SLELO Prism

Often overlooked in our quest to manage invasive species is the impact invasive species have not only to our ecosystems, but to people and how New York State is perhaps the single most important state to address invasive species. Locally, regionally and globally, there are people who depend directly on healthy lands and waters for a livelihood (food on the table and family income). Take our survey now by requesting a link from rwilliams@tnc.org Read More about “Take Our Survey. People, Livelihoods and Invasive Species”…

Volunteers and partners of the SLELO PRISM learn to protect our forests and neighborhoods from forest pests by adopting-a-trap. Community preparedness and protecting our forests begins with an understanding of the threats posed by invasive pests and pathogens that impact healthy trees. Tracking the spread of such pests helps us to be more prepared for their arrival. Read More about “Protecting Our Forests”…

In the Eastern Lake Ontario Region the SLELO PRISM partners in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Cornell University are implementing a project to assess the feasibility of using environmental DNA or eDNA as an early detection tool for aquatic invasive species. Over 400 water samples will be collected from four strategic locations along Eastern Lake Ontario and analyzed using highly specialized processes known as qPCR for the presence of genetic material release by both invasive and native aquatic animals Read More about “Environmental DNA”…

After completing a feasibility study, partners of the SLELO PRISM endorsed an initiative to restore portions of the Salmon River by 1) Suppressing Japanese Knotweed populations, 2) Restoring treated sites by planting native seed and plants and 3) implementing a robust educational & outreach component. After four years of effort the project has been deemed a success. Read More about “Restoring The Salmon River”…

2016 marks the first season of an intense effort to reduce the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS). Through a $100k grant from the NYS DEC Invasive Species Spread Prevention Grants Program (NYS Environmental Protection Fund) four AIS stewardship specialists were strategically placed at high use/high priority boat launches along Eastern Lake Ontario and the data collected tells a real story. Read More about “Aquatic Invasive Species Spread Prevention”…

Detecting and responding to an invasive species while it is in low abundance is often the key first step in effectively managing and possibly eradicating a newly-arriving invasive species. With the St. Lawrence Eastern Lake Ontario region being over 7,387 square miles of land and water surface, it is unfeasible to conduct a full survey of the entire area and therefor makes sense to focus investigative efforts on Priority Conservation Areas or PCA’s while at the same time expanding this capacity to other natural areas through Volunteer Surveillance Networks. Read More about “Building our Capacity for Early Detection”…