North American Invasive Species Management Association Virtual Conference

October 6th-8th 

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On  Wednesday, October 7th, SLELO PRISM will be presenting on the below topics:

11:30-1 pm: Human Dimensions of Invasive Species Management (multiple 20-25 min session)

Topic: Understanding Success through a Macrophyte Nutrient Analysis and Standardized Metrics

Presented by: Brittney Rogers, SLELO PRISM Aquatic Restoration and Resiliency Coordinator

In this session, attendees will learn about how regional invasive species efforts are being applied to standardize state and international management practices while considering restoration opportunities to create more resilient ecosystems against new invasions and our changing climate. Hosted by The Nature Conservancy, the St. Lawrence Eastern Lake Ontario Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (SLELO PRISM) is one of eight PRISMs in NYS and covers five northern NY counties. SLELO strives to protect native biodiversity and freshwater resources through a collaborative partner-focused approach. One portion of our work is the management of invasive species populations that have a high impact on native ecosystems.

Among the most widely managed invasive species in NYS is the European water chestnut (Trapa natans). Rosettes are removed by manually hand pulling and in the last two years, SLELO and partners removed 69,000 pounds of water chestnut from our waters. Through management, the composition of the water and the nutrients found within these beds is changed. To better understand the changes of these efforts, we’ve initiated the Aquatic Invasive Species Macrophyte Nutrient Analysis to look more closely at carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus implications for aquatic invasive species removals. The results will provide guidance for best management practices and standardized metric collection that considers impacts to both local ecosystems and broader contributions to climate change. These results may also expose potential restoration opportunities that expedite a return to native character and enhance resiliency against new invasions and climate change.

1:30 pm-3: pm: Human Dimensions of Invasive Species Management (multiple 20-25 min sessions)

Topic: Cultural Impacts of Invasive Species – A survey of cultural impacts that invasive species have on people, their well-being, and livelihoods.

Presented by: Robert Williams- SLELO PRISM Program Manager & Timothy Ives, Cornell Cooperative Extension

Often is the assumption that invasive species only impact the well-being and livelihood of indigenous peoples of the third world, underdeveloped countries, but how could invasive species affect areas within a developed nation such as the United States. Evidence suggests that, in addition to the ecological and economic impacts of invasive species, these same species have an effect on the well-being and livelihoods of people locally and regionally. The purpose of this survey was to better understand how invasive species affect the well-being (general happiness) and livelihood (food on the table, money in your pocket, or financial means) of individuals in the St. Lawrence Eastern Lake Ontario (SLELO) Region of New York State. The top responding demographic categories were hunters, anglers, recreationists, loggers/wood and forest benefactors, and waterfront property owners. To date, this survey has produced 107 charts, tables, and graphs along with 8 pages of additional comments. There were also 155 responses to the (additional comments) section, providing valuable, real-time insight as to how people feel invasive species are affecting them. Much is known about the ecological and economic impacts of non-native, invasive species. Much less is known about the impacts invasive species have on the well-being and livelihoods of people living in the survey region, until now.