Otsego County Conservation Association

06/24/2026

It’s a summer full of stewardship! 💪 Join us this weekend, Saturday June 27th, 8am,at Compton Bridge Conservation Area, for the 9th Annual Susquehanna River Clean Up.

A huge thank you to Stagecoach Coffee - Cooperstown, Everything Bagelry, and BJs Wholesale Club for their generous donations to the refreshment table.

Interested in joining in? We could still use some volunteers to help guide rafts in the water. Visit occainfo.org/rivercleanup or email [email protected]

📸 courtesy of our partners: Cooperstown Lions Club, Rotary Club of Cooperstown, Biological Field Station Dive Team, Dave Brandt Chapter 210 of Trout Unlimited, Otsego Land Trust

06/18/2026

Fungi appreciation post… and event announcement! Join us next Saturday, June 27th at 1pm for an educational walk all about mushrooms 🍄‍🟫

They’re slimy, they’re colorful, they come in odd shapes and sizes. Some smell fruity (we’re thinking of you, chanterelles), and others reek (the stinkhorns!). They grow from the ground or burst out of tree trunks and branches…and don’t even get us started on the symbiotic relationship between trees and the mycorrhizal fungi!

There is so much to learn in the field of mycology. Join us! Please RSVP: occainfo.org/calendar

06/17/2026

We're excited to partner on this regional volunteer initiative to improve and sustain our local trails in and around Otsego County! Click the link to sign up and receive periodic emails to help out on trail improvement and creation projects with various local organizations: otsegooutdoors.org/trail-volunteers

Sign up to receive emails about volunteer projects on area trails and waterways. You pick what works best for your schedule and interests. Together we can improve and sustain trails in and near Otsego County https://otsegooutdoors.org/trail-volunteers/

06/16/2026

300 lbs of Frog-bit?!😮We're always impressed by our community members and partners through their participation in these invasive species pulls.

Thank you to all of the OCCA volunteers, Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership, Capital Region PRISM, and the Cooperstown Lions Club members who participated! 🩵

A big thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers that helped wrap up the 2026 NYS Invasive Species Awareness Week at our second annual Frogbit pull!

With your help, we were able to pull over 300lbs of invasive European frogbit (Hydrocharus morsus-ranae) this Saturday, helping to slow its spread in the Upper Susquehanna Watershed.

Thank you to our partners at Otsego County Conservation Association and Capital Region PRISM for helping us organize and put together such a successful NYISAW event!

06/14/2026

This is what 3 years of tackling an invasive species looks like.

Photo one: OCCA staff enters Tennyson Pond in Otsego County for the first time to pull Yellow Floating Heart (Nymphoides peltata) on August 1, 2023

Photo two: First day of season, pre-pulling, June 6, 2024

Photo three: Opening day of 2026 season, pre-pulling, June 9, 2026.

We’ll continue to visit this pond each year, and are so happy to see this progress! Want to learn more about yellow floating heart? Visit occainfo.org/aquatic-invasive-species

06/13/2026

Do you know which Iris is native, and which is invasive? During New York Invasive Species Awareness Week, you can help spread the word (and stop the spread!) by sharing this post!

06/10/2026

Will we see you this Saturday at the Cooperstown Repair Cafe? Learn more at otsego2000.org/repaircafe

Repair Cafes are part of a new brand of anticonsumerism. The cafes and other efforts try to offer an alternative to mass-produced, disposable goods that have dominated the economy for the last half-century.

06/10/2026

Be on the lookout for Beech Leaf Disease! Beech Leaf Disease is a recently-discovered killer of native and ornamental beech trees. The disease is associated with a nematode (Litylenchus crenatae mccannii) that can kill beech trees of all ages quickly. BLD symptoms include unusual striping pattern in leaves (best seen from underneath), as well as curling and a leathery texture of the leaves. If you think you see evidence of beech leaf disease, take a clear photo, GPS coordinates, and report using iMapInvasives (free app for your smartphone) or email the photo and location details to [email protected]. For further information, visit https://dec.ny.gov/nature/forests-trees/forest-health/beech-leaf-disease (photo: beech leaf disease, Otsego County, OCCA photo)

We've already seen BLD around, including on trees at Arnold Lake State Forest and Texas School House State Forest.

06/10/2026

Volunteers are needed on June 27th for the 9th annual Susquehanna River Clean Up! 🛶 Cool off from that late June heat and help guide a raft in the water, or stay on land, and help with shoreline clean up, raft transport, or the refreshment table.

We guarantee you'll be amazed at how much debris we are able to pull out of the river, and that you'll leave knowing that you really made a difference!

Learn more about the event and sign up at occainfo.org/riversignup
Have questions or want to sponsor this event? email [email protected]

OCCA’s mission is to promote the appreciation and sustainable use of Otsego County’s natural resources.

Learn more: https://linktr.ee/occyay

06/09/2026

Can you identify this invasive species? It's European Frog-bit, and it's starting to appear in various waterbodies around Otsego County. Want the good news? It's not too late to stop its spread. On Saturday, June 13th, you can meet us in the field, learn how to identify it properly, and help us remove it from Weaver Lake. To register for this hands on learning experience, visit occainfo.org/calendar