Thanks to all who participated in New York Invasive Species Awareness Week (NYISAW) this year! From June 3rd to 9th and all month long, LIISMA and our partners hosted events and raised awareness about invasive species. From educational walks to invasive species removals and an iNaturalist Bioblitz, NYISAW was a fun-filled week with something for everyone.
LIISMA Events
Kicking off ahead of NYISAW, LIISMA hosted a training webinar for the 2024 Long Island Invasive Species Bioblitz. A Bioblitz is a community science campaign to observe as many species as possible on iNaturalist in a set time and place. The educational webinar equipped participants with the tools to use iNaturalist, identify priority invasive species, and have a safe and fun experience while bioblitzing.
Later in the week, LIISMA joined forces with the Friends of the Hempstead Plains for an in-person BioBlitz, guiding community members through this unique grassland ecosystem to record its rich biodiversity. Participants were immersed in the Plains, closely observing budding milkweeds, iridescent tree swallows, the sweet scent of Carolina roses, and the subtle differences between staghorn and shining sumacs. Along the way, LIISMA staff identified and removed an invasive plant species never recorded in the Hempstead Plains, pale swallow-wort. While invasive black swallow-wort has been observed in the Plains, pale swallow-wort can be distinguished by its paler pink flowers and lack of fine hairs. The swallow-wort (Vincetoxicum rossicum) was recorded and promptly removed with permission from Plains’ staff. This chance encounter with swallowwort exemplifies the importance of community science in informing conservation and one of the many advantages of leading with curiosity towards nature. Thanks to all who explored with us!
Whether participants Bioblitzed with us at the Hempstead Plains or independently in their yards or favorite parks, our observers from Brooklyn to Montauk did a stellar job recording species! Here are some of their project stats and highlights:
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- 521 observations
- 251 species
- 28 observers
- 89 identifiers
Kudos to those who participated in recording and identifying species. We hope you had fun and learned lots about local biodiversity!
For the annual NYISAW Webinar Series, LIISMA collaborated with education and outreach staff from other PRISMs, Partnerships for Regional Invasive Species Management, around the state. Along with other PRISM staff, Kassidy hosted a webinar titled “Storytelling and the Language of Invasive Species Outreach.” Participants learned what makes a compelling narrative and about the language best suited to invasive species discussion. Next, they put their new knowledge to the test with hands-on activities. In groups, attendees crafted short stories with clever taglines that communicated about invasive species in compelling and nuanced ways. To join the team of invasive species super communicators, watch the recording here!
Partner Events
Throughout NYISAW, LIISMA partners were hard at work hosting events to engage the public in invasive species activities!
The Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex (LIC) offered a variety of activities during NYISAW to raise awareness about invasive species. This included a volunteer workday, informational tabling sessions, and a guided nature walk. During the volunteer workday at Seatuck National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), six volunteers joined three staff members to tackle mile-a-minute (Persicaria perfoliata) along the shoreline and clean up the beach. The group removed five pounds of the invasive plant and 223 pounds of trash in 26 hours–talk about a busy day!
USFWS hosted six informational tabling sessions and a guided nature walk across Elizabeth A. Morton, Target Rock, and Wertheim National Wildlife Refuges. Staff reached a total of 90 participants at these tabling sessions and walks! They had the opportunity to teach how to prevent the spread of invasive species with PlayCleanGo, identify the spotted lanternfly and various invasive plants they were likely to see at the refuges, and engage kids in fun invasive species activities. Thank you to all who attended and hosted events, and to the amazing volunteers for their hard work cleaning up the refuges!
Seatuck Environmental Association and volunteers were hard at work during NYISAW, continuing the restoration of West Brook, a tributary of the Connetquot River. After the dam on West Brook failed in 2019, allowing the artificial pond to drain, a wonderful natural restoration took hold as the stream found its former channel and native plants returned to its shore. Seatuck is now expanding the five-year volunteer-based effort to prevent invasive phragmites (Phragmites australis) from overtaking this unique site. They’re committed to continuing this effort until the woody plants taking hold flourish into a full riparian woodland! Since 2019, hundreds of volunteers have joined the effort at West Brook. So far in 2024, 25 volunteers have come to West Brook to join the “Phrag Fight.” If you want to join this dedicated team, contact Katie: kmattei@seatuck.org for more information.
