From Feb 12 – March 12, NY iMapInvasives and the NYS Hemlock Initiative are hosting NY’s first statewide Winter Mapping Challenge. Join the challenge to help monitor this invasive species and compete to win a prize!

The work of our PRISM and partners has a far greater impact than just within our own regional footprint. By protecting and promoting native species we are creating more resilient landscapes. Resilient to changes in climate, along with stresses caused by non-native species, and human encroachment.

View a summary of our terrestrial fieldwork this season. Get updates about our hypena opulenta releases, the results of the Black River Feasibility Study, control work, and surveys.

Long-time SLELO volunteer, Frank Williams, shares some phone applications he uses while conducting field surveys.

Biological diversity is a vital factor in the ability of an ecosystem to be resilient against stressors including invasive species and climate change.  If we genuinely seek to keep our lands and waters healthy and resilient to future stressors, then we must go beyond the management of invasives and make restoration and resiliency a top priority in our invasive species work.

Get the latest updates on invasvie species distribution in the state from the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Learn about how water samples can help detect the presence of aquatic invasive and native species and get involved.

Beech leaf disease (BLD) is the newest threat to beech trees and is spreading rapidly. In New York, BLD has been found in 14 new counties this year, for a total of 35 infected counties. It was recently found in Oswego county in the SLELO region, and nearby on the southwestern edge of the Adirondacks.

Humankind is a fan of creating boundaries, we like to think of things in terms of here or over there, ours or theirs, but nature knows no boundaries. The work we do to prevent the spread of an invasive forest pest or aquatic plant expands beyond our regional counties and other manmade borders, these efforts impact large-scale connected land and water scapes.

Garlic mustard is one of the most common invasive plants found in backyards, along roadsides and within our natural areas and forests. There is a new perspective regarding the control of this common invader and it isn’t what you may think.