In late-July New York State Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) in Sullivan County responded to an antique store in the Town of Mamakating after receiving a tip from a frequent shopper about a mounted mountain lion head being offered for sale there. An undercover officer located the mounted head in the back of the store and made a deal to purchase it just as a uniformed officer responded to the location. [Read more…] about Catskills Antique Shop Found With Illegal Taxidermy
endangered species
Rescued Mussels Being Returned to Lower Grasse River
An ongoing New York State Museum project is returning nearly 500,000 rescued freshwater mussels to the restored ALCOA Superfund Site in the Lower Grasse River near Massena, NY.
The State Museum was awarded an $713,000 cooperative agreement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to lead the five-year effort, which is also expected to advance research informing future freshwater restoration efforts. [Read more…] about Rescued Mussels Being Returned to Lower Grasse River
NY Harbor’s Black-Crowned Night Herons Could Vanish
The Black-Crowned Night Heron, historically the most abundant wading bird in New York Harbor and an important environmental indicator, is vanishing fast, according to new research led by NYC Bird Alliance and published today the scientific journal Conservation Science and Practice. The study confirms that local Black-Crowned Night Heron populations have declined by 55% in just 22 years. [Read more…] about NY Harbor’s Black-Crowned Night Herons Could Vanish
Bobolink: The Grassland Bird in a Reverse Tuxedo
If you live near a large meadow, hayfield, or grassland, you may have recently noticed some bubbly robotic noises emanating from those areas. It might sound like an overexcited android, but the real source is a medium-sized songbird, the bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus).
One of the few avian grassland specialists in the Northeast, bobolinks have recently returned from their wintering grounds in southern South America and are now fully engaged in breeding activity. [Read more…] about Bobolink: The Grassland Bird in a Reverse Tuxedo
Troy’s Great Elephant Rampage
Barnum & Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth opened their 1882 season March 11th with a torchlight parade to Madison Square Garden. Every foot of their route through the city was shoulder to shoulder with spectators. Those who braved the cool evening were rewarded with a two-and-a-half-hour circus parade.
Their next stop, Philadelphia on April 24th, was just the beginning of a busy season that would take the circus across 129 cities in New England, New York, and down the eastern seaboard. Also that spring, Barnum and Bailey purchased Jumbo, a 21-year-old African Savanna Elephant from the London Zoo. He soon joined the other elephants on the tour and was quickly given top billing. [Read more…] about Troy’s Great Elephant Rampage
Celebrate Amphibian Week With Knowledge, Action
Amphibian Week occurs during the first full week in May and was created to raise awareness about these creatures which are severely threatened and are currently the most threatened vertebrate class globally.
A 2023 global assessment found that 40.7% of all amphibian species are threatened with extinction. The crisis is driven by habitat loss, pollution, and increasing impacts from climate change, with roughly two in five species at risk. [Read more…] about Celebrate Amphibian Week With Knowledge, Action
Environmental Conservation Police Statistics for 2023-2025
In 2025, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Division of Law Enforcement fielded an estimated 101,169 calls.
These resulted in Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) and Investigators across the state responding to more than 35,575 complaints. [Read more…] about Environmental Conservation Police Statistics for 2023-2025
After A 90% Habitat Loss, A New Plan for Adirondack Brook Trout Ponds
The brook trout is New York’s state fish and an iconic symbol of the Adirondacks, but about 90% of brook trout pond habitat has been lost due to poor management.
Now, for the first time in 46 years, New York State has a new plan that identifies the current risks for lacustrine (lake and pond living) brook trout and it hopes will guide the State’s management actions at Adirondack brook trout ponds for the next 15 years. [Read more…] about After A 90% Habitat Loss, A New Plan for Adirondack Brook Trout Ponds
American Shad: Once A Hudson River Staple, Now Fished-Out
American shad (Alosa sapidissima) is a migratory fish species with rich history in the Hudson and Delaware rivers. Indigenous peoples and colonial Americans relied on shad for sustenance, often smoking the flesh and consuming shad roe (eggs) as a delicacy.
American shad supported important recreational and commercial fisheries throughout the 20th century, however the Hudson River stock declined in recent years and as a result, all recreational and commercial fisheries for American shad closed in 2010. [Read more…] about American Shad: Once A Hudson River Staple, Now Fished-Out
Return of the Bald Eagle: A Conservation Success Story
If you see a bald eagle soaring above Lake George, it is safe to assume that it is descended from one of the scores released in New York State in the 1970s and 80s.
There was nothing inevitable about the return of the bald eagle to the Adirondacks. [Read more…] about Return of the Bald Eagle: A Conservation Success Story
1869: A Bengal Tiger Roams Lake George
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, once billed as “The Greatest Show on Earth,” ceased operation in 2017. The circus and its predecessors date to 1871.
