September 11th

Austin Unruh is the founder and CEO of Trees for Graziers (TFG), a company helping farmers in Pennsylvania and beyond take their grazing to new heights using silvopasture. His goal is to make silvopasture as easy and cost-effective as possible for farmers, which is why TFG offers everything from planning and funding acquisition to planting and aftercare, while also growing silvo-specific nursery stock and educating the public and conservation professionals about silvopasture.

September 18th

Eels in the Classroom (EIC) is an environmental education opportunity provided by the Susquehanna River Basin Commission. This program provides juvenile American eels (elvers) to educators to raise in their classrooms and release back into the Susquehanna River or its tributaries. The EIC project partners with other natural resource agencies and the operators of Conowingo Dam who have been collectively working to bring eels back to their native waters. While raising elvers, students learn about the value and importance of migratory fish through the ecosystem functions they perform.

Video Links:
http://www.vernalschool.org/the-eels.html#/
https://www.srbc.gov/our-work/american-eels/classroom.html

September 25th

Andy Mason, Co-President of the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society discusses the organization’s citizen science programs including the Franklin Mt. Hawkwatch and annual bird counts, as well as efforts to document birds at proposed alternative energy sites. Susan Rosengrant, former NYS science educator and school administrator and leader of Canadarago Lake Improvement Association’s CSLAP team, discusses the program and engaging citizens in becoming water protectors. Jeff O’Handley, Program Director for Otsego County Conservation Association, examines the work-in-progress that is OCCA’s hemlock woolly adelgid monitoring program.

October 2nd

Overview of strategies used by Cortland County SWCD in the Upper Susquehanna Watershed to capture nutrient management acres for Chesapeake Bay Reporting. The majority of farms in our watershed already meet the Chesapeake Bay Program’s nutrient management definition. Soil and Water Conservation Districts are working with these farms to increase knowledge and understanding of the importance of recording where their manure nutrients are being applied. This effort is part of a grant funded through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to Expand Nutrient Management Across All Landscapes.

October 9th

Beginning January 1, 2025, wetlands of Unusual Importance will be regulated by the DEC regardless of size if the wetland possesses one or more of eleven characteristics as determined by the department pursuant to the regulations. One of these eleven criteria is a watershed with significant flooding. This presentation will explain how DEC determines if a wetland is a watershed with significant flooding.

October 16th

The Finger Lakes Partnership for Regional Invasive Species leverages a wide network of stakeholders to address invasive species in the Finger Lakes Region. Spotted lanternfly poses a particular threat to the Finger Lakes region. This presentation provides an overview of those regional threats, the implications for the rest of the region (including the Upper Susquehanna), and how Finger Lakes PRISM addresses SLF.

Webinar Resources:
Penn State Tree-of-Heaven Resource: https://extension.psu.edu/tree-of-heaven
SLF Honeydew Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=771P9SZLb88&t

October 23rd

Climate Smart Communities is a New York State program that helps local governments take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to a changing climate. One of the most important steps in the program is creating a Climate Smart Communities Task Force, which can be composed of community members, local officials, business owners, and local stakeholders. Learn more about the program, what makes a community successful in the program, and how to get started.

October 30th

This presentation will summarize insights about water-quality responses and management-practice effects in three agricultural Chesapeake Bay watersheds that have been monitored from as early as 1985. The Smith Creek (Virginia), Upper Chester River (Maryland) and Conewago Creek (Pennsylvania) watersheds were each prioritized for management-practice implementation since the early 2010s to showcase agricultural conservation efforts. In each watershed, patterns in management practices, climate, land use, and nutrient inputs were analyzed to better understand factors affecting nutrient and sediment loads.

More information about this work can be found here: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/chesapeake-bay-activities/science/new-insights-reducing-nutrient-and-sediment-loads

Find the research paper at this link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1752-1688.13197

November 6th

The 2019 Climate Act’s call to reach net zero emissions statewide set forth a goal to drastically increase carbon sequestration in the decades to come. Governor Hochul’s more recent 25 Million Tree initiative further reinforces the state’s large scale forest establishment needs. To move forward on this objective, DEC aims to establish 1.7 million acres of new forest by 2040. This update will cover the strategies identified as best possible approaches to building a resilient reforestation network that can support this unprecedented increase tree-planting and forest restoration work throughout the state.

Webinar Resources:
Reforestation Plan Dashboard – https://on.ny.gov/reforestation2024
Reforestation Coordinator Email – jessica.kathe@dec.ny.gov

November 13th

In North America and elsewhere, freshwater mussels are facing an extinction crisis. A staggering 71.2% of freshwater mussel species fall into the categories of Endangered, Threatened, or of Special Concern (Williams et al. 1993). As an obligate parasite of fish, determining the host fishes of freshwater mussels is critical to understanding how they reproduce and a necessary first step for their conservation. Despite a focus on this critical component of life history, host use remains undescribed for approximately 170 of North America’s 300 mussel species (Haag 2012). The yellow lampmussel (Lampsilis cariosa) is a freshwater mussel native to the Atlantic Slope drainages of North America that requires further investigation of its host use. To determine the potential host fishes used by yellow lampmussel, 22 species of fish were infested with larval yellow lampmussel. Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus), walleye (Sander vitreus), and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were the most effective hosts. This new knowledge of their host use will focus yellow lampmussel conservation efforts according to the needs of the waterbody.

November 20th

The Cortland County SWCD is committed to assessing road crossings in the Upper Tioughnioga Watershed. By evaluating culverts and bridges using NAACC protocol, district staff can assess the aquatic connectivity and infrastructure condition of each crossing, allowing for ranking and prioritization of those features in need of repair. During this talk, presenters discuss the importance of assessing road crossings and how this effort impacts the watershed.