We 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 MoreAnother HWA Survey
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 on Saturday, March 21st at the Dobbins Woods Preserve in Ashville at 9:00 AM. Visit http://www.chautauquawatershed.org/ for directions.
Read MoreTwo 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
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...
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