Two Surveys Down and One to Go!
Who said survey work in the snow can’t be fun? The photos below are from our past two surveys of Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy sites. We are happy to report that both the Cassadaga Creek Preserve and the Elm Flats 1st Preserve came up clean, with no signs of the menacing Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA), the target of our search efforts. With two sites done, we now have one site left to survey: the Dobbins Woods Preserve. We will be meeting on site at 9am this coming Saturday and welcome anyone that is willing to volunteer their time and wants one more chance to enjoy the snow. I hope...
Read MoreHWA Survey Tomorrow
Staff from the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History, Jamestown Community College and Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy will be surveying high priority CWC properties for Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae), or HWA. This survey will be open for the public to join. We will be meeting on Friday, March 13th at the Elm Flats First Preserve in Chautauqua at 1:00 PM. Visit http://www.chautauquawatershed.org/ for directions.
Read MoreIntern Presentation Tonight
Tonight! The Spiny Softshell Turtle (Apalone spinifera) is a unique species that the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History and Jamestown Community College students have been studying over the past year, attempting to better understand their habits and behaviors as well as the current conditions of their particular habitat. JCC intern Alivia Sheffield will be presenting on what information has been discovered thus far about the Spiny Softshell Turtles residing in downtown Jamestown on March 12th at 6:00 pm at RTPI. This presentation will be open to the public and is a free event....
Read MoreIntern Presentation
Although winter has come in like a lion for the month of March, be assured that spring will soon be on its way. Warming temperatures and increased daylight will bring everything underneath the snow and ice back to life, including some remarkable reptiles that inhabit the waters of Jamestown’s Chadakoin River. The spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera) is a unique species that the Roger Tory Peterson Institute and Jamestown Community College students have been studying over the past year, attempting to better understand their habits and behaviors as well as the current conditions of their...
Read MoreFirst RTPI President Has Died at Age 93
Paul A. Benke was born in May of 1921 and died peacefully at home in Falconer on Wednesday (March 4, 2015) at the age of 93. In 1984, while President of Jamestown Community College, Paul served as the first President of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. Along with Lorimer Moe, Noble Proctor, and many other of Roger’s trusted friends, Paul was able to guide the formation and incorporation of RTPI in Jamestown, NY. While other institutions were interested in the papers and archives of Roger Tory Peterson, Paul was able to make the case for the Institute’s establishment in Roger’s hometown,...
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