Hosted by the St. Lawrence Eastern Lake Ontario Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (SLELO PRISM), the Eastern Lake Ontario Invasive Species Symposium provides an opportunity to connect with field professionals and expand your knowledge of invasive species management.
The symposium will be held on June 12th, 2025 at SUNY Oswego Sheldon Hall, 301 Washington Blvd, Oswego, NY 13126. This year’s symposium theme is Adaptive Approaches for Terrestrial and Aquatic Invasive Species Management focusing on Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), climate change, and restoring biodiversity.
Pre-Symposium Workshops: In conjunction with the symposium, we are offering two workshops on June 11th, 2025, between 9:30 AM-4:30 PM at the SUNY Oswego Rice Creek Field Station (Brownell Rd, Oswego, NY 13126).
1. Emerald Ash Borer Biocontrol Monitoring Workshop: Learn about and engage in biological control monitoring efforts.
2. Water Protectors Aquatic Plant Workshop: Hands-on experience to learn about and observe live native and aquatic invasive plants.
The symposium and workshops are free and open to the public, and lunch will be included.
Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive symposium announcements. Partners should sign-up on this form to be added to our partner announcement list.
Please reach out to the E/O coordinator, megan.pistolese@tnc.org, with any questions.
Deadline to Register: April 3oth, 2025, or until capacity is reached. Due to limited seating, early registration is strongly encouraged to guarantee your participation.
Lodging is available for symposium attendees at the Clarion Hotel & Suites Riverfront in Oswego, NY, for a promotional price until May 28th.
Symposium Agendas
Date: June 11th, 2025
Event: Engagement Workshops
Location: Rice Creek Field Station Oswego, NY
- 9:30 AM-12:30 PM: EAB Biocontrol Monitoring Project
- 12:30- 1:30 PM: Lunch
- 1:30-4:30 PM:Aquatic Plant Workshop
Date: June 12th, 2025
Event: Eastern Lake Ontario Invasive Species Symposium
Location: SUNY Oswego Sheldon Hall, 301 Washington Blvd, Oswego, NY 13126
- 8:30 AM: Registration
- 9-11:30 AM: Morning Sessions
- 11:30 AM- 12:30 PM: Lunch and Exhibits
- 12:30-4:30 PM: Afternoon Sessions
Continuing education credits for the following organizations have been applied for. Credits are not guaranteed to be awarded. Any approved credits will be shared as they receive approval.
- DEC Pesticide Credits
- Certified Arborists (ISA)
- Certified Forester (SAF)
- New York Master Naturalist
- Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP)
Speaker Showcase
Morning Sessions: 9-11:30 AM
Dr. Shannon Seneca
Research Assistant Professor
University of Buffalo
Shannon Seneca, PhD, REHS/RS, EIT, is a Haudenosaunee environmental engineer. She has a Bachelor of Science in Physics and moved into civil engineering for her graduate studies. She was the first female Native American to earn her PhD in Engineering at UB in 2012. Dr. Seneca obtained ecosystem restoration training and experience through the University at Buffalo National Science Foundation IGERT Ecosystem Restoration through Interdisciplinary Exchange (ERIE) program. For almost a decade, Dr. Seneca worked with the Seneca Nation and served as the Seneca Nation Health System’s Environmental Health Director. She briefly worked with the Center for Indigenous Cancer Research at Roswell Park Cancer Institute as an assistant faculty member to respond to the Indigenous community’s desires to see more active environmental health cancer research. Dr. Seneca has recently joined the University at Buffalo Indigenous Studies Department as a Research Assistant Professor, and she strives to be a part of many interdisciplinary teams as each individual brings unique backgrounds to the table to solve large-scale problems together.
All of our Relations, New and Old
The Haudenosaunee have a relationship with the natural world in the lower Great Lakes. Throughout the centuries that they have inhabited this region; they have seen many relatives come and go. All of our relations include not only our human relatives but also those that are animal and those that have roots. With colonization, came a slew of environmental changes over a short period of time. We must consider what changes occurred with the damming of our riverways and the opening of the St Lawerence Seaway and Erie Canal that created drastic changes to our traditional ways of life. The continued invasion of contaminants into our environment has great impacts to our well-being. As we continue to utilize our traditional plant medicines and foraged foods, we are faced with even more changed terrestrially. The new plants brought from other continents bring light to our purpose, our purpose in the world around us as stewards of the land. Humans are central to the environment and by nature, attempt to manage their space and place in the world. My work focuses on perception and relationship, and all efforts relate to enhancing understanding that if we take care of the land then the land will take care of us.
