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FINANCIAL\2020\Purchase-Contribute To Fund for Lake George—Hemlock Woolly Adelgid in Lake George Initiative-12-21
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING CONTRIBUTION TO
THE FUND FOR LAKE GEORGE, INC. TOWARD PILOT PROJECT
FOR THE LAKE GEORGE REGION TO IDENTIFY
AND STOP HEMLOCK WOOLLY ADELGID
RESOLUTION NO.: ,2020
INTRODUCED BY:
WHO MOVED ITS ADOPTION
SECONDED BY:
WHEREAS, The Fund for Lake George, Inc., has advised that it has organized a"Save Our
Lake George Hemlocks Initiative" with the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program to combat the
spread of hemlock woolly adelgid in the Lake George Watershed and the larger region, and
WHEREAS, The Fund for Lake George has requested that the Town of Queensbury partner
with them and other municipalities in this effort with the goal of identifying future infestations
sooner to limit the extent of the invasive species' spread in this region,and
WHEREAS, the environmental health and overall quality of life in the Lake George
Watershed Area is critical to the social and economic well-being of the Town of Queensbury,
Warren County and the region in general and the protection, preservation and proper
management of water quality within the Basin is an essential ingredient to maintaining this
important natural resource as a key to the social and economic vitality of this region, and
WHEREAS, the Town Board wishes to therefore partner with The Fund for Lake George
and participating municipalities and contribute $7,500 toward this important initiative,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED, that the Queensbury Town Board hereby authorizes the Town of
Queensbury's participation with The Fund for Lake George, Inc. and other municipalities in its
"Save Our Lake George Hemlocks Initiative" to combat the spread of hemlock woolly adelgid in
the Lake George Watershed and the larger region, and
BE IT FURTHER,
RESOLVED, that the Town Board further authorizes a contribution of $7,500 to The
Fund for Lake George, Inc., to be paid from Community Service Contracts Account No.: 001-
8030-4414, and
BE IT FURTHER,
RESOLVED, that the Town Board further authorizes the Town Budget Officer to amend
the Town Budget and transfer $7,500 from Miscellaneous Contractual Account No.: 001-1990-
4400 to Community Service Contracts Account No.: 001-8030-4414 and take any other actions
needed to effectuate payment, and
BE IT FURTHER,
RESOLVED, that the Town Board further authorizes and directs the Town Supervisor to
send a certified copy of this Resolution to The Fund for Lake George, Inc., notifying them of the
Town's contribution and execute any needed documentation, and the Town Supervisor and/or the
Town Budget Officer to take any other actions necessary to effectuate the terms of this Resolution.
Duly adopted this 21S`day of December, 2020, by the following vote:
AYES
NOES
ABSENT :
SAVE OUR LAKE GEORGE HEMLOCKS INITIATIVE
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, Sept.22
Contact: John Brodt, Behan Communications
(518)260-6362 iohn.brodt .behancom.com
New Private-Public Initiative Launched to Combat
the Spread of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid in the
Lake George Watershed with Remote Sensing
Technology and Boots on the Ground
LAKE GEORGE—With the troubling discovery of the first significant hemlock woolly
adelgid (HWA)infestation in the Lake George watershed, a consortium of private and
public sector organizations has formed the Save Our Lake George Hemlocks Initiative
with the goal of identifying future infestations sooner to limit the extent of the invasive
species' spread in the watershed and the larger region.
The initiative will pilot the use of satellite-gathered infrared imagery that provides the
capacity to survey a large area and point out potential trouble spots so that field crews
can be strategically and efficiently deployed to assess possible infestations.
The consortium for this new initiative was organized by The FUND for Lake George and
the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program(APIPP), one of the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation's(DEC)eight Partnerships for Regional
Invasive Species Management(PRISMs), immediately following the confirmation in
August of a HWA infestation at New York State's Glen Island Campground.The
infestation has since been found to span nearly 250 acres on the east side of Lake
George. HWA had previously been discovered in the Lake George watershed on
Prospect Mountain in 2017 but was found to have impacted just three trees.
