Archive: News

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced last Friday that more than $2.8 million in grants have been awarded to 42 projects that will reduce the negative impacts of invasive species through control or removal activities, research, and spread prevention. Among the recipients is Cornell University, which is receiving $100,000 for the development of early detection tools.  These grants are part of the State Department of Environmental Conservation's Invasive Species Grant Program and are funded by the State's Environmental Protection Fund.
 
"New York State is leading the way in invasive species management to ensure our environment remains sustainable, healthy and strong," Cuomo said. "Through joint efforts by our state, community and organizational partners, we are developing new programs and initiatives to combat the threat of invasive species that could damage New York's waterways, agricultural crops, and invaluable forest lands."
 
Across the state, DEC is using science to determine what actions will have the greatest impact in controlling invasive species. Awarded projects are spread across four categories:

• $594,464 for eight Aquatic Invasive Species Spread Prevention projects to deploy watercraft stewards to conduct voluntary boat inspections and conduct outreach to educate recreational boaters;
• $1,163,139 for 16 Terrestrial and Aquatic Invasive Species Rapid Response and Control projects that promote the removal of invasive species through physical and mechanical removal, chemical treatments, and biocontrol release;
• $865,960 for 10 Terrestrial and Aquatic Invasive Species Research projects that help improve invasive species control methodologies; and
• $233,899 for eight Lake Management Planning projects to help address the underlying causes of aquatic invasive species infestations and provide context for their control and management.

 
Awards by region are:
 
Capital Region

• Lake George Association, Inc.: $78,575 for Lake George Putnam and Hague aquatic invasive species stewards.
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: $78,134 for ARMOR, a new tool for managing the spread of invasive aquatic species.
• Town of Ballston: $19,635 for the Ballston Lake Management Plan.
• Town of Lake Luzerne: $13,000 for the Lake Luzerne Management Plan.

 
Central New York:

• Cornell University: $100,000 for the development of environmental DNA tools for the early detection of the highly invasive aquatic plant hydrilla verticillate.
• Onondaga Environmental Institute, Inc.: $99,182 for the Central New York Watercraft Steward Program.
• Cortland County Soil & Water Conservation District: $65,177 for the Cortland County "STOP the Invasion" Boat Decontamination Project.
• Otisco Lake Preservation Association: $36,900 for Otisco Lake Watercraft Steward Program.
• Research Foundation for SUNY Cortland: $94,811 for assessing the threat of co-invasive jumping worms to New York State.

 
Finger Lakes:

• Hobart and William Smith Colleges: $100,000 for understanding the impacts of Starry Stonewort on New York State ecosystems.
• Rochester Institute of Technology: $99,985 for using artificial intelligence on street view imagery to detect five key invasive plant species in New York State.
• Research Foundation for SUNY Brockport: $85,577 for mile-a-minute (Persicaria perfoliata) discovery and control in Western New York.
• Cooperative Extension Association in the State of NY Yates County: $77,361 for Keuka Lake aquatic invasive species prevention program.
• City of Canandaigua: $76,281 for preventing the spread of invasive species on Canandaigua and Honeoye Lakes through watercraft inspections, education, and outreach.
• Town of Canandaigua: $15,618 for the Barnes Gully hemlock wooly adelgid eradication project.
• Town of Macedon: $11,133 for terrestrial invasive species control at Canal Park.

 
Long Island:

• Town of Southampton: $74,999 for Riverside Park terrestrial invasive species removal.

 
Mid-Hudson:

• Groundwork Hudson Valley: $100,000 for Yonkers Greenway Rapid Response Initiative.
• Historic Hudson Valley: $100,000 for management of porcelain-berry, Japanese stiltgrass, and common reed at Philipsburg Manor.
• Town of Rye: $100,000 for invasive species rapid response and control.
• Westchester Parks Foundation: $58,109 for Tibbetts Brook Park lake management plan.
• Teatown Lake Reservation, Inc.: $53,050 for monitoring and control of aquatic invasive species in Teatown's lakes.
• Village of Sleepy Hollow: $36,818 for DeVries Park invasive rapid response program.
• Town of Fallsburg: $15,000 for Pleasure Lake Management Plan.

 
Mid-Hudson/New York City:

• New York New Jersey Trail Conference: $100,000 for lower Hudson early detection and rapid response detection dog team.
• Research Foundation of CUNY obo CUNY Advanced Science Research Center: $100,000 for mapping spatiotemporal patterns in invasive tree, insect, and pathogen occurrences in lower Hudson Valley and New York City.
• Orange County Parks and Recreation: $20,000 for Lake Management Plan at Algonquin Park.

 
Mid-Hudson/Southern Tier/Capital Region:

• Catskill Center for Conservation and Development: $63,297 for 2019 Catskill invasive plant rapid response and control.

 
Mohawk Valley:

• Town of Caroga: $60,989 for the Caroga Decontamination Station.
• Otsego County Conservation Association, Inc.: $40,341 for Otsego County aquatic invasive species rapid response and early detection program.

 
New York City:

• The Evergreens Cemetery Preservation Foundation: $100,000 for preventing invasive species.
• Governors Island Alliance, Inc.: $100,000 for Governors Island invasive phragmites removal.
• Bronx River Alliance, Inc.: $82,448 for Bronx River Most Wanted - Invasives Elimination.
• Friends of Van Cortlandt Park: $55, 822 for knotweed reduction study: utilizing cutting and solarization.

 
North Country:

• Save The River: $100,000 for characterizing unionid habitat sustainability and dressenid re-colonization post-restoration in the lower Grasse River.
• Paul Smith's College of Arts and Science: $88,152 for Pathways of Invasion: developing models to predict recreational boater activity, aquatic invasive species distributions, and landscape level connectivity to inform aquatic invasive species management across New York State.
• Upper Saranac Foundation: $68,075 for the Upper Saranac Lake Management Plan.
• Paul Smith's College of Arts and Science: $49,056 for the efficacy of boat stewards and New York State regulations at enhancing visitor adoption of aquatic invasive species prevention strategies.
• Raquette Lake Preservation Foundation, Inc.: $25,500 for invasive species lake management plan derivation and approval.
• Town of Chesterfield: $14,580 for Butternut Pond Lake Management Plan.

 
Western New York:

• Chautauqua Lake Association, Inc.: $100,000 for Chautauqua Lake aquatic invasive species spread prevention and awareness work.
• Research Foundation for SUNY at Buffalo State: $99,858 for rapid response and early detection of slender false brome and Japanese stiltgrass in Western New York.

  
The Invasive Species Grant Program is administered by the Bureau of Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health in DEC's Division of Lands and Forests.

v15i23