Tusha Yakovleva
Community Outreach Coordinator
SUNY ESF Center for Native Peoples and the Environment
Tusha Yakovleva works at the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment (SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry) in support of reciprocal relationships between land and people.
Reimagining Invasive Plants Through Ethnobotany
While narratives about the detrimental impacts of invasive plants are well-known, stories of their ecological or cultural contributions are rarely heard. Japanese barberry offers potent medicine, Phragmites has a long history as a building material, Japanese knotweed provides pollinators late-season nourishment, and black locust ameliorates the soil. Most plants deemed invasive in one area have deep ethnobotanical ties in another. Drawing on the stories of those who have rich-lived and ancestral relationships with invasive plants, this presentation invites us to consider how re-storying such species may support biodiversity and biocultural lifeways.
Angello Johnson
Land Resource Technician
ST. Regis Mohawk Tribe
Angello is a wolf clan Mohawk man from Akwesasne. I am 34 and have a wife and 2 beautiful daughters. I am a sixth-generation traditional black ash basket maker. He runs a small business teaching basketry and other indigenous crafts and skills. He is a devoted member of his community and prides himself in the work that he’s been a part of with the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe (SRMT) Environment division over the last 11 years. His journey with the SRMT started in 2014, when he joined the Akwesasne Cultural Restoration Program for a four-year Master-apprenticeship program focusing on the revitalization of the Mohawk language and cultural practices. From there, he joined the forestry program that later conglomerated into the Land Resource Program, where he currently applies his Traditional Ecological Knowledge to various projects for the benefit, health, and safety of the Akwesasne peoples.
Protecting Black Ash: Akwesasne Cultural Use & EAB Mitigation
The presentation will highlight the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribes approach to invasive species management and EAB mitigation. I will give a background on the cultural significance of black ash basketry and its impacts within the community of Akwesasne and the importance of protecting these culturally significant keystone species for future generations.
Lightning Round Sessions: 12:30-1:15 PM
Lee Willbanks
Founder & President
Talking Rivers
As the former Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper, I collaborated closely with other freshwater advocacy organizations and elected officials throughout the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Region, advocating for Plan 2014, a new water levels management plan for Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River to protect these unique waters. Lee has remained actively involved in efforts to protect the St. Lawrence, serving as co-chair of the Steering Committee for the St. Lawrence River Institute’s River Strategy and as a member of the Freshwater Future’s Great River Network. He is also a counsel to the New York State Tug Hill Commission.
Serving on the board of Talking Rivers, Lee is working to secure defendable rights for the St. Lawrence River and the rivers in the Adirondacks, their tributaries, and watershed is an honor and a profound responsibility. Acknowledging that rivers have a right to exist, to be free of pollution, and to evolve naturally is to accept responsibility to do everything we can to protect those rights. It’s a responsibility I’m proud to acknowledge and share.
Listening to Nature in Governance Decisions
Talking Rivers is currently working on creating a Listening to Nature Toolkit to help nonprofits, research institutions, and agencies listen to the voices of Nature. We want to help organizations across the Upper St. Lawrence River and Adirondack Watersheds act in the best interest of their other-than-human neighbors; together we can meet the needs of Nature and respect the rights of all.
Emilie DeRochie
River Strategy Coordinator
River Institute & River Strategy
Emilie is based at the River Institute located in Cornwall, Ontario. Emilie serves as the coordinator for the St. Lawrence River Strategy, an initiative facilitating communication and collaboration along the Upper St. Lawrence River and
beyond. In addition to this role, she is also a course instructor for the Environmental Technician Program at St Lawrence College, Cornwall Campus.
St. Lawrence River Strategy: Fostering Collaboration
The St. Lawrence River Strategy is a multi-national initiative that aims to facilitate increased communication and collaboration along the St. Lawrence River and beyond, founded in partnership with the River Institute and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne Environment Program. This initiative is intentionally focused on equity and inclusion and is guided by the Haudenosaunee Two Row Wampum Approach. A newly launched Aquatic Invasive Species Subcommittee aims to facilitate collaboration along the St. Lawrence River and beyond for invasive species mitigation, prevention, and early detection. Learn about this subcommittee and how to get involved!
