Invasive species week kicks off
WATERFORD, N.Y. » Officials from the state’s leading environmental agencies announced Monday the start of an educational awareness campaign to get the public’s help in detecting an extremely invasive insect that has a taste for fruit and maple trees.
The educational campaign is one part of the weeklong Invasive Species Awareness Week that goes to July 14.
This is the fifth annual proclamation that Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed to bring the seriousness of the topic to the public’s attention. Along with the proclamation is $13.3 million in the state budget from the Environmental Protection Fund, $6 million of which has been set aside for eradication.
Invasive species are living organisms that are not native to an eco-system. They can cause environmental harm to that system, harm to the economy, and harm to human health. Invasive species like the emerald ash bore and the Zebra mussel are here already and their impacts are known.
The spotted lanternfly however, has yet to be detected in the state. That is where the public is being asked for its help.
With its large pink wings with black dots the spotted lanternfly is a beautiful looking insect, but it can cause environmental havoc, especially with fruit trees.
The insect may not be here yet, but it’s close. Pennsylvania has an area that is quarantined and it has been detected in northern New Jersey and Delaware.
Standing in the sun of Peebles Island State Park Monday, officials from DEC, the Department of Agriculture and Markets and New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation described what type of harm the insect can cause and what can be done to stop it or at least slow it down.
“The Invasive Species Awareness Week is really about educating the public and empowering them about what they can do to us find, address, and stop the spread of invasive species around the state,” said DEC Chief of Staff Julie Tighe. “They are costly to our societies and our communities. Preventing invasive species is far more cost effective than trying to remove them once they’ve become established.”
In his remarks Monday, Richard Ball, the Commissioner of the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets noted that as a farmer he is quite familiar with pests and knows the destruction they can create for individual farms and for an industry.
“It takes a team, a big collaboration to get this done and be ahead of an invasive species,” he said. “In New York fruit crops represent $400 million to producers across the state. We rank second in apple production and third in grape production. The spotted lanternfly has the potential to really wreck some havoc in our agriculture in a big way, particularly with crops like apples, hops and grapes so this is a serious issue.”
Ball said the partnerships formed to combat invasive species will ramp up inspections wherever possible. But, he added, the public’s help is what is really needed.
“With the public keeping their eyes open as to what they see in their own backyards and their local parks we can stay ahead of this,” he said. “We’re depending on the public as an extra set of eyes.”
NYS Parks’ Deputy Commissioner of Natural Resources Tom Alworth noted the large amount of land in the park system and said the agency will work in partnership with DEC and Agriculture and Markets on detecting the presence of the insect.
“We had over 70 million visitors last year,” he said. “These people are coming to hike, to camp, to boat and fish and it is critical that they understand what’s at state. Invasive species are changing our forest communities. The communities we grew up with are changing drastically because of drastic invasive impacts.”
Alworth said the change going on in the forests is a dynamic problem and will probably never stop.
“If there’s a positive here, I
love the fact that we are out in front of the spotted lanternfly,” he said. “It isn’t here yet so now is the best time that we can get out and control its impacts. But, government can’t do this without the involvement of the public.”
One of the places where the public can help is by working with local Prisms which partner with the state agencies to manage certain areas or vectors for the presence of invasive species. In Saratoga County that Prism is the Capital Mohawk Prism hosted by Cornell Cooperative. Its coordinator is Kristopher Williams.
“What we do is we ask if the invasive species is here and we use early detection to see if it is indeed here,” he said. “When we do find it we look closer and then we respond.”
The public can email information and photos of suspected sightings to DEC at: spottedlanternfly@dec.ny.gov or report infestations to: www. NYiMapInvasives.org.