Early Detection and Rapid Response
Written by Melody Cerniglia
After a long field season filled with many new and old projects to explore and manage, LIISMA is finally seeing things wind down in October; however, one of our most impressive management efforts this month appears to be the shining star of the season.
In early October, our team visited Arthur J. Hendrickson Park in the Village of Valley Stream, to control Ludwigia peploides or floating primrose willow.
When we arrived at the site, we found that the population surveyed earlier in the season had nearly doubled in size. The team spent a few hours wading through the stream, collecting and disposing of the plant as much as was feasible, as it would be going to seed in a short amount of time.
LIISMA then returned to the site with our partners at the Nassau County Soil and Water Conservation District, increasing our personnel power to ten sets of hands, which sped up the control efforts tremendously. In a matter of two hours staff removed 2200 pounds of floating primrose willow- this in addition to the 840 pounds that LIISMA had alone removed on our previous visit. LIISMA looks forward to furthering our partnership with the Village of Valley Stream in combined efforts to control floating primrose willow in Arthur J. Hendrickson Park, and beyond. We also extend our sincere gratitude to Nassau County Soil and Water for aiding us in controlling this high-impact EDRR species.
LIISMA wrapped up the field season by finishing our monitoring of 16 kudzu (Pueraria montana) sites spanning across Suffolk, Nassau, Queens and Staten Island counties. Of those 16 sites, kudzu was only detected at four of them- three of which were managed by LIISMA staff directly.
Last but not least, we met with Sue Feustel of The Caumsett Foundation to tour the beautiful Caumsett State Park, in all of its autumn splendor. Sue, amongst colleagues and friends, toured us around the park to showcase the amazing work the Foundation has been accomplishing in managing species such as knotweed, phragmites, and EDRR projects such as winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) and hardy kiwi (Actinida arguta) in the park. We even had a wonderful lunch together- complete with a delicious pumpkin pie to celebrate the end of a fruitful season managing invasive species together- and apart!
LIISMA extends our gratitude to The Caumsett Foundation, the Village of Valley Stream, and the Nassau County Soil and Water Conservation District for their consistent support and partnership in managing invasive species on Long Island.
Conservation Areas
Written by Kassidy Robinson
The LIISMA team wrapped up conservation areas field work for the season with a collaborative visit to Long Pond. Joined by staff from the Town of Southampton, the team kayaked against the wind to reach a significantly diminished emerging stand of phragmites at the North end of the pond. It was a challenge to access the phragmites in the center on a dry, mucky island within the pond, but with a little luck, and scooting kayaks through the mud, the team was able to reach and cut the few stems that were found. Overall, only eight stems of phragmites were removed, keeping on track with the strongly diminished population managed in 2024. An additional emerging stand was also identified for management next season. Thank you to our partners at Southampton for working with us to protect this rare coastal plain pond ecosystem from the spread of phragmites!
