Need Some Info?
Scattered around the county snowmobile and multipurpose trails are these info shacks, some of which have our “Nature at Your Fingertips” winter trails cell phone tour signs attached to them. This weekend while you are enjoying the expansive network of trails Chautauqua County has to offer, take a moment to look for these little blue signs as they will provide some fascinating information about our area! Elyse Henshaw Conservation Technician
Read MoreForest Pest Project Continues
As National Invasive Species Awareness Week (NISAW) continues, we are continuing to work on our Collaborative Forest Pest Outreach Project in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County. Today we erected Help Me! signs on Ash trees in a park in Kennedy, New York, an active fishing area and trail-head for the snowmobile trails. Through this project we hope to reach those that visit the park, and other areas where these signs are posted, educating about forest pests such as Hemlock Woolly Adelgid and Emerald Ash Borer in a fun and empowering way.
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 MoreSuccessful 1st Survey
I am very happy to report that our team comprised of RTPI staff and JCC faculty and students did not find Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) on any of the 200+ trees we surveyed at South Valley State Forest! Although the temperatures were chilly, we had a beautiful sunny day to be out in the hemlock stands trudging our way through the knee deep snow. Prior to our survey we ran our student surveyors through background information about this deadly invasive bug threatening the area’s hemlock trees. We went over look-alikes and our field protocol, then headed out the door to our destination....
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