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RTPI to hold first citizen science forest pest survey session Jan. 11; session in Warren on Jan. 31

The Roger Tory Peterson Institute will hold its first Citizen Science Forest Pest Survey session at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 11.

The surveys are to look for the hemlock woolly adelgid, an aphid-like insect, originating from Asia that feeds off of the food storage cells below the needles of an Eastern Hemlock tree and hides under white woolly masses for protection. Within a matter of four to 10 years, an individual tree can succumb to a hemlock woolly adelgid infestation if left unnoticed.

The hemlock woolly adelgid has been progressively moving closer to the western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania area as it has spread throughout much of the eastern United States, leaving stands of hemlocks dead in their wake. Early detection of this particular pest is crucial as the spread of hemlock woolly adelgid can be managed.

This winter, RTPI and community partners will conduct a series of field surveys to monitor local forests for the presence of the hemlock woolly adelgid. The public is invited to join these efforts, working alongside researchers, conservationists, and professors from the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, and Jamestown Community College. Individuals interested in participating in surveys should be prepared for the weather with warm clothing and boots. Snow pants and snowshoes or cross-country skis are highly recommended when snowpack is deep.

For more information, call Jonathan Townsend, RTPI conservation biologist, at jtownsendATrtpi.org or call (716) 665-2473, ext. 231, or Jeremy Woolson, CWC lands manager, at jeremyATchautauquawatershed.org or call (716) 664-2166.

Surveys will be held on the following dates and times:

Ø 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, at the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy’s Dobbin’s Woods Preserve on Bly Hill Road in Ashville. The group will meet in the preserve parking lot.

Visit chautauquawatershed.org/index.php/preserves/our-preserves for directions to the preserve.

Ø 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17. As part of the High Allegheny Hemlock Conservation Partnership led by the U.S. Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy, RTPI and JCC adopted South Valley State Forest to survey and contribute information to the agencies as well as the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Join Volunteers will survey two sites on the state forest lands. The group will meet in the RTPI parking lot at 12:30 p.m. to carpool and meet on-site around 1 p.m. For those meeting on-site, meet near the bridge on Sawmill Run Road approx. 42?02.511’N 079?00.580’W.

For more information and directions to South Valley State Forest, visit www.dec.ny.gov/lands/68293.html/

Ø 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy’s newly-established Goose Creek Valley Greenway Preserve on Hoag Road in Ashville, N.Y. The group will meet at the entrance of the site located at 42?05’04.9“N 79?22’35.6”W. Visit chautauquawatershed.org/index.php/preserves/our-preserves for directions to the preserve.

Ø 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, at the Hatch Run Conservation Demonstration Area in Warren for a joint U.S. Forest Service and Nature Conservancy project. The group will meet in the RTPI parking lot at 12:30 p.m. to carpool and meet on-site in the Hatch Run parking lot, located off of Hatch Run Road in Warren, around 1 p.m.

For more information, visit www.wcconservation.net/hatch-run-conservation-demonstration-area

Ø 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy’s Elm Flats First Preserve on Lawson Road in Chautauqua. The group will meet in front of the preserve to give instruction and then hike to the hemlock stand. Visit chautauquawatershed.org/index.php/preserves/our-preserves for directions.

Ø 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, at the Jamestown Community College and Roger Tory Peterson Institute’s preserves. The group will meet in the RTPI parking lot at 1 p.m. to provide instruction and work through the preserves.

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