Lower Hudson Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM) is hosted by the NY-NJ Trail Conference and is dedicated to protecting the Lower Hudson region's biodiversity & ecosystems with a focus on controlling the harmful impacts of invasive species. 

At the end of September, our team was thrilled to participate in the New York State Invasive Species Expo! During Sunday’s Community Conservation Day, the public engaged with all of NY’s PRISMs as well as other statewide agencies. We were excited to entice passersby with our spotted lanternfly “Bug-Busters” game and carnival cutout, secretly educating them along the way!

During the professional days of the Expo, our team enjoyed a myriad of workshops, classes, and demos - and hosted a few sessions of our own. Stewardship Communications Coordinator, Krysti Sabins, presented on Storytelling and the Language of Invasive Species and LH PRISM Coordinator, Brent Boscarino, highlighted the LH PRISM's regional response to spotted lanternfly and lessons learned over the years. Terrestrial Invasive Species Project Manager, Ryan McClean, ran a management strategies workshop and Conservation Dog, Peat, (led by Conservation Dogs Program Coordinator, Arden Blumenthal) demonstrated how he sniffs out invasive scotch broom! We learned about creek restoration, forest regeneration, nature journaling, climate-smart native plants, and so much more. All in all, it was a wonderful way to connect with the public as well as our colleagues to celebrate the work we do!

We are excited to unveil our latest video highlighting helpful management techniques for various types of invasive species (Note: we've highlighted specific species, but these techniques can be used generally for certain categories of invasive vegetation). These techniques are intended for trail maintainers but can be used by the general public on their own property, as well.

We've also come up with supplementary training materials including:

• Quick Invasives Management and ID Guide (PDF)
  
• Learn Invasive Species Identification - standard (video)
  
• Learn Invasive Species Identification - intermediate (video) 
  
• Tools and Safety Protocols (video)
  

Links to the new resources can also be found on the ‘Maintainer Resources’ block on the Volunteer Dashboard.

f you have any questions or feedback about the resources or invasives, please reach out to Brent Boscarino, Associate Director of Ecological Stewardship ([email protected]) and Krysti Sabins, Stewardship Communications Coordinator ([email protected]).

The Trail Conference's Conservation Corps Trail Steward program has been engaging visitors at popular high-use trailheads and summits in the greater New York metropolitan area since the end of May, and will continue their outreach through the end of October. In addition to stewarding, trail maintenance and improvement projects, and in collaboration with our Invasives Strike Force (ISF) and Trail Crews, the Stewards have designed and led guided hikes for the public. In September, the Hudson Valley Stewards participated in the Hudson River Valley Ramble, with a guided hike to the historic Cornish Estate ruins in Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve. In October, the Catskill Summit Stewards participated in Catskills Lark in the Park, with a guided hike along the Escarpment Trail in the Kaaterskill Wild Forest near North-South Lake Campground. Both events focused on educating participants on Leave No Trace principles, map-reading and navigation skills, and the rich history of these extraordinary areas in addition to invasive species ecology, education and awareness. 

The Trail Stewards and ISF Crew also continue to work together on swap days, where they have increased opportunities to learn from each other and tackle larger projects together. At the end of August, the ISF crew traveled north to the Catskills to spend a day on the trails and summits with the Summit Stewards. In September, the Hudson Valley Trail Stewards joined ISF at Jay Heritage Center in Westchester County, NY, and ISF members continue to assist the Hudson Valley Stewards at their most popular location, Breakneck Ridge. The Hudson Valley Stewards also undertook an independent project, removing 33,450 pounds of water chestnut from the Hudson River at Mills Norrie State Park in Staatsburg, NY.

Survey intern and volunteer, Irene Sheldon, holds up a spotted lanternfly found at one of the traps she monitors in Kakiat Park, Montebello, NY.

The turning of the month of September into October brought the end to a successful Invasives Strike Force Survey season. Our team is busily collating the data and excited to share results once analyzed this winter. Huge thank you to Irene Sheldon who has not only completed over 40 ISF surveys and spotted lanternfly trap checks but has also completed 10 separate Lingering Ash and Rapid Ash Mortality Assessment surveys in partnership with the Ecological Research Institute and Lower Hudson PRISM. This program aims to help prevent ash extinction and enable ash restoration by surveying and assessing canopy health and resistance of ash trees to the impacts of emerald ash borer. The goal is to identify trees that likely have some heritable resistance from which material can be used to breed highly resistant, locally adapted native ash. Thank you to the Orentreich Foundation for their continued leadership and internship support for this important monitoring program.   

We also wanted to give a big shout out to any additional surveyors that were not featured in last month’s newsletter that have now reached either the 2 surveys completed or 10 hours dedicated milestone for 2023. Congrats to Bill and Linda Taggart, Raza Malik, Larry Yang, Christine and Joseph Odin, Emily Wein, Barbara Mistler, Erich Langner, Biana Varga, and Charlie Gadol who all have met at least one of these thresholds! A special shout out goes to Adrienne Popko who has completed 14 full surveys in 2023. We are so appreciative of  the hard work that goes into this!