The North Shore Land Alliance (NSLA) hosted two events to celebrate this year’s NYISAW! First, Land Alliance staff invited volunteers to help remove an aquatic invasive from the Williams Ridge Pond. They focused on removing parrot’s feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum). Parrot’s feather is bright green with feathery leaves, has an upper stem that emerges up to a foot above the water surface, and will spread across the surface in dense mats. The parrot’s feather at Williams Ridge had spread and was completely covering the pond, thus staff and volunteers were eager to get to work! Using kayaks and rakes, they removed the parrot’s feather and laid it out on tarps to dry in the sun. They plan to repeat removal of parrot’s feather multiple times this summer to give native plants and wildlife in the pond a fighting chance.
Next, volunteers and staff traversed the meadow at the Cushman Woods Preserve to pull mile-a-minute. Mile-a-minute, as the name suggests, is known for how quickly it grows. Unfortunately, by the end of the last growing season, mile-a-minute covered the Cushman Woods Meadow. However, dedicated NSLA staff and volunteers have jumped in to protect the meadow from this thorny carpet of vines. Their plan is to stay on top of the removal of the infestation while the plants are still small and have not yet set seed. Over a few hours, most of the mile-a-minute was pulled from the meadow! Thankfully, mile-a-minute is an annual plant, so repeated pulling each season has a strong impact on minimizing the population as the seed bank is gradually depleted. NSLA is ready to continue taking on that challenge next season with the help of their amazing new and returning volunteers in honor of NYISAW!
Collaborations
Following up NYISAW, LIISMA partnered with NSLA and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to provide invasive species training to staff, interns, and volunteers.
LIISMA met with NSLA staff and volunteers at the Hope Goddard Iselin Preserve in Oyster Bay to walk through forests and fields to teach the identification of invasive and native plants. With the experience level of participants ranging from newcomers to seasoned volunteers, all enjoyed a scenic walk and learned a new plant or two, to say the least. While the walk was front-loaded with invasive species identification at the disturbed trailhead, we continued to a less invaded oak-tulip tree forest, filled with spicebush, alternate-leaf dogwood (yes, Cornus can be alternate leafed!) remnant American chestnut trees, and other interesting native plants. We were particularly enchanted walking through tunnels of mature blooming mountain laurel, catching glimpses of deer, watching a groundhog wildly dart across the trail, and by the melodic calls of towhees and tapping of a red belly woodpecker. As we wrapped up, participants were sure to brush their boots off at the PlayCleanGo boot brush station to prevent the spread of seeds of invasives like multiflora rose, and honeysuckle from accompanying us on our next hike. After all, further spread would make more work for the volunteers–so prevention is key!
Next, LIISMA traversed Seatuck National Wildlife Refuge with USFWS staff and interns. This National Wildlife Refuge currently encompasses 209 acres of maritime grassland bordering the Great South Bay. The refuge has a rich land use history from salt hay farming to hunting and private estates. Walking around the refuge, we saw typical grassland invaders, like Eurasian pasture grasses, spurges, and mile-a-minute. We also observed some emerging invasives like Himalayan blackberry (Rubus bifrons), cutleaf blackberry (Rubus laciniatus), and holly osmanthus (Osmanthus heterophyllus). We pointed out to interns the identifying characteristics, and how to differentiate look-alikes; while holly osmanthus has mostly typical holly leaves and bark, it stands out from its cousin, American holly, with its distinct oppositely arranged leaves. We hope that the ID training thoroughly prepared interns for their summer of invasive species management ahead!
In addition to the educational component at the refuge, LIISMA staff and interns enjoyed the opportunity to connect and observe interesting flora and fauna together. The local ospreys put on a show, circling overhead in a large group as we neared the Great South Bay. It’s always a treat to observe wildlife thriving from the most populous regions to remote corners of Long Island. It reminds us that our work managing invasive species and promoting awareness is a powerful tool in protecting local biodiversity!
Interns and volunteers at both events were given a LIISMA fact sheet about emerging invasive species, which we plan to publish soon. If you see any emerging invasive plants, you can report them on iMapInvasives or iNaturalist, or email us at invasive@liisma.org to let us know. LIISMA relies on your reports of new invasives so we can rapidly respond and remove them before they become widespread. For more tips on invasive species action you can take, check out these five steps to stop invasive species.
Thank you again to all who were involved in making NYISAW 2024 a success! See you next year!
