New Video on Invasive Species by NY DEC

 New York State (NYS) Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) brings you, “Uninvited: The Spread of Invasive Species”. It tells the story of invasive species in NYS and how the DEC and their partners are tackling them. 

One of the biggest ways you can help stop invasive species is by educating friends, family, and neighbors about the small choices they can make that have a big impact, such as: Using local firewood, cleaning, draining, and drying your watercraft and gear, removing mud and debris off your equipment, boots, gear, and pets. 

Uninvited was filmed in 2018. Invasive species move fast; Since the time of filming there have been some updates to the information provided in the film.

Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKh8Lc31rm8

Barberry Added to List of Plants Illegal to Sell in Pennsylvania

Beginning October 6, 2021, Japanese barberry and two other invasive plant species were added to the list of plants that are illegal to propagate or sell in Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Committee placed a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on August 7 officially adding the following species to the Noxious Weed List as Class B noxious weeds:

•             Berberis thunbergia, Japanese barberry

•             Microstegium vimineum, Japanese stiltgrass

•             Alliaria petiolate, garlic mustard

This becomes effective 60 days after notice.

Most notable is the addition of Japanese barberry, a popular nursery and landscaping plant. Until the Department of Agriculture develops a process to apply for permission to sell sterile varieties, both sterile and nonsterile varieties are banned.

The first two years of enforcement will be incremental, to allow for outreach to plant merchants, landscape professionals, and other states to enable the industry to work towards compliance. 

Noxious weeds are determined to be injurious to public health, crops, livestock, and agricultural land or other property and cannot be sold, transported, planted, or otherwise propagated in Pennsylvania. Class B noxious weeds are widely established and cannot feasibly be eradicated. You can learn more about the Pennsylvania’s Noxious weed law by clicking here.

Audubon’s Healthy Forests Guide is Now Available!

Audubon Mid-Atlantic's newest resource for Pennsylvania is here, along with two updated companion publications. Designed for industry professionals, including consulting and public-lands foresters, Healthy Forests: A Bird-based Silvicultural Guide for Forestry Professionals, is chock full of silviculture guidance, management scenarios, and ideas for successful bird-friendly forestry.  

The guide weaves together effective, traditional forest management techniques with bird-friendly practices that support multiple objectives, including wildlife habitat enhancement/creation, timber production, forest regeneration, and recreation. Understanding that every forest property, client, and situation is unique, the guide includes sections like 'Selling Silviculture' with tips for engaging landowners. The ‘Silvicultural Options and Scenarios’ section describes effective management solutions for common forest conditions and issues found across the Mid-Atlantic region.

Available alongside the Healthy Forests Guide are two companion pieces: the Forest Birds Pocket Guide and the Healthy Forests Quick Start Guide.   

The Forest Birds Pocket Guide includes detailed descriptions of the habitat and forest conditions needed by 18 priority bird species in Pennsylvania. It’s an easy-to-use companion to the Healthy Forests Guide with supplemental material to help inform management decisions for priority birds.  

The Healthy Forests Quick Start Guide is the perfect tool for those of you who are already familiar with incorporating bird-friendly practices into forest management prescriptions. It’s concise, relevant, and easy to use, with everything you need on just a single page.     

Audubon’s Healthy Forests Guide benefitted from critical funding and partnerships with Natural Resources Conservation Service, Hamer Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Ruffed Grouse Society, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Game Commission, The Nature Conservancy, Penn State Extension, American Forest Foundation, U.S. Forest Service, and the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture. Each was instrumental in helping to develop this guide so that it would be useful and relevant to foresters across the commonwealth.  

Learn more and download the guides here.

Bees Are Essential

The USDA Forest Service and the Pollinator Partnership have teamed up to produce an excellent 40-page full color publication entitled Bee Basics: An Introduction to Our Native Bees. It is authored by Beatriz Moisset, Ph.D. and Stephen Buchmann, Ph.D. with Illustrations by Steve Buchanan. This publication shares a close up look at this treasure of native bees. They provide an invaluable ecosystem service, pollination, to 80 percent of flowering plants. Bees pollinate approximately 75 percent of the fruits, nuts, and vegetables grown in this country.

Native bees are a hidden treasure, they can be found anywhere in North America, where flowers bloom. Native pollinators have been pollinating the continent’s flowering plants since long before the arrival of honey bees. Even in today’s altered landscapes, native pollinators continue to do the yeomen’s share of pollination, especially when it comes to native plants. The world as we know it would not exist if there were no bees to pollinate the earth’s 250,000 flowering plants.

Some native bees and other pollinators are experiencing population declines and range reductions. Many of the same factors affecting honey bee health are also affecting native bee species health as well. A number of government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and private individuals are creating pollinator gardens throughout the country that will benefit native bees and other pollinators. Helping native bees is essential to our continued survival, health, and well-being. These animals benefit us all because of the invaluable ecosystem services they provide to the environment and to our farms, forests, and gardens.

Get involved, observe bees with close focusing binoculars; plant a small pollinator garden; or help a neighbor, student, or family member drill small holes in scrap lumber to create a bee house. Do your share to make sure this precious legacy continues. Click here to read the full publication.