was handily re-elected.

Dennis Dickinson won as Supervisor and Marisa Muratori and Dan Hurley won for the Town Board. Dickinson and Muratori narrowly lost the Republican primary in September, but were elected on the Reform Party line. This is the second time that Muratori has been elected on a third party line. Hurley was elected as a Democrat. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Invasives: Watercraft Inspection Webinar Series Set

DataMonikaLaPlanteLakeGeo3005New York Sea Grant, a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is hosting a webinar series on the logistics of starting and managing the boat inspection component of a water-based stewardship program.

The Fall 2015 Watercraft Inspection Steward Program Webinar Series schedule is as follows: » Continue Reading.


Monday, October 26, 2015

Gardeners, Growers, Landscapers and Invasive Species

Target-SpeciesThe Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) and the Adirondack Garden Club are co-sponsoring a workshop for nursery growers, landscapers and gardeners to learn about New York State’s recently enacted invasive plant regulations and how businesses and landowners can adapt.

The program, which is free and open to the public, will be held Thursday, October 29th from 9:30 am to 3 pm at Fort Ticonderoga.  Certified Nursery and Landscape Professionals will have the opportunity to obtain continuing education credits by attending.  » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, October 21, 2015

On The Search For Invasive Species At Limekiln Lake

Limekiln LakeHydrilla. Eurasian watermilfoil. Parrot feather. Yellow floating heart. I listened to the captivating and often funny Scott Kishbaugh of the Department Environmental Conservation go through 14 aquatic invasive plants at the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program’s Aquatic Invasive Plant Identification and Survey Techniques training. This past June, the Speculator Pavilion was packed with eager volunteers excited to survey their lakes for invasive plants that cause economic, ecologic, and societal harm. The four-hour workshop gave us the education we need to scope out invaders in ponds, rivers, and lakes. » Continue Reading.



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