In 1869, two years before this long-running circus first opened, Campbell’s Circus and Menagerie was at Lake George when it made national and international newspaper headlines. [Read more…] about 1869: A Bengal Tiger Roams Lake George
Detection Dogs Are Mapping Hidden Cottontail Homes
The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Conservation Dogs Program (CDP) conducted winter pellet surveys for New England cottontails (NEC) at Fahnestock State Park in the Hudson River Valley, bringing an innovative approach to monitoring this rare species.
Through partnerships with DEC and NYS Parks, the CDP is deploying three specially trained detection dogs (Peat, Lettie, and Lady) to locate cottontail scat (fecal pellets) in challenging terrain. [Read more…] about Detection Dogs Are Mapping Hidden Cottontail Homes
Northeastern Bulrush & Why Federal Grants Matter
Twenty years ago, at this time of year, I found myself walking the margin of a marsh in east central Vermont with then State Botanist Bob Popp. We had traveled to that particular site because it showed promise as potential habitat for the rare northeastern bulrush.
This elusive species requires exposed soil at the water’s edge. Just as we were about to depart from the last wetland in the area, Popp called me over to exclaim that he had found what we were seeking, which he recognized by the arching arms of the seedhead that reminded him of an explosion of fireworks. [Read more…] about Northeastern Bulrush & Why Federal Grants Matter
A Firefly Atlas: Research Hopes to Help Declining Species
Most people have heard about insect declines, with recent headlines like “Insect Declines: The Great and Merciless Thinning.”
Bumble bees and butterflies are the best-known examples of declining groups, but there is a growing body of evidence documenting downward trends in other insects. Fireflies, famous for their impressive light-shows in the eastern US, are one such group. [Read more…] about A Firefly Atlas: Research Hopes to Help Declining Species
Baltimore Checkerspot Butterflies: Audacity on the Wing
A few summers ago, I was walking my dog in a pasture near my house when a butterfly landed on my bare leg. It was a medium-sized black butterfly with orange crescents along the margins of its wings and rows of white dots adjacent to the border. Its antennae were tipped with orange clubs. On the underside, the butterfly displayed a striking checkerboard pattern of orange, black, and white.
It was a Baltimore checkerspot (Euphydryas phaeton) – the first time I’d ever seen one. [Read more…] about Baltimore Checkerspot Butterflies: Audacity on the Wing
Last Seen in 1929: Have Silver Chub Returned?
The Silver Chub (Macrhybopsis storeriana) is a medium-sized, relatively nondescript minnow that, in New York, has only been collected from the watersheds of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
This species was last seen during surveys of the Lake Erie watershed in 1929 and has long been thought to be extirpated from the state, largely due to extensive pollution in the lake and its tributaries. Silver chubs are mainly restricted to large, often silty rivers and are sometimes found near the mouths of small streams. [Read more…] about Last Seen in 1929: Have Silver Chub Returned?
Eastern Box Turtles: Life in a Shell
As a budding naturalist growing up in the concrete-heavy environs of Boston, I would regularly thumb through my family’s collection of nature books and daydream about the creatures within. One species I was particularly drawn to was the eastern box turtle.
These charismatic terrestrial turtles have high-domed shells festooned with colorful yellow or orange markings, and stout legs built for walking. Notwithstanding their similarities to tortoises, box turtles are part of the “water turtle” family Emydidae, which includes species like the eastern painted turtle and spotted turtle [Read more…] about Eastern Box Turtles: Life in a Shell
Bill Would Provide Better Protection to Wolves in New York
Wolves, a species protected under both state and federal law, once roamed widely throughout New York but were driven to extinction in the early 1900s due to deliberate extermination. As apex predators, wolves play a critical ecological role in maintaining balanced and healthy ecosystems. Given adequate protections, they are capable of traveling hundreds of miles to reclaim their historic range. [Read more…] about Bill Would Provide Better Protection to Wolves in New York
Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Species List Updated
For the first time since 1999, New York State’s List of Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern has been updated. Additions include a recently discovered species of frog (Atlantic coast leopard frog) and species recently classified under the federal Endangered Species Act. The status of all native fish species in New York has been assessed as well. [Read more…] about Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Species List Updated
Native Plant Spotlight: Bloodroot
It’s the season for spring ephemerals, native wildflowers like bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) that bloom on the forest floor for a short time in early spring. Like other spring ephemerals, bloodroot takes advantage of early spring sunlight, then fades by the time leaves shade the forest floor.
Bloodroot can be recognized by its single white flower with a yellow center and leaves that curl around the flower’s stalk before unfurling as the plant matures. Its name comes from the bright red liquid within its roots. Bloodroot has been used traditionally by many Native American cultures for a variety of uses, including dye and medicine. [Read more…] about Native Plant Spotlight: Bloodroot