National Invasive Species Awareness Week – February 21-27, 2016
RTPI, in partnership with WNY PRISM, will be offering multiple events to the public during week. If you wish to register for one or both of the workshops please fill out this form. Please register by mail or email no later than Saturday February 20th. Registration forms and checks payable to the Roger Tory Peterson Institute can be sent to 311 Curtis Street, Jamestown NY 14701. Forms may also be emailed to Elyse Henshaw atehenshaw@rtpi.org and payment can be made the morning of the workshop.
Monday February 22 at 6pm Ken Parker will be presenting Eco-logic: Using Native Plants in the Landscape. Ken will be discussing the importance of using native plants in landscaping as opposed to non-natives, as well as the Seneca Nation Native Plant Policy that went into effect last year.
Ken Parker is a passionate indigenous horticulturalist with strong ties to Mother Earth and Native cultures. A New York State Certified Nursery Landscape Professional (CNLP), Ken has spent decades devoted to growing, installing, teaching and promoting indigenous plants of North America to thousands of Natives and non-Natives. Ken literally has ‘roots’ in the indigenous plant market. As a Seneca native, he is committed to preserving Native North American culture by promoting the use of Native plants from a pure perspective. Ken has proactively participated in various environmental projects, including conservation, restoration, corporate landscaping, education, marketing and consulting throughout the United States and Canada over the past twenty plus years.
This event is free and open to the public!
Tuesday February 23 from 10:00am-2:30pm – Forest Pest Workshop
As invasive forest pests are a growing issue throughout the region, a great deal of work is being done to learn more about these pests and the best course of action to minimize their impact. Join us for a day-long workshop to learn about topics ranging from Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and the collaborative efforts of the WNY EAB Task Force, Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) and what can be done to save hemlock trees, some of the do’s and don’ts of tree removal and treatments, liability associated with forest pests, the role of NYS DEC and what can be planted next after removal. The following professionals will be speaking on the aforementioned subjects, sharing their experiences and expertise:
Sharon Bachman-Community Educator, Cornell Cooperative Extension Erie County
Mark Whitmore- Forest Entomologist, Cornell University
Craig Vollmer-Chief Forester and Certified Arborist, Forecon Inc.
Jeff Brockelbank-Senior Forester, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
$10 for adults and $8 for currently enrolled students. Fees will cover the cost of lunch and workshop materials.
If you would like to attend please fill out the registration form no later than Saturday February 20th.
Questions? Please contact Elyse Henshaw at ehenshaw@rtpi.org or 716-665-2473 ext. 231
Wednesday February 24 at 6pm we will be showing the Invasive Species Management: Picking battles large enough to matter and small enough to win webinar by Norris Muth of Juniata College. Norris will be calling in for the discussion portion of the webinar to answer questions from the audience.
Webinar description: It is a safe bet that every parcel of privately owned forest land in Pennsylvania has multiple invasive species. With these invasive species posing more problems than can possibly all be solved at once, how can landowners decide when and how to act? We will discuss some ways to prioritize and make management decisions towards reducing the impact of invasive species.
Norris’ bio can be found here: http://www.juniata.edu/academics/provost/bio.php?id=MUTH
This event is free and open to the public!
Thursday February 25 from 10:00am-2:30pm – Aquatic Invasives Workshop
Within Chautauqua County, we sit on the continental divide between two major watersheds in which the water leaving our area eventually reaches the Gulf of Mexico (via the Allegheny, Ohio-Mississippi Watershed) or the northern Atlantic Ocean (via the Great Lakes Watershed). With that said, maintaining water quality in our region is critical and aquatic invaders can pose a major threat to water quality as well as biodiversity within the waterways. Join us for a day-long workshop to learn about topics ranging from struggles with water chestnut, invasives in Chautauqua Lake, Lake Erie Invasives and get a refresher on iMapInvasives, a database used to track the progress of these invasive species. The following professionals will be speaking on the aforementioned subjects, sharing their experiences and expertise:
Ruth Lundin-President, Jamestown Audubon Society
Jane Conroe-Conservationist, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy
Stacy Furgal-Fish Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Elyse Henshaw-Conservation Technician, Roger Tory Peterson Institute
$10 for adults and $8 for currently enrolled students. Fees will cover the cost of lunch and workshop materials.
If you would like to attend please fill out the registration form no later than Saturday February 20th.
Questions? Please contact Elyse Henshaw at ehenshaw@rtpi.org or 716-665-2473 ext. 231
Friday February 26 at 6pm Andrea Locke from WNY PRISM will be presenting Birds and Invasives.
The relationship between birds and invasive species can be complex. Many invasive species may on the surface seem like a boon for our native birds, but as we look deeper into their impacts on our ecosystems, we see that all isn’t as it once seemed. Some birds are even invasive species themselves. Management can also be difficult due to the complex relationship with invasive species and public opinion. Join Andrea Locke, WNY PRISM Coordinator as she sheds some light on these complexities and discusses invasive bird species, invasive species impacts on native bird populations and management strategies.
Andrea Locke is the WNY PRISM Coordinator (Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management) and has been in this role since the WNY PRISM Office was established in 2014. PRISMs are part of an integrated approach to invasive species management in NYS. Prior to working with the PRISM network, Andrea spent time in Northern Michigan running a Private Lands Stewardship Program and Partnership which provided technical assistance for private landowners wanting to better manage their lands for wildlife and ecosystem health. She also spent nearly a decade working on a high diversity prairie and savanna restoration project in Northwest Indiana.
We hope you will be able to attend! This free and public event will take place at RTPI – 311 Curtis St., Jamestown, NY 14701.
