October Partner Project Spotlight
Mobile Billboard for Spotted Lanternfly Awareness
The Capital Mohawk PRISM has collaborated with Albany County Soil and Water Conservation District to construct a mobile billboard drawing awareness to the identification and reporting of the invasive Spotted Lanternfly (SLF). The fly poses a significant threat to New York’s agricultural and forest health. Adults and nymphs use their sucking mouth-parts to feed on the sap of more than 70 plant species. Feeding by sometimes thousands, SLF stresses plants, making them vulnerable to disease and attacks from other insects. SLFs also excrete large amounts of sticky “honeydew,” which attracts sooty molds that interfere with plant photosynthesis, negatively affecting the growth and fruit yield of plants. New York’s annual yield of apples and grapes, with a combined value of $358.4 million, could be impacted if the SLF enters New York. The full extent of economic damage this insect could cause is unknown at this time. If you see this invasive insect, report it! Please take photos and if possible, collect the insect in a container for confirmation purposes. The billboard will be strategically placed at events in the Capital Area to garnish the attention of citizens. In addition, the billboard has an aquatics theme encouraging boaters to clean, drain, and dry their equipment to prevent aquatic hitchhikers from invading our clean waters. If you are interested in having either billboard at an event, please feel free to reach out to our office.
For spotted lanternfly reporting, contact:
Bureau of Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Division of Lands and Forests
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233
spottedlanternfly@dec.ny.gov
or contact our office at (518) 885 – 8995!
The Capital Mohawk PRISM has collaborated with Albany County Soil and Water Conservation District to construct a mobile billboard drawing awareness to the identification and reporting of the invasive Spotted Lanternfly (SLF). The fly poses a significant threat to New York’s agricultural and forest health. Adults and nymphs use their sucking mouth-parts to feed on the sap of more than 70 plant species. Feeding by sometimes thousands, SLF stresses plants, making them vulnerable to disease and attacks from other insects. SLFs also excrete large amounts of sticky “honeydew,” which attracts sooty molds that interfere with plant photosynthesis, negatively affecting the growth and fruit yield of plants. New York’s annual yield of apples and grapes, with a combined value of $358.4 million, could be impacted if the SLF enters New York. The full extent of economic damage this insect could cause is unknown at this time. If you see this invasive insect, report it! Please take photos and if possible, collect the insect in a container for confirmation purposes. The billboard will be strategically placed at events in the Capital Area to garnish the attention of citizens. In addition, the billboard has an aquatics theme encouraging boaters to clean, drain, and dry their equipment to prevent aquatic hitchhikers from invading our clean waters. If you are interested in having either billboard at an event, please feel free to reach out to our office.
For spotted lanternfly reporting, contact:
Bureau of Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Division of Lands and Forests
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233
spottedlanternfly@dec.ny.gov
or contact our office at (518) 885 – 8995!
September Partner Project Spotlight
Targeted Grazing of Sheep on Invasive Species
The Tivoli Preserve
Project Summary:
Melissa Parade, the project manager of the Tivoli Preserve Community Farm is a partner of CapMo PRISM who has been using livestock to help manage an infestation of invasive Common Reed (Phragmites australis) in this downtown Albany preserve. The sheep have been hard at work clearing patches of pre-existing Phragmites within the preserve. The project will also include a literature review of previous invasive species grazing projects which will hopefully inform future projects of this nature.
The Tivoli Preserve Community Farm is a community space for urban agriculture and environmental justice in the Arbor Hill and West Hill neighborhoods of Albany, NY. They care for sheep, chickens, and alpaca. The farm also includes a community garden, a composting program, a wool cooperative, and youth programming. The farm is made possible through cooperation with the City of Albany and NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. To find out more, visit The Tivoli Preserve Community Farm at their website.
The Tivoli Preserve
Project Summary:
Melissa Parade, the project manager of the Tivoli Preserve Community Farm is a partner of CapMo PRISM who has been using livestock to help manage an infestation of invasive Common Reed (Phragmites australis) in this downtown Albany preserve. The sheep have been hard at work clearing patches of pre-existing Phragmites within the preserve. The project will also include a literature review of previous invasive species grazing projects which will hopefully inform future projects of this nature.
