New York asks pool owners to look for tree-killing beetles

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York state officials are asking swimming pool owners to look for a tree-killing invasive beetle when they clean their pool filters.
The Department of Environmental Conservation is running its annual Asian long-horned beetle swimming pool survey through Aug. 30. 

This is the time of year when the insects become active outside of the trees they are infesting.

Volunteers are asked to check pool filters and skimmers and send in pictures of suspected Asian long-horned beetles.

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Advertise: 

Household Hazardous Waste Day

ONLY TOWN OF SCHODACK RESIDENTS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS FREE EVENT 

YOU MUST CALL TO REGISTER! 477-7918

See the flyer HERE

Replanting the Streams of the Hudson Valley

Do you own or manage land along a stream?

The Hudson Estuary Trees for Tribs Program offers free native trees and shrubs for planting along the tributary streams in the Hudson River Estuary watershed. We are looking for new sites for plantings. Our staff can help you with a planting plan and work with your volunteers on site.

Call to action

On Wednesday, October 28th, Rensselaer County Chairman Stan Brownell and Vice Chairman Alex Shannon proposed another bill to protect drinking water , and we understand that they intend to bring it to a vote on November 10th.

The language of the bill reflects much improvement over the “eminent domain” version, and we now have a basis for moving forward to the development of a bill acceptable to us, the residents. However, it needs a lot of improvement. In fact, when comparing this bill to that which Legislator Alex Shannon and others introduced in August, this bill represents a significant step away from that bill's protections.

For example: The bill covers residents living within ¼ mile from a blast; the August bill protected residents living one mile from a blast: a 75% reduction in those protected. While we could live with covering residents living within ½ mile, ¼ mile – only 1320 feet -- is too small a radius.

Potty Mouths

 (Skip Dickstein/Times Union)

East Greenbush has been hit with DEC fines over the sewer plant seven times during the last 15 years

According to the Sept. 24 agreement with the Department of Environmental Conservation, the sewer plant exceeded state pollution standards 16 times between January and June, sometimes at very high levels.

For example, levels of dangerous fecal bacteria in the river were up to 224 times state standards during May and June when fishermen were crowding the river in the spring for the annual striper run. Exposure to such bacteria can cause gastrointestinal and breathing problems.
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Advertise  locally: 

Free Seedlings courtesy of NYSDEC.

Available to Schools for Free

NY State Parks ‏@NYstateparks  27m27 minutes ago

RT @NYSDEC: The deadline to apply for free seedlings has been extended until mid April: http://on.ny.gov/1MtFijq 

Do you own or manage land along a stream?

The Hudson Estuary Trees for Tribs Program offers free native trees and shrubs for planting along the tributary streams in the Hudson River Estuary watershed. We are looking for new sites for plantings. Our staff can help you with a planting plan and work with your volunteers on site.

Trees for Tribs is now accepting applications for Spring 2015 planting projects. Applications received by March 1, 2015 will be given preference.

For more information about the program including project applications and fact sheets, please visit the DEC website,www.dec.ny.gov/lands/43668.html or contact the Hudson River Estuary Program's Stream Buffer Coordinator, Beth Roessler at (845) 256-2253,  or HudsonEstuaryTFT@dec.ny.gov .

Since 2007, Trees for Tribs has been responsible for planting more than 36,000 native trees and shrubs along 17 miles of stream with the help of over 7,500 local volunteers. These plants will help protect water quality, fish and wildlife and also reduce erosion and flooding.

Please forward this email to potentially interested landowners and partners.

Thank you,

Beth Roessler

Stream Buffer Coordinator, Hudson River Estuary Program/ NYS Water Resources Institute, Cornell University

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