History, Natural History & the Arts
Each year, DEC partners with the Venison Donation Coalition and Feeding New York State to help provide food for those in need.
Through a cooperative relationship involving the New York State Department of Health, non-profit organizations like Feeding New York State’s regional food banks and deer processors, hunters contribute nearly 40 tons of venison each year to needy families across the state. [Read more…] about Hunters Can Help Fight Food Insecurity
A walk in the woods during fall is likely to reveal an array of forest fungi. Ranging from delicate, tan mini-umbrellas to fleshy, white softballs to foot-long, orange-yellow shelves growing out of rotten logs, they come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. Fungi are critical to the health of the forest, decomposing woody debris and helping trees obtain required nutrients. [Read more…] about Forest Fungi: Native Mushrooms and Forest Health
Each fall there is roughly the same amount of yellow foliage, since in most woody plants Mother Nature sees fit to cache yellow pigments beneath the overpowering verdancy of chlorophyll.
While yellow is a stable commodity in the forest, red is a different story. Trees go through considerable effort to create the assortment of red pigments known to nerds as anthocyanins, so it’s not like red is just hanging around, having a beer with yellow as they wait for chlorophyll to fade. It’s a bit more complicated, which makes it less unreliable. [Read more…] about Seeing Red During Fall Leaf Change
Puffball is the generic name for a large group of mushrooms with similar characteristics. They come in many sizes and are usually spherical or globular in shape.
Puffballs are distinguished from other mushroom groups by the fact that they lack many of the features or characteristics that other common mushrooms possess. A puffball has no stem. It has no cap. And no external gills. All of the spores are produced inside of the fruiting body. The most common way in which they release their spores is through impact; the external force of rain or falling debris landing upon them or of animals stepping on or brushing against them, thereby compressing and/or breaking the peridium; the protective layer that encloses the spore mass inside the fungus. When that happens, as the name puffball implies, the spores are ejected in a large puff. [Read more…] about In Pursuit of Giant Puffballs
Cornell Cooperative Extension is set to host a webinar on fishing and food security on Wednesday, September 16th, at 2:30 pm.
In these difficult financial times, many people are expanding their options for putting food on the table (or in the freezer). One of the most abundant sources of food has been, and continues to be, in the lakes, ponds, and streams near our homes. [Read more…] about Fishing and Food Security: From Stream To Table
Although it’s possible dandelions arrived on the Mayflower, they do not get the esteem they deserve as plucky immigrants that put down firm roots in a new land, or as a vitamin-packed culinary delight, or as a multi-purpose herbal remedy. [Read more…] about Call the Dogs off the Lions
Cornell Cooperative Extension has announced a series of three free webinars focused on how identify wild edibles, what parts of the plants are safely edible, when they should be harvested, and how they can be prepared. [Read more…] about NYS Wild Edibles Webinar Series Set
Lambsquarters, Chenopodium album, aka pig weed, fat hen, goose foot. The name lamb’s quarters believed to be associated with “Lammas Quarter,” an ancient English festival that was held at the time this plant, or its relative orache, was harvested.
The name Chenopodium album translates as: cheno “goose,” podium “foot,” and album “white,” referring to the shape of the leaf resembling a goose’s foot and the color of the leaf’s underside. White – goose- foot. [Read more…] about History’s Editable ‘Weed’: Lambs Quarters
Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) are probably the most recognized of all broadleaf ‘weeds.’
Many people consider them a curse; a plant that can establish quickly, by seed, in a well-kept lawn and become extremely difficult to eradicate. [Read more…] about Dandelions: You Can Eat Them, Here’s How
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers Richard Franke and Lt. Rob Morse reported they were patrolling Alder Lake in the Town of Hardenburgh, Ulster County, on May 7, 2020 following a complaint about individuals picking ramps (wild leeks, Allium tricoccum) on State land.
[Read more…] about Rangers Seize Ramps, Issue A Half-Dozen Tickets