History, Natural History & the Arts
Spring is an ideal time to observe bird migrations. New York is conveniently located along the Atlantic Flyway, one of the main migration routes.
This provides a great opportunity to observe birds flying to their summer breeding grounds. Here’s a few resources to get you started: [Read more…] about Watching Migrating Birds This Spring: A Primer
It’s a whimsical winter notion.
“Some imaginative and wonderfully learned German scholars tell us that every snow flake is inhabited by happy little beings, who begin their existence, hold their revels, live long lives of happiness, and delight, die and are buried, all during the descent of the snowflake from the world of clouds to the solid land,” The Granville Sentinel reported on May 12th, 1886. [Read more…] about Whimsical Winter Notions For A Snowy Day
Every year my husband and I cut a Christmas tree on family land. We look for a young balsam fir growing in the power line right-of-way or in a forest clearing.
Fir is our favorite type of Christmas tree because of its delightful, pungent fragrance. While Christmas tree farmers cultivate a variety of fir species, balsam fir is the only type of fir native to Northern New York. [Read more…] about Balsam Fir: A Native New York Christmas Tree
On Monday, April 8th, 2024, a large portion of New York State will be directly in the path of totality for a total solar eclipse.
This is not only an amazing sight but a rare occurrence during which views can witness the effect of a sunrise and sunset all in the span of about two hours. [Read more…] about The 2024 Total Solar Eclipse: A Primer For New York State
Overwhelmingly approved by voters last fall, the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act prioritizes investments in environmental justice, climate change mitigation, shoreline restoration, flood resilience, water quality, open space conservation, recreational resources, and green jobs. This spring and summer, the public and potential funding applicants will be able to learn more about the Bond Act at a series of educational listening sessions. [Read more…] about Environmental Bond Act Listening Sessions
This round-up of Adirondack conservation news is a collection of the most current events taking place in New York’s Adirondack Park, a unique national treasure and legacy we inherited over 100 years ago that we must protect for future generations. This regular feature provided by the Adirondack Council highlights threats and opportunities concerning the Park’s ecological integrity, wild character, and community vibrancy. [Read more…] about Adirondack Conservation News This Week
The Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP), working with Peregrine Productions, has launched Meet the Scientist, a new video series that spotlights scientists who are working to better understand the water quality, ecology, and history of Lake Champlain and its watershed. [Read more…] about Lake Champlain Basin Program Launches Meet the Scientist Video Series
Hunters in New York killed an estimated 231,961 deer during the 2022 hunting seasons, a 10-percent increase from last year, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced. [Read more…] about DEC Releases 2022 Deer Hunting Estimates
What’s good for the Black-backed Woodpecker is good for restoration of burned California forests. The birds’ unique relationship with fire underpins the latest research into improved post-fire management. A study published in Ecological Applications describes a new tool that factors how fires burn into forest management decisions and turns science into action for wildlife conservation. [Read more…] about Woodpecker Guides Post-Fire Forest Management
Why do ants suddenly appear every time Spring is near? Just like bees, they long to be close to you – especially if your home is made of wood. Carpenter ants (genus Camponotus) and the eastern carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica) both nest in wood and are frequent visitors to my log home. [Read more…] about The Carpenters (Ants & Bees) Have Arrived
Spring is an ideal time to observe bird migrations. New York is conveniently located along the Atlantic Flyway, one of the main migration routes. This gives you a great opportunity to observe birds flying to their summer breeding grounds. [Read more…] about Watch the Skies for Spring Bird Migrations
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced that Otak, Inc., is facilitating the first round of public meetings in the Adirondack High Peaks and Catskills for the Visitor Use Management (VUM) project. The goal of the project is to develop appropriate sustainable management strategies for the High Peaks and Kaaterskill Clove areas. [Read more…] about Input Sought On Visitor Management in Adk High Peaks, Catskills
Crews from DEC Lands & Forests and the Central Pine Barrens Commission worked last month in the Long Island Central Pine Barrens to prevent the spread of southern pine beetle. Southern pine beetle (SPB) is a bark beetle that infests pine trees, killing a tree within 2-4 months. Since SPB was first found in Long Island in 2014, DEC has been managing the Central Pine Barrens using forest thinning and prescribed fire. [Read more…] about Long Island Pine Barrens Southern Pine Beetle Control
Chautauqua Fish Hatchery is located on Prendergast Point, midway on the west side of Chautauqua Lake, off State Route 394 near Mayville, in the town of Chautauqua, Chautauqua County, NY. It’s the only hatchery in the New York State that raises pure strain muskellunge – the largest freshwater sportfish in New York. Each spring, hatchery staff collect and fertilize about 1.5-2 million eggs from wild muskellunge, usually from Chautauqua Lake. Fertilized eggs are then hatched and reared at the hatchery. [Read more…] about Chautauqua Fish Hatchery & NY’s Muskellunge Fishery
Native to Asia, the hemlock woolly adelgid, or HWA, is an invasive, aphid-like insect that attacks North American hemlocks. Juvenile HWA, known as crawlers, search for suitable sites on the host tree, usually at the base of the needles. [Read more…] about Winter Cold Snaps Help Control Hemlock Wooly Adelgid
“My girdle is killing me” was an obnoxious slogan from a TV ad that ran in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the US. The widely-mocked catchphrase was meant to inspire women to rush out and buy a certain brand of non-murderous undergarment. I doubt the ad’s plaintive tone helped boost sales, but hey – I’m no marketing expert.
And yet, underclothes can be dangerous. [Read more…] about Girdling Roots Kill Trees
The Hudson River Valley Greenway (HRVG) has released the 2022 Hudson River Valley Greenway Trail Visitation Report. The report includes visitation numbers to fourteen different trail sections on the Hudson River Valley Greenway Trail (HRVG Trail) using automated counters to detect users. [Read more…] about 2022 Hudson River Valley Greenway Trail Visitation Report
At this time of year you may see bird courting rituals, lots of singing, nest construction, and the beginnings of fragile new life. Spring also brings another season of the NestWatch citizen-science project from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, building its ever more valuable database on nesting birds. [Read more…] about Help Monitor Bird Families
DEC has announced the release of the Recovery Plan for Hudson River American Shad. American shad is an economically and ecologically important migratory fish species that once supported a robust fishery in the Hudson River.
Decades of intense fishing pressure coupled with years of low reproduction and non-fishing-related mortality events have further impacted the stock’s resilience and exacerbated declines. [Read more…] about Recovery Plan for Hudson River American Shad Released
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced they are seeking public input on the development of a draft Recreation Management Plan (RMP) for the South Colton Tract Conservation Easement, a privately owned tract subject to a conservation easement encompassing approximately 1,725 acres in the town of Colton, St. Lawrence County. Comments are being sought on the development of the draft RMP until April 21st, 2023. [Read more…] about South Colton Tract Easement Comments Sought
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