SLELO Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management

06/23/2026

Attention boaters! Prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species by cleaning, draining, drying your watercraft, and visiting watercraft inspection stewards this summer! 😀

06/22/2026

Land Protectors in Action! 🌱💪
Our Land Protectors Program is officially underway! Recent field sessions included a swallowwort removal at Black Pond WMA in Henderson, NY, and an elm zigzag sawfly survey training at Walter Pratt Memorial Park in Brasher Falls.

Participants gained hands‑on experience with identification, reporting, management, and surveying techniques—amazing work by everyone involved!

Next up:
📅 June 27th
📍 El Dorado Preserve, Henderson, NY
Help protect a restoration site by removing swallowwort. No experience needed—guidance and tools provided!

Join us and be part of the solution! 🌿✨
Register here:
Land Protectors Experience
https://www.sleloinvasives.org/event/land-protectors-experience/

06/19/2026

Paddle With Purpose This Summer! 🚣‍♀️🌊🌿

Your next paddle could help protect your favorite waterway! Join our Aquatic Invasive Species Learning Experience (AISLE) to learn how to recognize, report, and survey for aquatic invasive species.

Our first in‑person session of the season is on:
📅 July 10th
📍 IRLC Redwood Hill Preserve, Alexandria, NY
👉Get details and register: https://www.sleloinvasives.org/event/aquatic-invasive-species-learning-experience/

Participants will get hands‑on experience identifying aquatic invasive and native plants. Those who adopt a waterbody for annual surveys will receive a special Water Protectors survey bag and shirt!

06/17/2026

Team SLELO recently attended and presented at two partner‑hosted conferences!

Adrien Owen, our Aquatic Coordinator, joined the 16th annual Black River Watershed Conference, organized by the NYS Tug Hill Commission, where stakeholders gathered to discuss water quality and environmental issues.

Megan Pistolese‑Shaw, our Education & Outreach Coordinator, connected with community members at the Indian River Lakes Conservancy Water Quality Conference, encouraging participation in our Water Protectors program.

Both events were incredible opportunities to learn, collaborate, and strengthen partnerships. Working together is how we protect what matters most. 💙🌊

06/16/2026

Bioblitz Success at Lakeview WMA! 🔍🌼🦋
Over the weekend, volunteers joined us for an exciting bioblitz at the beautiful Lakeview WMA—a stunning 3,000+ acre landscape of fields, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and a globally rare freshwater natural barrier beach.

Together, we made 269 observations and recorded 140 species!
We spotted invasive species like dame’s rocket, goutweed, and yellow iris, as well as native gems including herb robert, blue iris, trillium, Canada mayflower, and snakeroot 🌸🌿

This was an unforgettable experience—and we can’t wait to do it again!

View the full species list on iNaturalist:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/slelo-prism-bioblitz?tab=species

Now through August, report your own observations within the SLELO region to our umbrella project NNYBioblitz26. Let’s keep exploring! 🔎🌱

06/15/2026

Celebrating a Fantastic NYISAW! 🎉🌿
NYISAW has wrapped up, and we’re feeling incredibly grateful for all the partners and community members who hosted or joined events across the SLELO region!

This year’s activities were packed with learning and adventure—participants sharpened their invasive species ID skills, reported finds to NY iMapInvasives, removed invasive plants, explored biodiversity during a bioblitz, played trivia, enjoyed an arboretum walk, learned about emerald ash borer management, and even viewed an invasive species art exhibit 🎨✨

Thank you for helping protect our lands and waters. Together, we make a difference! 💚🌎

Oneida County Soil and Water Conservation District Tree Watertown

06/14/2026

🐛 Help Protect Our Elm Trees!

Join us in the field to learn how to identify and report the elm zigzag sawfly—a newer invasive pest in our region that feeds on elm leaves, leaving a distinctive zig‑zag pattern as it chews. 🌿🔍

North American elms are still recovering from the impacts of Dutch elm disease. Defoliation caused by the elm zigzag sawfly adds even more stress, often leading to branch dieback. Researchers are also tracking how this aggressive species may outcompete native elm‑feeding insects, disrupting food webs that local bird species rely on during breeding season.

This hands‑on training empowers you to support community science, strengthen early detection efforts, and help protect local ecosystems.

Event Details:
📆 June 16th
🕥 10:30 AM–12:30 PM
📍 Walter Pratt Memorial Park, Old Keenan Road, Brasher Falls, NY 13613
🔗Register to attend: https://www.sleloinvasives.org/event/land-protectors-experience/

06/13/2026