Publish Date : 11-Jul-2017
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced nearly $1.7 million in grants from the Environmental Protection Fund is being awarded to 35 municipalities, not-for-profits, and higher educational institutions for projects to control aquatic and terrestrial invasive species populations across New York. The Governor also proclaimed Invasive Species Awareness Week July 9 - 15 and is urging all New Yorkers to exercise environmental stewardship to protect our lands and waters from invasive species. More than 130 events are planned throughout the week in 43 counties across the state to build awareness of New York's ecological communities.
"New York is home to unparalleled natural beauty that must be protected from invasive predators, and with this funding, we will continue to help ensure our environment remains sustainable, healthy and strong," Governor Cuomo said. "I encourage New Yorkers to continue in this state's great tradition of environmental stewardship and join in our efforts to protect our forests, lakes, and rivers for future generations."
The awarded projects represent the first round of grants in the Invasive Species Rapid Response and Control Grant Program. The goal of the Department of Environmental Conservations rapid response for invasive species policy is to promote timely decision-making and communication in the event of a new invasive species infestation. This policy ensures that grant recipients give adequate attention to all of the necessary components of an effective response including: coordination, communication, public outreach, planning, scientific analysis, information management, and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, resources, and logistics.
The most successful applications for the Invasive Species Rapid Response and Control grants emphasized early detection, rapid response, and monitoring and provided measures to ensure the long-term success of the project. Applicants also had to clearly demonstrate that they had a strong knowledge of the biology and life cycle of the species being proposed to treat and the experience and track record to successfully complete the project. Priority was given to projects that provide opportunities for public participation and are located on or in close proximity to lands or waterbodies that offer access to the public.
Grant recipients and awarded projects are:
Mid-Hudson Valley
Westchester County Parks Department - $10,467: Invasive Species Eradication.
Town of Somers (Westchester, Co.) - $15,000: Town of Somers Invasive Species Rapid Response and Control.
Bard College (Dutchess Co.) - $56, 920: Bard College Invasive Species Rapid Control Project.
Town/Village of Scarsdale (Westchester Co.) - $24,500: South Fox Meadow Brook Knotweed Remediation Project.
Orange County-DPW - $100,000: Beaver Dam Lake Aquatic Infestation Control Project.
New York New Jersey Trail Conference - $24,483: A Lower Hudson Valley Rapid Response and Control Crew.
Mianus River Gorge Inc. (Westchester Co.) - $38,611: Rescuing the Old-Growth Forest in Mianus River Gorge.
Historic Hudson Valley - $100,000: Philipsburg Manor Japanese Knotweed.
Iona College - $39,916: A new invasive threat: mapping, studying and controlling Corydalis incisa (Incised Fumewort) along the Bronx River, Westchester County, NY.
Groundwork Hudson Valley - $89,872: Eradicating Invasive Species through Community Leadership in the Urban Environment.
Capital Region
City of Troy (Rensselaer County) - $100,000: Rapid Response and Control of Emerald Ash Borer in Street Trees.
National Audubon Society, Inc. - $13,640: Phragmites Management at Ramshorn-Livingston Audubon Sanctuary.
Columbia Land Conservancy, Inc. - $68,500: Water Chestnut Control at Meizinger Lake and Hand Hollow.
Town of Malta (Saratoga Co.) - $20,000: Saratoga Lake Water Chestnut Eradication Project.
North Country
Upper Saranac Foundation - $100,000: Fish Creek Aquatic Invasive Species Management Project.
Town of Chesterfield (Essex Co.) - $11,000: Butternut Pond Eurasian Water Milfoil Control Project.
Thousand Islands Land Trust, Inc. (Jefferson Co.) - $34,865: Carleton Island - Pale Swallow-wort Management Project.
Saranac Lake Rotary Foundation Inc. - $21,000: Aquatic Invasive Eradication on Lake Kiwassa.
Clarkson University (St. Lawrence Co.) - $58,554: Norwood Lake Invasive Watermilfoil Eradication Project.
Hamilton County Soil & Water Conservation District - $45,000: Adirondack Invasive Species Management Project.
Colby Foundation (Franklin Co.) - $50,000: Eurasian Water Milfoil Eradication on Lake Colby.
Central New York
Town of Cazenovia (Madison Co.) - $48,103: Eradication of Hydrocharis morsus-ranae (European Frog-bit) in Cazenovia Lake.
Tioga County Soil & Water Conservation District - $11,400: Controlling Hydrilla Verticillata in the Upper Susquehanna Basin of NYS.
Tioga County Soil & Water Conservation District - $42,934: Developing a Sustainable Invasive Species Rapid Response Network for Central New York while Addressing Needs at an Endangered Species Site and a Public Access Site.
Cornell University - $68,723: Invasive Species Rapid Response and Control.
Finger Lakes
Yates County - $35,800: Mechanical harvesting of Starry Stonewort infestation in Keuka Lake Outlet.
Research Foundation for SUNY Brockport (Monroe Co.) - $81,764: Slender false-brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum) control in Byron-Bergen Swamp.
Western New York
City of Tonawanda (Erie Co.) - $18,000: City of Tonawanda Emerald Ash Borer Treatment Project.
Jamestown Audubon Society, Inc. - $24,921: Audubon Community Nature Center Project to Eradicate Invasive Species Trapa natans and Phragmites australis.
Cradle Beach Camp Inc. (Erie Co.) - $82,282: Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Elimination Project.
New York City
New York City Department of Parks & Recreation -$67,746: Rapid response to mile-a-minute invasion in Queens County, NY.
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