An RTPI Intern Explains Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Surveys
RTPI Survey – February 14, 2020 by Taylor Haight; Jamestown Community College Student/RTPI Intern On Valentine’s Day, volunteers from Jamestown Community College and the community participated in an HWA survey at Roger Tory Peterson Institute and JCC preserves. Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, or HWA, is an invasive, aphid-like insect that feeds on the sap of hemlock trees. Feeding disrupts the flow of nutrients to the twigs and needles and could lead to the death of the tree within four to ten years. Since it’s first detection in the early 1920s, HWA has spread to 17 states, and now occupies more...
Read MoreRTPI to Host “Illuminating the Dark Side of Nature” Book Club
Program Theme: Illuminating the Dark Side of Nature It’s easy to find beauty in the natural world. Literature is filled with descriptions of breathtaking landscapes, magnificent creatures, and meaningful experiences in the great outdoors. Yet, nature also has its dark places – filled with curiosities that we often fear. Participants in this new Reading and Discussion series will explore some of the strange and mysterious corners of the natural world – as they venture through contemporary pieces of literature- into places they may otherwise be reluctant to probe. Program...
Read MoreRTPI Begins New Plastic Pollution Research Initiative
Plastics have been around in their current form for decades, and estimates suggest that more than 8 billion metric tons have been created since large-scale production of plastic started in the 1950s. The vast majority of plastic that has been created is still in existence today – resting in landfills or floating around the planet’s waterways as litter. Plastics do not biodegrade, they photodegrade. This means that they don’t readily break down into their constituent materials, they simply break down into smaller and smaller particles. This aspect of their chemistry is creating cause for...
Read MoreRTPI to host Chautauqua County Forest Pest Task Force Meeting on September 7th
The Chautauqua County Forest Pest Task Force (CCFPTF) is a volunteer organization of forestry professionals, scientists, natural resource managers, local officials and private citizens. CCFPTF has organized to facilitate a science-based response to the ecological, economic and public safety impacts of invasive forest pests within the forests and communities of Chautauqua County. RTPI will host the next meeting of the CCFPTF on Friday, September 7th from 9:30 am-12:30 pm. Carri Marschner and Nick Dietschler from the NYS Hemlock Initiative will be joining the meeting to discuss the state of...
Read MoreMonarchs Moving
Anecdotal Monarch reports continue to be encouraging across North America! From what I have read on social media and heard from friends plenty of people are spotting sizable numbers of the species even still now in November as they make their way to Mexico. Do YOU have anything to report? Scott Kruitbosch RTPI Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
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