Write a commentCommunity members are invited to attend a series of guided hikes to learn how to survey hemlock trees for the presence of an invasive insect called Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA).
This insect kills hemlock trees which are key beneficial tree species in New York State and beyond. HWA is known to be present in Oswego County and can easily be spread to other parts of the Eastern Lake Ontario Region such as the Tug Hill Forest.
The purpose of this hiking series is to recruit and train volunteers to keep an eye out for HWA while they are spending time outdoors this fall and winter and to report observations using a free mobile app called iMapInvasives—a community science tool. These efforts help to detect HWA populations early before their populations grow too large to manage and contain.
No experience is needed, training will be provided. Registration is required as important information pertaining to the hikes as well as simple instructions to set up iMapinvasives will be emailed.
Hikes are free and open to the public. Each will be held from 10 AM- 12 PM on the dates listed below.
- January 10th- Salmon River Falls, Richland, NY
- January 17th- Trenton Greenbelt Trail, Holland Patent, NY
- February 14th- Forest Park, Camden, NY
Register online at sleloinvasives.org/events or contact the SLELO PRISM Education and Outreach Coordinator at 315-522-1258. The event can also be found on the SLELO PRISM Facebook events page.
About the hosts: SLELO PRISM, one of eight PRISMs throughout New York, is funded by the NYS Environmental Protection Fund in coordination with the NYSDEC and various partners, and hosted by The Nature Conservancy, with a mission to protect native habitats, biodiversity, natural areas, and freshwater resources, emphasizing prevention, early detection, rapid response, education, and outreach. They provide region-wide coordination for invasive species monitoring and management across terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in St. Lawrence, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, and Oswego Counties (outside of the Adirondack Park), as well as portions of the Lake Ontario and northern Oneida Lake watersheds. For more information, visit www.sleloinvasives.org.
THTLT is a non-profit regional organization that works with private landowners on a voluntary basis to protect the working forest, farm, recreation, and wildlands in the 2,100 square-mile Tug Hill region, encompassing parts of Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, and Oswego Counties. To date, THTLT has protected over 20,000 acres of Tug Hill's working forests, farms, and wildlife habitat. For more information visit www.tughilltomorrowlandtrust.org.
