Summer Forest Pests
While many are on summer vacation or are making their summertime plans, forest pests are making their plans too. Hemlock Woolly Adelgid and Emerald Ash Borer, both invasive species that are now present in Chautauqua County and beyond, are setting their sites on some summertime love and beautiful landscapes to destroy. As you may recall, this past winter we joined forces with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County (CCE) to establish an educational outreach project using bright yellow signs with information about these forest pests. Many of these signs were erected along the...
Read MoreWe Didn’t Find Anything…And That’s a Good Thing!
After two months of intensive winter survey work, we found nothing. However, that’s precisely the result we wanted. As you’ve probably seen or heard, this past winter we surveyed several sites throughout the area looking exclusively for Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA), an invasive insect that puts all Eastern Hemlock trees (Tsuga canadensis), the habitats they make up and the wildlife they support at risk. This particular pest is minute, but can bring a tree to its death within a matter of 3-5 years if left unchecked and untreated. In response to this, several organizations, state...
Read MoreKick Off For NISAW
Happy National Invasive Species Awareness Week (NISAW)! As events are taking place around the country, spreading the word about invasive species, we teamed up with our friend Andrea Locke WNY PRISM Coordinator to kick things off with a training session on Asian Long-horned Beetle (ALB), Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA). We had 16 people in attendance of the training session and had a brave few stay for the outdoor survey portion of the training, bearing the cold temperatures while searching for HWA here at RTPI. We are happy to report that we didn’t find any in...
Read MoreForest Pest Early Detection Training 2/23
Have you heard about Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA), Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and Asian Long-horned Beetle (ALB)? Would you like to know more about these invasive forest pests that have been found within the state and local region? Come join the WNY PRISM and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History (RTPI) for an informational forest pest early detection training from 12:30PM-4:30PM on Monday, February 23. Topics covered will include the impacts of each forest pest as well as how to identify each invasive insect, signs and symptoms of an infestation and what to do if you find any of...
Read MoreHWA Surveys Begin
With the recent news of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) reaching Chautauqua County, Tina and I began our surveys last Friday starting with one of the hemlock stands along the trails here at RTPI. We bundled up and spent a couple hours combing through the hemlock branches we could reach and are happy to report that we didn’t find any HWA within this particular cluster of trees. As the winter continues, we will continue to survey around our trails and will soon join our efforts with JCC students to survey the college’s woodlot as well. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we...
Read More