This watershed-wide effort is intended to augment essential work now being performed
by DEC, Cornell's New York State Hemlock Initiative and other partners to confirm the
extent of the current infestation and perform necessary treatment to control it.
Joining The FUND,APIPP and DEC in this groundbreaking initiative are the Lake George
Land Conservancy, City University of New York's Advanced Science Research Center,
Cornell's New York State Hemlock Initiative, U.S. Forest Service,Adirondack Research,
among others.A total of$125,000 is being committed to the pilot project, which is
designed for use across the Adirondack Park and potentially, the entire state.
"Hemlocks are a critical component of the ecosystem in the Lake George watershed and
HWA is a threat to the health and stability of the region's hemlock forests,"said DEC
Commissioner Basil Seggos."Early detection of invasive species is an important tool
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Save Our Lake George Hemlocks, P. 2
when responding to these threats and protecting New York's treasured natural resources.
I commend the rapid response of our team of partners and am hopeful these efforts will
slow further spread of HWA in the Adirondack region."
"With approximately 80%of the forested area in the Lake George watershed made up of
eastern hemlock,the time for action is now,"said Eric Siy, executive director of The
FUND for Lake George."Our consortium has developed an aggressive early detection
and rapid response program to help seek and stop the spread of HWA.This private-
public initiative brings together organizations that truly care about the Lake with some of
the nation's foremost experts in remote sensing technology and HWA biology to tackle
the problem. Our goal is preventing the type of devastation that has ravaged millions of
acres of hemlock stands in other parts of the country."
"We have a lot to lose,"said Tammara Van Ryn, program manager of APIPP, which is
hosted by The Nature Conservancy's Adirondack Chapter."HWA has the potential to
dramatically change the character of the forests we cherish in this region.The hemlock
forests of the Lake George watershed capture carbon dioxide and clean our air;they cool
our streams and stabilize steep slopes, reducing erosion into freshwater fisheries; and
they provide important habitat for a wide variety of wildlife.The adelgid is a huge threat,
and that's why we're working so aggressively to address it."
"We need to slow HWA's growth in the Adirondacks so the long term and sustainable
biological control with predators can be implemented, a process we will start in just a few
weeks,"said Mark Whitmore,forest entomologist and principal investigator for Cornell's
New York State Hemlock Initiative.
Urgently Investing in Early Detection
Until now, identification of a HWA infestation in the Lake George watershed depended
solely on its discovery by someone on the ground who happened to spot the tell-tale
signs once they became apparent on the exterior of the tree:white woolly masses on the
underside of branches,gray-tinted needles,and needle loss and branch dieback.While
ground verification is essential for confirming adelgid infestations, it is impossible to cover
the entire region on foot or by boat.
Using advanced remote sensing technologies and computer modeling, HWA damage can
be detected before significant defoliation or mortality occurs,allowing for the efficient
deployment of rapid-response field crews to confirm infestations and develop treatment
plans.
Remote sensing satellites not only produce aerial photographic images but also capture
infrared or near-infrared data that can reveal the level of photosynthetic activity taking
place within a forest stand.The level of photosynthetic activity can provide evidence of
declining forest health before that decline is apparent to the naked eye,making it much
easier to direct ground crews to potential infestation sites.
Later this month,the initiative's experts will begin reviewing five years of remote sensing
imagery and data for an approximately 4,400 square mile region, extending from the
northern portion of the Lake George watershed south to Troy in Rensselaer County,
which, prior to the Lake George infestations,was the northernmost point of HWA
detection in New York State.A time-series model will be created from the satellite
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Save Our Lake George Hemlocks, P. 3
imagery to identify hemlock stands showing signs of health decline so that on-the-ground
inspections can be conducted at more than 150 stands to determine if the decline is
resulting from adelgid-related damage.
In the meantime,while the remote sensing data is being gathered and modeled, initiative
partners will conduct on-the-ground surveys to further assess the extent of the immediate
threat. Survey teams will examine more than one hundred ecologically and hydrologically
significant sites in the Lake George watershed.
