Join the Protectors

Why Take the Pledge

The Pledge to Protect is a fun, engaging, and rewarding way to participate in invasive species prevention and management.

Taking the Pledge-To-Protect’ your lands and waters is the first step in preventing the spread of invasive plants and animals.

Upon taking the ‘Pledge,’ you will be given specific but simple actions you can practice and educational resources that will help you to protect your favorite outdoor spaces, backyard, and community.

Take the Pledge

Email(Required)

First and Last Name(Required)

First Last

Phone

How did you hear about this pledge?(Required)

What will you protect?(Required)

Chose the pledge category that you spend the most time in or that you're the most interested in learning of applicable prevention and management actions you can take while enjoying these environments.

I'll protect them all!

My Lands & Trails

My Waters

My Forests

My Garden

My Community

Comments

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

260

People have taken the pledge! Help us to spread the word!

What you'll get

Monthly emails showcasing simple actions you can take to fulfill your pledge.
Bragging rights- collect badges and win prizes for completing action items outlined in your monthly emails!
Access to a social media toolbox to celebrate your pledge, and to help you share what you’ve learned.

Protector’s Activity: Check Your Property for Invasive Plants

November 2, 2023 No Comments

This fall and winter keep an eye out for bittersweet and porcelain berry which are easily identified by their distinctive berries that appear this time of year. These invasive woody vines grow over understory vegetation and strangle trees. Check out this Protector’s blog to learn to recognize these invasive plants and steps you can take now to get a head start on controlling them before the next growing season.

Virtual Hike Challenge

November 2, 2023 No Comments

SLELO PRISM will hold our annual Virtual Hike Challenge (VHC) again this winter. The challenge, happening November 2023, through March 2024, 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.

Protect Pollinator Habitat

September 12, 2023 No Comments

Specialized relationships between plants and insects are vital to the lifecycle of many pollinators. Invasive plants can easily overtake pollinator habitats. You can help by planting pollinator host plants and by removing invasive plants on your property. Learn more in this Protector’s Blog!

Use the premade social media graphics in this toolbox to celebrate becoming a protector and to encourage your family and friends to join you!

Virtual Toolboxes

Invasive species threaten the lands and waters that we all enjoy. There are simple actions you can take every day to reduce the impacts of invasive species.

Click the various icons below to learn simple actions you can take to protect your lands, trails, gardens, forests, communities, and water bodies from the impacts of invasive species.

Lands & Trails

Lands & Trails

Protect your private or publicly accessible lands and favorite hiking trails

Open Toolbox

Forests

Forests

Protect your private or publicly accessible forested areas

Open Toolbox

Waters

Waters

Protect your favorite paddle-ways, boating and fishing destinations

Open Toolbox

Gardens

Gardens

Protect your backyard or community gardens

Open Toolbox

Communities

Communities

Protect your favorite parks or urban green spaces, and street trees

Open Toolbox

Take the Pledge. Get the Tools. Earn the Badge

What You're Protecting

The St. Lawrence Eastern Lake Ontario (SLELO) region holds immense beauty. The region spans over 7 thousand square miles of land and 1.61 million acres of surface water all of which offer rich recreational opportunities, world-class fisheries, and unique habitats for rare birds and other wildlife.

The waters of northeastern Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River hold the Thousand Islands region- a North American archipelago of 1,864 islands that span 50 miles between US and Canadian borders. Stretching over 17 miles along the eastern Lake Ontario shoreline is New York’s largest freshwater dune system that provides habitat for rare and endangered birds. Anglers from around the nation and the world travel to fish in water bodies throughout the region, including the famous Salmon River.

The gem of the SLELO region is the Tug Hill plateau which spans over one million acres of land between Lake Ontario and the Adirondacks. Within the Tug Hill plateau is 150,000 acres of unfragmented forested land which comprises one of the most rural and remote sections of New York State and the Northeast.

0

Square Miles of Land in The SLELO Region

0

Acres of Surface Water in The SLELO Region

spawning pike lake conesus_Rengel134

unknown location_Mat Levine

black tern_Ken Sturm USFWS_ TNC Flickr.jpg.

Photo by Mathew Levine.

Photo by Mathew Levine with aerial support from Lighthawk.