ST. LAWRENCE EASTERN LAKE ONTARIO PARTNERSHIP FOR REGIONAL INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT
The St. Lawrence-Eastern Lake Ontario (SLELO) Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM) is in cooperation with The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and more than twenty-three regional partner organizations. Our mission is to protect native habitats, biodiversity, natural areas, and freshwater resources by using a collaborative and integrated approach to invasive species management with emphasis on prevention, early detection, rapid response, education, and outreach.
You can help prevent and manage invasive species, too! Join our protectors by taking the Pledge to Protect against invasive species. We’ll arm you with the information you need to protect our region, based on the outdoor environments you live, work and play in. Protectors receive monthly emails with simple steps to take, education on invasive species and badges to share on social media. Read More…
Our work is a collaborative effort among multiple partners. Our work is focused on priority initiatives identified by our partnership. These priorities guide our strategic planning and actions and are aligned with our mission to protect our lands and waters from the impacts of invasive species. Read More..
As the SLELO PRISM continues to implement successful and innovative projects, our team has expanded to meet the needs of our program. This increased capacity allows us to deliver more effective and targeted approaches to invasive species spread prevention, early detection, control and management. Learn more about the staff and how our roles tie together to deliver the most successful program possible. Read More..
Discovering populations of invasive species before they become too large to manage, known as Early Detection, gives a strategic advantage to prevention and management initiatives. You can aid early detection efforts in the St. Lawrence Eastern Lake Ontario Region by joining our Invasive Species Volunteer Surveillance Network (VSN), and by joining other volunteer opportunities we offer. Read More…
SLELO PRISM will hold our annual Virtual Hike Challenge (VHC) again this winter. The challenge, happening November 2022, through March 2023, pairs winter hiking with simple instructions to help keep an eye out for hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA). HWA is an invasive forest pest that is confirmed to be present in Oswego County and is spreading along the Eastern Lake Ontario shoreline.
This year the SLELO PRISM has reached several milestones each of which increases our overall impact on our ability to suppress invasives and recover/maintain ecosystem resilience.
A lot has changed in iMapInvasives this year! Read about some of the new features in New York’s official invasive species database.
Our 2022 Watercraft Inspection Steward Program co-administered with TILT, concluded on October 16, and could very well be our most successful season yet.
Learn of some native species we’ve seen during some of our field surveys in 2022.
Get the latest updates from our Terrestrial Restoration and Resiliency Coordinator, Robert Smith.
Is the health of our Priority Conservation Areas (PCAs) getting better, worsening, or maintained as a result of our invasive species protection & management strategies? Answering this important question first requires a benchmark. To achieve this, the SLELO PRISM has been developing a scorecard for each PCA based on current analysis.
Finding effective biological control options is a critical piece of the long-term solution to eastern hemlock conservation in the face of hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), an invasive insect that is killing hemlock on the East Coast. Cornell University’s NYS Hemlock Initiative is researching two different kinds of insects that are HWA eating machines: Laricobius beetles and Leucotaraxis silver flies.
In response to the confirmed presence of elm zigzag sawfly in St. Lawrence County, SLELO PRISM is collaborating with partners to implement an outreach and early detection strategy.
There are two new invasive species that are encroaching on the SLELO region, the elm zigzag sawfly (EZZ Sawfly) and the box tree moth (BTM).
SLELO PRISM has implemented a biological control program that may offer long-term suppression of target invasive species. By introducing approved biocontrols (a.k.a. native predators) we can lessen the labor and cost of other management techniques. This enhances our goal of managing lands and forests for resiliency by reducing the impacts of invasive species.