The hemlock woolly adelgid is a small, aphid-like insect that damages hemlocks by
inserting its piercing-sucking mouthparts into a tree's twig.As adelgid populations grow
and more insects feed on a single tree, the flows of water and nutrients are impacted,
eventually resulting in tree death.
As planned,the pilot project will extend into early spring of 2021.
For more information on hemlock woolly adelgid in New York State,visit the DEC website
at htti)s://www.dec,ny.c-iov/animals/7250.html and the New York State Hemlock Initiative
at www.nyshemlockinitiative.info.
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i
Establishing a Scalable Pilot Project for the Lake George Region to
Identify and Stop Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA)
Problem:
Without adequate early detection and rapid response protocols in place, the highly destructive invasive
hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA) has reached the 152,000-acre Lake George Watershed, where as much as 80%
of the largely forested area is comprised of eastern hemlock. HWA has ravaged literally millions of acres of
hemlock stands in the eastern U.S. Its arrival at Lake George presents an urgent need for informed action
guided by the very best experts available to "seek and contain" HWA before it can have a similar scale of
impact in the Lake George basin.
In July of this year, an HWA infestation was confirmed at the Glen Island Campground. According to NYSDEC,
surveys have so far determined the extent of the spread to include nearly 250 acres along 1.5 miles of
shoreline on the eastern shore of Lake George.
Immediate intervention is required to contain the spread and minimize hemlock tree mortality.
Action:
Recognizing the expansive nature of the region and incredible abundance/density of hemlock, a core group of
regional partners and HWA experts have identified the need for a comprehensive and systematic survey of the
entire region, extending from the Lake George Watershed south to the next most northerly identified HWA
infestation in Saratoga County. The multifaceted process will target areas most vulnerable to HWA infestation.
The Project will commence by utilizing freely available satellite remote sensing data in multiple forms to identify
hemlock distribution and health in the Lake George Watershed. As planned, this approach will augment and
substantially strengthen the effectiveness of ground-based survey and control efforts that are now required to
minimize the extent of damage to the fullest extent possible.
As will be presented on our call, the Pilot Project includes four reinforcing stages that will be advanced in
parallel, as is possible, to accelerate seek and stop results.
Results:
With fast implementation as delineated in the timeline to be reviewed on our call, the Lake George Pilot Project
will dramatically accelerate HWA early detection and rapid response with tangible deliverables that include:
1. Delimitation and initial treatment of the known HWA infestation at Glen Island and any additional
infestations confirmed during Stage 2 and 3 ground surveys;
2. Development and demonstration of a leading-edge remote sensing model that sharply focuses survey
work and the subsequent control response with emphasis on the most critical environmental areas
vulnerable to HWA infestation;
3. Science-driven search and contain capacity that limits the extent of HWA damage to the Lake George
Watershed, producing a hemlock protection outcome that would otherwise not be achievable;
4. Systematic monitoring of hemlock health during which time additional and more robust remote sensing
tools to be presented on our call will be brought to bear (as additional funding allows)for targeted
application that ensures continuous refinement and improved performance in stopping the spread of
HWA in the Lake George Watershed to the maximum possible extent;
5. A scalable model for use throughout the Adirondack Park.
Budget:
As itemized by Stages, the total budget for the Lake George HWA Pilot Project (implemented over the next six
months) is $125,000.
FUND for Lake George, Inc. Invoice
2199A Route 9, P.O Box 352
Lake George, NY 12845
EIN 22-2565313
NYS Vendor No. 22250 Invoice M 2020-010
Invoice Date: 12/14/2020
Bill To: Terms
Town of Queensbury
742 Bay Rd Due on receipt
Queensbury, NY 12804
Description Hours/Qty Rate Amount
Contribution: Pilot Project for the Lake George Region to Identify and 1 7,500.00 7,500.00
Stop Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
Total $7,500.00
Payments/Credits $0.00
Balance Due $7,500.00