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Onondaga Cornell Cooperative, with support from the City of Syracuse, hosted a presentation on February 22nd sharing research and actions focused on protecting Hemlock trees in the Skaneateles watershed and across NY State from Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA), an invasive insect that kills Hemlocks.

Link to presentation:https://youtu.be/pjGdTfdnpwU

The NYS Hemlock Initiative shared research updates on HWA, including different biocontrol options. The program also provided an update on the independent work of both Skaneateles Lake Association, and Onondaga County Soil and Water Conservation District in treating Hemlocks in high priority steep ravines in the Skaneateles watershed, on both public and private property.

As a “foundation” species, hemlocks play a critical ecological role, providing many ecosystem services including protection of water quality. The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid is an insect native to Asia that lives and feeds on Hemlock trees. HWA infested trees typically die about 6-20 years after infestation.

The Cayuga County WQMA 2022 Annual Report and 2023 Work Plan are now available for review on our Resources page.

By Grascen Shidemantle, Executive Director, Community Science Institute

The Water Bulletin is Community Science Institute’s (CSI’s) annual newsletter where readers learn about the inspiring work of CSI’s dedicated volunteers who monitor water quality in the Cayuga Lake watershed and beyond. In the 2022 edition, we focus on the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and how CSI’s community-centered approach to water quality monitoring reflects the spirit of the CWA. Readers will also learn about the impacts of weather and climate change on monitoring stream water quality and harmful algal bloom (HAB) formation on Cayuga Lake. Next, we cover CSI’s free 4-H2O Youth Education Program, which focused this year on the “journey of water” as it moves throughout the water cycle. Finally, we highlight CSI’s staff, including our newest members, who work hard every day to make a difference in our watershed and beyond.

To view The Water Bulletin 2022 edition and past editions, please go to http://www.communityscience.org/outreach-and-education/newsletters-annual-reports/.

The Cayuga County Water Quality Management Agency’s September 2022 Newsletter is now available on the WQMA website at http://cayugacountywater.org/what-we-do/resources/.

The Cayuga County WQMA has approved its work plan for 2022.  This work plan lists the priorities and actions that the Communications and Outreach Working Group, Invasive Species Working Group and Nutrient and Sediment Working Group plan on conducting in 2022.  You can view the 2022 WQMA Work Plan.

The Cayuga County WQMA has completed their 2021 Year End Report.  This report lists the work done by the WQMA’s Communication and Outreach Working Group, Invasive Species Working Group and Nutrient and Sediment Working Group.  The  2021 WQMA Year End Report is available here.  Previous years’ reports can be found here.