Emily Fell
Eastern Great Lakes Watershed Coordinator
DEC/Cornell
Emily Fell is the Eastern Great Lakes Watershed Coordinator for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s Great Lakes Program, in partnership with the NYS Water Resources Institute at Cornell University. Emily works across the St. Lawrence and Northeast and Southeast Lake Ontario watersheds to advance goals and priorities of New York’s Great Lakes Action Agenda, and has been in the role for over 11 years. Emily received her Bachelor’s in Natural Resources Management from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and has previously worked for The Nature Conservancy as an ecological restoration technician.
Great Lakes Action Agenda Sub-Basin Work Groups
New York’s Great Lakes Action Agenda (GLAA) Sub-Basin Work Groups within the SLELO PRISM region include the Northeast Lake Ontario- St. Lawrence River and Southeast Lake Ontario Sub-Basins, and offer opportunities to connect, network, and collaborate with partners working to advance goals and cross cutting priorities of the GLAA, including goals for managing invasive species and conserving and restoring native habitats, and cross cutting priorities for integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge, educating the next generation, innovating Great Lakes Restoration, and adapting to climate change. To get involved, email greatlakes@dec.ny.gov
Spencer Busler
Assistant Director
Natalie Gates
Land Protection Specialist
Thousand Islands Land Trust (TILT)
Spencer joined TILT in 2016 as Director of Land Conservation and now serves as the Assistant Director. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources Management from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and a Master’s Degree in Water and Wetland Resource Studies from the same institution. Previous to TILT, he worked along the St. Lawrence with the US Fish & Wildlife Service and Lafave, White & McGivern, L.S., P.C. He grew up in Theresa and spent the vast majority of his childhood summers on the numerous waterbodies of the Indian River Lakes chain where he developed his deep appreciation for our natural surroundings.
Natalie joined TILT in December 2023 as the Land Conservation Director. She is responsible for upholding land protection policies, providing landowner outreach, as well as supporting easement and property acquisitions and stewardship activities.
Natalie holds a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Degree in Wildlife Science from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF). During her undergraduate career, she worked at the American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project through SUNY-ESF, leading the summer pollination efforts. This project focused on research with the ultimate goal of leading the development of a blight-tolerant American chestnut tree. Her success was celebrated with the pollination of over 10,000 chestnut flowers each summer!
Invasive Species Management and Grassland Restoration at Tibbetts Point
TILT staff will highlight the TNC-SLELO funding awarded in 2024 to remove buckthorn/honeysuckle thickets to facilitate pale swallow-wort treatment and grassland restoration efforts.
Grasslands play a crucial role in the region’s ecosystem, offering essential habitat for pollinators and grassland birds while enhancing soil health and water retention. Unfortunately, these landscapes face growing threats from row crop conversion, solar development, and the spread of invasive species. To help reverse this trend, the Land Trust implemented a phased restoration effort at Tibbetts Point Preserve—removing invasives and re-seeding roughly 50 acres of degraded land with big bluestem, switchgrass, and other native grasses to reestablish a thriving grassland
Greg Welter
Field Project Coordinator
New York Natural Heritage Program (NYNHP)
Greg Welter is the Field Project Coordinator with the New York Natural Heritage Program. Through this role, he coordinates field work on Fort Drum, focusing on an invasive plant study, and assists with other conservation efforts.
New York Natural Heritage Program: Habitat Survey at Fort Drum
The New York Natural Heritage Program has teamed up with Fort Drum to perform a variety of habitat surveys across Fort Drum. Since 2021, these surveys have targeted invasive plant species across a wide geographic area. In 2025, NYNHP monitored management sites to understand the ecological impacts of invasive species. The 2025 field season marks the fifth year of a multi-year effort. The data collected can inform Fort Drum’s invasive species management strategy and provides data to iMapInvasives annually. The data can be used for various research efforts and decision-making, which may bolster efforts towards resilience and biodiversity.
