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State Funds Available for Invasive Species Control

DEC grants for control programs total $1 million

The Press Republican, Plattsburgh, NY—December 5, 2005—Local municipalities and non-profit organizations concerned about aquatic invasive species in their communities can now apply for state funds to battle nuisance plants and animals.

Tamarisk © Terrence Moore

The State Department of Environmental Conservation is providing $1 million in grants for much-needed projects to help eradicate aquatic invasive species that threaten local natural habitats.

"This is a very significant time for invasives in New York state," said Hilary Oles, coordinator of the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program for the Adirondack Nature Conservancy.

"There are a few things coming together now that support our need to control invasive species. We're thrilled to see this kind of progress. It's a time when New York state can take a leadership role nationwide to make a strategic plan of attack against invasives."

PAYS UP TO ONE-THIRD
Aquatic invasive species are such plants and animals as water chestnuts, zebra mussels and round gobies, a non-native fish. They have been introduced into local communities, either intentionally or accidentally, from other parts of the United States or other countries.

"Control and management of invasive species, both in the water and on land, is one of the most critical and challenging environmental problems facing New York state today," DEC Commissioner Denise M. Sheehan said in a statement.

"DEC recognizes the need to help communities and protect our natural resources by funding eradication projects that combat the spread of aquatic invasive species."

State funds can be used by municipalities and organizations to pay for up to one-third of the total costs of a selected eradication project. Individual grants will be awarded for a minimum of $10,000 and a maximum of $100,000.

"Having state funding for eradication is something that communities have been waiting for for years," Oles said. "We hope this ($1 million grant) is a benchmark for every year, and we hope it can grow to $10 million."

TASK FORCE REPORT
A statewide Invasive Species Task Force has just completed a report on invasive species in New York. The group used information from such organizations as the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program to develop strategies to battle the troublemakers.

"Some of the recommendations are to provide staffing and funding for invasive species work," Oles said. "I don't know what the next step is, but the Task Force is right on target to this point."

Before now, control of aquatic species has been funded in most part by municipalities and organizations themselves, though some groups, such as the Nature Conservancy, have been able to use funding from other sources, such as wetland protection, for invasive species.

Efforts to control invasive species in the Adirondack Park have been somewhat successful to this point.

"The status of invasives really varies across the state," Oles said. "In the park, we really don't have the level of invasives that the rest of New York has, but we're hopeful that people will realize that prevention pays.

"Basically, we're racing against the clock," she added. "Hopefully, we can create some interest in this grant program, so the state will continue to provide funds in future years."

This editorial is reproduced with explicit permission of The Press Republican newspaper.