The Monitoring and Managing Ash (MaMA) program of the Ecological Research Institute (ERI) has made considerable progress in its efforts to detect “lingering ash”, trees that likely have some resistance to emerald ash borer (EAB) and from which material can be used to breed highly EAB-resistant trees. As EAB’s invasion expands in the SLELO region, participation in MaMA needs to expand as well, so locally adapted lingering ash can be found.

Volunteers have helped to remove over 1,200 target invasive species this summer!

Our work is more than restoration – it’s about sustaining biodiversity, improving carbon sequestration and wildlife habitat by reducing invasive plant monocultures and increasing native plant establishment. Often, invasive plants create monocultures on the landscape thereby reducing native plant diversity. These same ‘disturbed’ areas can often reduce the healthy sequestration of carbon – as is the case with forest pests. By suppressing invasive plants and promoting native plant recovery, we can increase biodiversity on these sites. As a result, we can improve carbon uptakes and wildlife habitat making these areas more resilient to external stressors such as a changing climate.

As our climate changes, plants and animals shift their distributions by colonizing and establishing new territory to find suitable microclimates that allow them to persist and producing offspring to continue the process. The problem is that this process takes time, often generations; and the process is complicated by landscape fragmentation such as roads, dams, development, and the impacts invasive species have on habitats.

Hear from Lucas Russel, who has become one of our Invasive Species Warriors, about his experience volunteering with SLELO PRISM.

Take the Volunteer Challenge to get involved and win prizes!

A watercraft inspection steward shares the importance of the clean, drain, and dry message.

Water Marigold, Bidens beckii, is commonly found in shallow slow-moving waters. Considered to be a more uncommon species in the northeast, our early detection team has encountered b. beckii during surveys in our region making it a native worth noting.

Updates from our Aquatic Restoration and Resiliency Coordinator, Brittney Rogers, showcasing WISP, eDNA, and restoration efforts.

Each year, dozens of conservation professionals and volunteers across the state work together to remove thousands of pounds of water chestnut by hand out from New York waterbodies. Learn how to make your efforts count by reporting your water chestnut pull data to iMapInvasives.