Scary Forest Pests
Happy Halloween everyone! I don’t know if anyone will be dressed up like an Emerald Ash Borer for Halloween, like our Project Wild America Youth Ambassadors were for their invasives community outreach event over the summer, but we should be on the lookout for these and other scary pests on this Hallow’s eve. While tonight will be fairly warm, the cooler weather is on its way and the need for firewood will increase. As you cut or buy wood to heat your home for the winter or get that last camping trip in before the snow flies, you should be aware of where your wood is coming from...
Read MoreSo Far So Good
So far we have monitored five sites of interest within Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties in search of new infestations of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. For the third year in a row, all of our sites still appear to be HWA free, and are full of healthy trees that support beautiful ecosystems. This past week in particular, we monitored South Valley State Forest and learned from a local volunteer that the streams running through it are excellent trout streams. Thanks to the shade the hemlocks provide, these streams stay cool and therefore highly oxygenated for trout and other species within the...
Read MoreSummer 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 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...
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