Adirondack invasive species primer with expert Brian Greene

APPIP leader gives tips for preventing the spread of some troublesome species

By Mike Lynch
This week is Invasive Species Awareness Week in New York State and a number of events are planned in the Adirondacks and other regions.

The key to battling invasive species is preventing them from getting into an area. To learn more about some of the most concerning invasive species and the best ways to keep them out of the Adirondack Park, we interviewed Brian Greene, program manager for the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program.

Excerpts from the conversation can be found below. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Explorer: So what are the most concerning tree pests people should be on the lookout for right now in the Adirondack Park?

Greene: I’ll tell you the three species that historically have not been in the Adirondacks, but we’re starting to see them now.

• Beech leaf disease is an invasive nematode that affects the beech leaves, preventing the leaves from developing and growing properly, and then eventually kills the leaves and trees. Right now, we’re basically just asking people to keep an eye out for it and report it on iMapInvasives (an app). And that’s actually true for all of these species.
• The other species is emerald ash borer. It affects all ash trees. Once again, it’s been in New York for a long time, but now with our warming climate we’re starting to see it be able to move into the Adirondack region. So this one can have pretty strong impacts on ash trees in a short time frame. Having people report where they see it is really helpful for us.
• The last one is one that we’ve been talking a lot about for the past four or five years with APPIP — hemlock wooly adelgid. Our first record (in the Adirondacks) was 2017, but from 2021 it’s been really (prevalent) around the Lake George area. This is one that impacts on Hemlock trees and can lead to a slow but steady decline in them.

Explorer: What about aquatic invasive species? What are some you’re concerned about?

Greene: The one that we always are keeping an eye out for…is a species called hydrilla. Some people describe it as the perfect weed. It’s not in the Adirondacks, but we get so many boaters that come from all over New York and all over New England that could potentially transport it.

Explorer: What impact does hydrilla have on water bodies?

Greene: Hydrilla can grow incredibly dense. It can push out all of our native species. It can make it hard for people to boat. It’s very expensive and very difficult to manage. Flooding and negative impacts on water quality have been associated with it. Partners that I work with in other parts of New York and other parts of New England, they say, ‘Oh, man, we thought we knew invasive plants in lakes were bad, and then we saw hydrilla, and it was like a totally different ball game.” That was a pretty sobering statement when people started to say that, so we definitely want to keep it out.

Explorer: What training is available for people looking to participate as citizen scientists and help spot and report invasive species?
Greene: We have two programs:

• One on the aquatic side we call Lake Protectors. It’s where people can learn to identify 16 aquatic invasive species, and then they sign up to adopt the lake, and they go out and they do a survey on it at least once between July and September. Then they report back to us what they see or what they don’t see. We’ll have our first virtual training on June 24. People can go to www.adkinvasives.com/Events/, our events page. We’ll have it up there, and they can register. That’s a virtual one. Later on in the summer, in July and August, we’ll have in-person, ones that they can go to.
• On the terrestrial side, we have a program called Forest Pest Hunters. And there’s two seasons. The summer season focuses on beach leaf disease. So people can do training to learn about beech leaf disease, what it looks like, how to identify it. And then they go out and they adopt a trailhead, or a trail that they hike along, and they look at beech trees and see if they see any signs of it. And then they report back, once again, what they see or what they don’t see, using the iMapInvasives app, and that’s a good way for people to get involved. We’ll have training for that in August.

Explorer: What strategies can people use if they’re recreating on land?

Greene: With our land base one, there’s three things we tell people:

• One line is, “Play, Clean, Go.” That’s trying to tell people that if you’re hiking or mountain biking, that you should play, go out and do the sport that you like. But before you leave the site or travel really far, you should clean off. Use a boot, brush, clean off your boots, or remove all the mud or potential seeds off of your boots, or, wipe off any mud or plant material from a mountain bike (or other items).
• Our other message is “Don’t Move Firewood.” You shouldn’t transport wood over 50 miles. Moving wood firewood can unintentionally move these forest pests.
• The last message is to “Plant Native.” People can plant native species at their house. It’s much better for the environment and for their home to plant a native species than an invasive species that can then either. Get run amok in your yard, or spread to, you know, your surrounding forest or neighborhood.

Explorer: What about on water?

Greene: On water, “It’s Clean, Drain Dry.” I think we’ve done a really good job, especially with our boat steward program that our partners at Paul Smith College run. We’re telling people that boats or fishing equipment or jet skis or canoes, kayaks, anything that touches one water body, if it gets moved to a different location, could potentially spread invasive species. So people should clean (those items), remove any mud or plant debris, then dry it. Leave it out in the sun and let it dry out, dry out your bilges, your engines, all sorts of different points. And then drain the water, drain the water from your live wells, your motor, engine, all the different places. That will help greatly reduce the risk of spreading aquatic advances.