For Immediate Release: July 3, 2018
Contact:
Keith P. McKeever | Public Information Officer | Adirondack Park Agency
contact@apa.ny.gov | (518) 891-4050
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), in consultation with the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP), recently revised and amended the Inter-Agency Guidelines for Implementing Best Management Practices to Control Invasive Species on DEC Administered Lands of the Adirondack Park. The revised guidelines will help land managers abate the spread of Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, establish a 10-acre threshold for Early Detection and Rapid Response of forest pests, update best management practices for additional terrestrial plant species and include best management practices for control of aquatic invasive plants listed under APA general permits. The APA and DEC, in partnership with the APIPP, are fully committed to the protection and restoration of the native ecology of the Adirondack Park.
APA Chairman Sherman Craig said, "These guidelines apply to DEC administered lands within the Adirondack Park, which are comprised primarily of Forest Preserve lands protected by Article XIV of the New York State Constitution. Best Management Practices were established to control invasive species while also ensuring management activities will not alter the "forever wild" character of the Forest Preserve. This is consistent with the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan directive to manage Forest Preserve lands for their protection and preservation as well as relevant provisions of the New York State Constitution, the Environmental Conservation Law, the Executive Law and the State Environmental Quality and Review Act."
DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said, "Invasive species are a serious threat to the millions of acres of forests and the thousands of acres of water located on the Adirondack Forest Preserve. These guidelines demonstrate APAs and DEC's commitment to protect this great resource from the threat of exotic plants and insects. The Best Management Practices allow us to respond quickly and take actions necessary to control the spread of invasive species on the lands and waters of the Forest Preserve. This will also serve to protect the private forest lands and waters in the Adirondacks."
Invasive species are plants, animals, and other organisms either accidentally or intentionally introduced from outside their historic range that cause harm to the environment, economy, or human health. Invasive species cause the loss of biodiversity, alter the normal flow of watercourses, degrade water quality, impair recreational use, decrease property values, and in some causes result in negative impacts to human health. Due to the lack of natural predators in their new environment and high reproductive ability, invasives can quickly become widespread and out-compete native species.
Ground rules for managing invasive species on DEC administered lands inside the Adirondack Park are established through this inter-agency guidance. Listed control methods describe management techniques such as hand pulling, cutting, digging, matting, use of herbicides, pesticides and biological controls. Species that if left untreated have the potential to colonize backcountry land and waterbodies resulting in severe degradation to the natural environment are identified.
The guidance includes the following:
- The details for an active invasive species management project;
- Expedited review authorization form;
- Species specific best management practices;
- Invasive species of concern list;
- Prevention procedures to mitigate invasive species spread to uninvadeda reas;
- Collection and transport procedures; and
- Eligible land managers and organization partner procedures.
Hemlock Wooly Adelgid
The Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (HWA), an aphid-like insect was added to the list of invasive forest pests. Its name derives from the white woolly masses they form on the underside of branches at the base of the needles on the undersides of hemlock branch tips from late fall to early summer. It develops and reproduces on all hemlock species but attacks only Eastern and Carolina hemlocks. HWA spreads through the wind, by movement of birds and wild animals as well as planting infested nursery stock. The adelgid causes hemlock decline and mortality within 4-10 years of infestation in its northern range. Hemlock mortality would result in erosion, increased stream sedimentation, warming of stream water temperatures and loss of regional biodiversity.
The control methods for Hemlock Wooly Adelgid include pesticides and biological controls.
In 2017 HWA was found for the first time in the Adirondack Park, on three trees at Prospect mountain in Warren County, near Lake George. This small, outlying infestation was treated with systemic pesticides by DEC and the APIPP in a cooperative effort to slow the spread of HWA into the Adirondacks. In all, 218 trees within a 7-acre area were treated with a mixture of dinotefuran and imidacloprid. Monitoring of the treatment in the Spring of 2018 has uncovered no new or live HWA. Post-treatment monitoring of the site will continue through 2020.
To download the Inter-Agency Guidelines please visit the APAs website at https://www.apa.ny.gov/State_Land/index.html.
To learn more about efforts to combat invasive species please visit the Adirondack Park Invasive Species Program website at - http://adkinvasives.com
The mission of the Adirondack Park Agency is to protect the public and private resources of the Adirondack Park through the exercise of the powers and duties of the Agency as provided by law.