Liz Lange
Assistant Professor
SUNY Oswego
Dr. Liz Lange is an Assistant Professor of Biology at SUNY Oswego, specializing in life history evolution, animal behavior, and social interactions. Her research focuses on using behavior to mitigate invasive species’ spread, assessing the causes and consequences of plastic life history strategies, and modelling the evolution of socially cued plasticity.
Assessing Female Round Goby Behavior to Predict the Spread of Invasive Species
Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus) is an invasive species in the Great Lakes that impacts biodiversity and spreads disease. Despite their prolific invasion success, the factors related to individual movement to new waterbodies (dispersal behavior) are not well described, especially in females who tend to move into new areas first. It is essential to understand dispersal because biological invasions, including the spread of Round Goby after its initial introduction to the Great Lakes, are driven by dispersal. In this study, we assessed the effects of female round goby body size on behaviors important to dispersal: activity, exploration, and sociability. We found that exploratory behavior was not size-dependent, which could contribute to the round goby being a prolific invader.
Brian Eshenaur
Invasive Species Coordinator for Cornell IPM
Cornell University IPM– Program Collaborator
Brian Eshenaur is a Senior Extension Associate for Cornell’s Integrated Pest Management Program. With a background in plant diagnostics, his work focuses on insect & plant disease identification and sustainable pest management.
Brian’s current efforts emphasize the detection and control of new invasive pests. He’s currently providing state-wide leadership for outreach of the invasive spotted lanternfly and other emerging invasives in NYS. In his spare time, he enjoys the outdoors, boating, and exploring the many waterways in upstate NY.
Impact and Solutions: Dealing with the Invasive Box Tree Moth
The invasive box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis) poses a significant threat to boxwoods in this region, impacting both managed landscapes and nurseries. This presentation will provide distribution data, impacts, and highlight native alternatives for boxwood shrubs.
Afternoon Sessions: 1:15-4:30 PM
Jacob Leeser
Extension Support Specialist
Cornell Integrated Pest Management
Jacob Leeser is an Extension Support Specialist with Cornell Integrated Pest Management. His responsibilities cover invasive species response, livestock IPM, and field work for ongoing studies in the program. Jacob is on the Spotted Lanternfly Summit Planning Committee, facilitates the Cornell Spotted Lanternfly Working Group, and helped organize other SLF research and management workshops. Outside of work, he spends time hiking, cooking, and helping at an orchard-cidery
Spreading the Word: how Spotted Lanternfly messaging changes
As an invasive species gains a foothold and spreads into new regions, the messaging given to the public needs to adapt. Following the invasion curve and using Spotted Lanternfly as a model, this presentation will provide an overview of outreach techniques and where they are best applied.
Nick Sard
SUNY Oswego
Associate Professor of Great Lakes Biology
Dr. Nick Sard is an associate professor of biology at SUNY Oswego, specializing in Great Lakes biology and conservation. His research uses environmental DNA (eDNA) and parentage-based tagging techniques to study native and non-native species, threatened and endangered species, and aquatic communities. He also investigates the sources and dynamics of invasions using genomic data.
Protecting Eastern Lake Ontario Through Collaboration & eDNA
This presentation will explore how environmental DNA (eDNA) can be used to detect and monitor invasive species in the Great Lakes region. eDNA is the genetic material that organisms shed into their environment. It can be used to detect the presence of species, even when they are difficult to observe directly. This presentation will discuss the advantages of eDNA over traditional sampling methods, as well as the challenges and opportunities associated with using eDNA to manage invasive species. Additionally, highlights will be provided from recent work, in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, using eDNA to survey for invasive species in the eastern basin of Lake Ontario.
Justin Wolford
Invasive Species Program Coordinator
Adirondack Research
Justin Wolford has a degree in Environmental Studies from Siena College. He has been involved with AIS monitoring and management at Adirondack Research for almost 3 years and worked for the Finger Lakes PRISM Watercraft Steward Program before that.
Adirondack Research specializes in GIS and mapping capabilities and has been involved in invasive species management across NYS for 10 years. The organization develops tools and refines AIS survey methods to provide useful information for stakeholders.
Mapping for Adaptive Lake Management
This presentation will showcase different AIS mapping approaches, including multi-year survey comparisons and spatial analyses that guide treatment strategies. It will also explore how these efforts integrate with regional citizen science programs, encouraging community participation in AIS monitoring.