The Tivoli Preserve Community Farm is a community space for urban agriculture and environmental justice in the Arbor Hill and West Hill neighborhoods of Albany, NY. They care for sheep, chickens, and alpaca. The farm also includes a community garden, a composting program, a wool cooperative, and youth programming. The farm is made possible through cooperation with the City of Albany and NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. To find out more, visit The Tivoli Preserve Community Farm at their website.
June/July Partner Project Spotlight
Bloody Red-Shrimp and Round Goby Early Detection and the Feeding Relationship Between The Two Invaders.
Brent T Boscarino, PhD and The Poughkeepsie Day School
Project Summary:
The ability to manage invasive species populations once established in a new environment is a difficult and expensive process. Thus, increased investment in the prevention and control of invasive species is an absolutely critical first step in the management of a potential invader. In Brent's project with the Poughkeepsie Day School a survey-based investigation and experimental approach targeted at identifying the presence/absence of the invasive species and the feeding relationships between the two invaders, (the round goby and the bloody red shrimp) is well underway.
Students under the supervision of Dr. Boscarino have surveyed for round goby by fish seining. At the same locations, plankton net sampling of the bloody red shrimp (BRS) has been completed. In addition round goby feeding experiments with BRS under different light conditions have been employed. All fish and shrimp survey work will begin, on schedule, in late July 2018 and continue through the end of August 2018 when we anticipate the project being completed. All sites have been identified and scouted. Dr. Boscarino and his crew are ready to roll.
Brent T Boscarino, PhD and The Poughkeepsie Day School
Project Summary:
The ability to manage invasive species populations once established in a new environment is a difficult and expensive process. Thus, increased investment in the prevention and control of invasive species is an absolutely critical first step in the management of a potential invader. In Brent's project with the Poughkeepsie Day School a survey-based investigation and experimental approach targeted at identifying the presence/absence of the invasive species and the feeding relationships between the two invaders, (the round goby and the bloody red shrimp) is well underway.
Students under the supervision of Dr. Boscarino have surveyed for round goby by fish seining. At the same locations, plankton net sampling of the bloody red shrimp (BRS) has been completed. In addition round goby feeding experiments with BRS under different light conditions have been employed. All fish and shrimp survey work will begin, on schedule, in late July 2018 and continue through the end of August 2018 when we anticipate the project being completed. All sites have been identified and scouted. Dr. Boscarino and his crew are ready to roll.
May Partner Project Spotlight
Restoration of the Siegel-Kline Kill Conservation Area
Columbia Land Conservancy
Project Summary:
This summer, the Columbia Land Conservancy is working on a restoration project at the Siegel Kline Kill Conservation Area which involves the removal of invasive plants. On May 18th a workday was held and attended by twelve volunteers, who over the course of three hours, manually removed invasive honeysuckle plants and installed two dozen native trees. CLC also hosted a Bio-Blitz survey on June 23rd where participants counted 145 species of plants, birds, stream macroinvertibrates, fungi, and more within the preserve. This 54.6-acre property has had a lot of exciting improvements in recent years and we can't wait to see how the native wildlife and flora responds to the work!
To find out more, visit CLC's Website and to see the results for yourself, visit the preserve!
Columbia Land Conservancy
Project Summary:
This summer, the Columbia Land Conservancy is working on a restoration project at the Siegel Kline Kill Conservation Area which involves the removal of invasive plants. On May 18th a workday was held and attended by twelve volunteers, who over the course of three hours, manually removed invasive honeysuckle plants and installed two dozen native trees. CLC also hosted a Bio-Blitz survey on June 23rd where participants counted 145 species of plants, birds, stream macroinvertibrates, fungi, and more within the preserve. This 54.6-acre property has had a lot of exciting improvements in recent years and we can't wait to see how the native wildlife and flora responds to the work!
To find out more, visit CLC's Website and to see the results for yourself, visit the preserve!