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Updated September 6 -------------------------------------------------------- Schumer says he’ll seek more money to fight invasives By NATHAN BROWN, Adirondack Daily Enterprise Staff Writer TUPPER LAKE - Although many of the more harmful invasive species, such as the emerald ash borer and the Asian longhorned beetle, haven't been found in the Adirondacks, they are believed to be spreading through the state. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said on Thursday afternoon he will push for funding for his four-point plan to limit the spread of invasives and stop them before they get here. "A stitch in time saves nine," Schumer said at The Wild Center. Schumer said he will push to raise funding for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service by $35 million to combat the Asian longhorned beetle and $39.7 million for the ash borer. Schumer said federal help is needed to combat these pests, due to the limited resources of local governments and private groups to deal with them. Schumer al...

Renewed concerns over invasive beetle in Vermont and New Hampshire Summer brings renewed concerns about the Asian longhorned beetle. The invasive pest has an appetite for maple trees, and has devastated entire forests in Massachusetts. So far, Vermont and New Hampshire have escaped the invasion. But the concern is that the bugs will be transported here in firewood carried by campers. As a precaution, New Hampshire next month will ban out-of-state firewood at federal and state-owned campgrounds. From WCAX News. Link -------------------------------------------------------- Madison High School students control invasives at Wildlife Refuge MADISON, NJ -- It was almost lunchtime on the Madison High School Day of Service and Mark DeBiasse, History Department Chairperson and Service Learning Coordinator, said that his cell phone had not rung once yet to report a problem from any of the more than 40 work sites he was supervising. Sawing, drilling, measuring, mulching, planting, drawing, painti...

Updated May 1 --------------------------------------------------------- NYSDEC confirms presence of didymo in Esopus Creek Aquatic Algae Discovered in Popular Recreational Waterway New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis today announced that didymo, an invasive species, has been confirmed in the Esopus Creek in Ulster County. This is the first known presence of this aquatic algae, also called “rock snot,” in the Esopus and the third confirmed location in New York State. The Esopus is a popular recreational waterway for fishing, kayaking and tubing, and is a drinking water source for New York City. DEC collected samples and confirmed the presence of didymo in the vicinity of several public access sites along a 12-mile stretch of the Esopus from the “Shandaken Portal” (which transfers water to the Esopus from Schoharie Reservoir) to New York City’s Ashokan Reservoir. Didymo Impact Unlike many other aquatic invasive plants, didymo (Didymosph...

Updated 4/2 --------------------------------------------------------- Economic Stimulus Could Boost Invasive Species Management On February 17, President Barack Obama signed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 to stimulate the economy by creating jobs and building infrastructure. As of March, implications for invasive species management were unclear. The stimulus package includes more than $3 billion for agencies and programs that will directly affect natural resources. The ARRA spending mandates are very broad and include concepts such as habitat restoration, watershed improvement, forest health protection, and wildland fire management that may allow funding to flow toward invasive plant management. States and federal agencies face a May 3 deadline to begin reporting how ARRA dollars will be allocated. Until that time, governors are coordinating state allocations, while regional and national offices of the federal agencies are evaluating needs and de...