By leveraging AIS mapping as part of an adaptive management framework, lake managers can make informed decisions, respond quickly to emerging threats, and enhance collaboration among lake association members working to protect freshwater ecosystems.
Jeff Kingsley
President
Goose Bay Reclamation Corp.
Jeff is the president of the Goose Bay Reclamation Corp. Previously, he was the Executive Director of research and development at Praxair, with expertise in industrial gas production, distribution, and industrial gas application technologies. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering from Clarkson University.
The History and Challenges of Preserving and Maintaining Goose Bay
This presentation will include an introduction to Goose Bay, a history of efforts to identify and remediate issues in the Bay, challenges that have been encountered, and useful learnings from our experiences; which include evaluation of mitigation technology, milfoil control with herbicides and mechanical harvesting, nutrient mapping, grant funding applications, and recent collaborations.
Eric Hellquist
Associate Professor
SUNY Oswego
Eric Hellquist is an Associate Professor at SUNY Oswego. He is a botanist specializing in aquatic and wetland plants and their ecology. He had conducted research in the Northeast, the Great Lakes, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and the Pacific Northwest.
Invasive cattail management: The value of experimental approaches to maximize effectiveness
This presentation provides an overview of an eight-year project to control invasive cattails in a sensitive Oswego County intermediate fen. The project utilized research plots and comprehensive manual control, resulting in a reduction of cattail growth and elimination of community-altering thatch. The project demonstrates the value of integrating systematic control and long-term monitoring to maximize management efficiency, budgetary value, and educational opportunity.
Fate Syewoangnuan
Advanced Data Manager
New York Natural Heritage Program – iMapInvasives
Fate Syewoangnuan is the Advanced Data Manager with the New York Natural Heritage Program. He received his M.S. in Conservation Biology from SUNY ESF in 2023, where his research project was to develop the Management Outcomes Viewer for NYNHP. In his current role, he works with partners throughout the state to get invasive species data into iMapInvasives from a variety of sources, including iMap’s advanced data collection tools. He also works on developing, updating, and maintaining multiple data visualization and analysis tools.
Leveraging iMapInvasives Tools to Enhance Invasive Species Management
This presentation will discuss ways that conservation managers can document their invasive species management efforts through time and assess management outcomes using iMapInvasives tools. This will include how to view changes over time at a management site within the iMap online interface, and an overview of options for mobile data collection. We will also showcase statewide analyses run by the New York Natural Heritage program to assess management outcomes based on iMap data: the interactive dashboard for the Management Outcomes Viewer, and the Water Chestnut Action Sites analysis.
By the end of the presentation, attendees will be empowered to document management efforts through time so that they can use the data to assess management outcomes.
Grace Haynes
Extension Aid
New York State Hemlock Initiative
Grace brings experience in forest entomology and science communication to her role at Cornell University’s New York State Hemlock Initiative. After receiving her Master’s degree from the forest entomology lab at the University of Minnesota, she spent nearly 2 years coordinating outreach and education at a nonprofit organization. She now has the pleasure of integrating these two skill sets in the service of eastern hemlock conservation.
The Lingering Hemlock Project: Protecting Tomorrow’s Hemlocks
The Lingering Hemlock Project, part of The Nature Conservancy’s “Tree Species in Peril,” seeks to identify and breed eastern and Carolina hemlocks resistant to the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), which has caused significant hemlock decline across the southeastern U.S. Grace Haynes from the New York State Hemlock Initiative will discuss how SLELO PRISM area partners can help by establishing and monitoring hemlock plots annually. This work supports the search for “lingering” hemlocks to aid in long-term resistance breeding efforts.
Gregg Sargis
Natural Climate Solutions Specialist
The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
Gregg Sargis has been with TNC for 19 years, leading restoration and stewardship projects throughout CNY and NNY. Currently, Gregg is working with the Natural Climate Solutions team to increase reforestation projects with demonstration projects in NNY and the Southern Tier. He is also working on a project to expand agroforestry production in New York.
Reforestation as a Natural Climate Solution
The Nature Conservancy is working with partners across NNY to expand reforestation strategies and the implementation of on-the-ground projects. This includes everything from creating demand, ensuring there is available and appropriate tree stock and an experienced work force to plant, monitor and maintain.
