2025 Winter Terrestrial Updates

This article was featured in the 2025 winter newsletter by Robert Smith-SLELO PRISM.

2024 Field Survey Results

Results of last summer’s field season showed the presence of 14 Tier invasive species. Of the 90 highly probable areas (HPAs) that we visited, the most common species found was pale swallowwort, which was found at 54 sites. Common buckthorn and honeysuckle were the second and third most common, found at 18 and 17 HPAs respectively. The fewest number of tier invasive species was found at Ironsides Island with 1, while the largest number of tier invasive species was found at Deer Creek WMA with 11 species. The field report that includes this information is now available on the SLELO PRISM website.

2024 Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Surveys

We started our HWA surveys last month and have selected 13 sites to survey. Most of these sites are just outside of the areas of known HWA infestation and are the same as last year with the exception of adding Black Pond and El Dorado, which share the hemlock stand that we surveyed, and removing Jadwin SF, Three Mile Bay WMA, and Winona SF. In addition to staff surveys, our Education and Outreach Coordinator, Megan Shaw conducted four survey trainings in collaboration with the Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust. These trainings were held at four sites including, Inman Glide Trail , Great Bear Recreation Area , Salmon River Falls UMA, and the Trenton Greenbelt. A total of

Since finding the first HWA site in 2021 at Oswego County Reforestation Area, SLELO PRISM, New York State Parks Staff, and volunteers from our volunteer surveillance network (VSN) and New York State Hemlock Initiatives (NYSHI) HWA Hunters Program have found ten sites with HWA. These ten sites are mostly located along the Lake Ontario Shoreline and Oswego River to Oneida Lake. Three of the sites were found this year. These are SUNY Oswego, Great Bear Recreational Area, and Verona Beach SP. All of these with the exception of Verona Beach SP are in Oswego County. Verona Beach SP is the first known occurrence of HWA in Oneida County. Management options, either chemical or biological, are being used or in discussion at most of these sites.