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Two New York communities take very different approaches to tackling invasive milfoil By John Stith / The Post Standard Cazenovia and Skaneateles face the same problem -- an infestation of Eurasian milfoil, an invasive species that roots in shallow water and causes problems for boaters and swimmers. Like many communities across the state, Cazenovia and Skaneateles had to decide how to get rid of the weedy plant. They could pull it out by hand, zap it with chemicals, bring in bugs or fish that eat it or put down mats that keep it from growing. Cazenovia hit it with a herbicide. Skaneateles is pulling it out, one plant at a time. Why the different approaches? Cazenovia Lake is one-eighth the size of Skaneateles Lake, but the extent of its milfoil infestation is eight times larger. Hand-pulling would have cost an estimated $17 million. The herbicide treatment started this summer will cost about $450,000. Skaneateles' effort to yank the weeds by hand is labor-intensive -- six boats and ...

New York Implements Quarantine to Prevent Spread of Emerald Ash Borer ALBANY, NY (07/24/2009)(readMedia)-- New York State is implementing a quarantine to prevent the spread of the invasive Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), a tree-killing beetle. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Department of Agriculture and Markets (DAM) are establishing a quarantine encompassing Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties that will restrict the movement of ash trees, ash products, and firewood from all wood species in order to limit the potential introduction of EAB to other areas of the state. The state's quarantine order will require restrictions on the intrastate movement of certain "regulated articles" - for instance, ash trees, certain wood products, and the Emerald Ash Borer. The order specifically defines regulated articles as: Entire ash trees of any size, inclusive of nursery stock. Any part of ash trees, including leaves, bark, stumps, limbs, branches,...

Updated July 17 -------------------------------------------------------- Nassau County teams with environmentalists to thwart invasive species By Phil Spadanuta, Long Island Press Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi and Nassau County Legis. Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) worked with volunteers from the Nature Conservancy to remove the invasive plant species, the water chestnut, from Mill Pond Park in Wantagh on Tuesday. [...] “The best time of the year to remove this harmful plant is in late spring or early summer before it sets seed,” said Kathy Schwager, Invasive Species Ecologist for The Nature Conservancy. “The seeds are viable for up to 10 years so control efforts must be conducted for many years, but luckily this plant has only been found in two locations on Long Island.” The water chestnut is invading Oyster Bay too. But through early detection and rapid response, the water chestnut plants invasion can be curtailed before more damage to the environment occurs. [...] As Suozzi waded ...

Updated July 11 -------------------------------------------------------- Plant Conservation Alliance general meeting announcement Wednesday, July 8, 2009 9:30 - 11:30 AM LOCATION: Conference Room at NatureServe 1101 Wilson Boulevard, 15th Floor Arlington, VA 22209 The Plant Conservation Alliance (PCA) Bi-Monthly Meeting is an open forum for anyone interested or working in plant conservation. The meeting is held every other month in the Washington DC metropolitan area. There is roundtable for attendees to share relevant events, as well as updates from each of the PCA working groups and committees, including the Alien Plant Working Group. Regular attendees include representatives from the PCA Federal agencies and from cooperating organizations; however anyone is welcome to attend this meeting. Past meeting summaries and selected presentations are available at http://www.nps.gov/plants/meetings/bimonthly/index.htm . ----------------------------------------------------------- Suffolk Count...