Conservation News

Thanks to all for your Help on Battenkill Cleanup Day 

A new plan to curtail the advance of invasive species 
has grown past Adirondack Park boundaries.

At their recent meeting, the Adirondack Park Agency commissioners gave up their seats while a new interagency coalition penned an agreement of cooperation.

The APA, Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of Transportation and Adirondack Chapter of the Nature Conservancy joined forces to form a front line of defense against the spread of aquatic and terrestrial invasive species threatening ecosystems around the state.They’ve been working together inside the blue line for 10 years.

REGIONAL APPROACH

Steve Sanford, director of the newly formed DEC Office of Invasive Species Coordination in Albany, said the statewide effort has been divided into eight regions.Each region will be run similar to the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program, which is celebrating a 10th anniversary this year.Sanford said the Invasive Plant Program is “way ahead of everyone else.”

With a regional approach, he said, each group will build public-private partnerships with environmental conservation groups; lake, ocean and river associations; and other organizations “with a strong volunteer component.” Each regional office would open with $250,000, he said, promising a stream of state funding for the new effort. “We’re close, but we’re not quite there yet.”

GRANTS, EXPERTS

Hilary Oles, founder and director of the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program, described the success they’ve had in a decade worked on a shoestring budget. “Instead of faltering, we have excelled,” she said, citing the nearly $1 million in grant funds and other monies they have raised over time. Oles working under the aegis of the Adirondack Chapter of the Nature Conservancy has established a go-to group of experts and data banks that document the advance of water and land invasive species.

INFESTATIONS

Inventories conducted every three years show 51 waterways in the Adirondacks are infested with invasive species, including Eurasian milfoil and water chestnut. Two response teams have been trained and mobilized to deal with priority infestations, Oles said.

New signs administered by DEC will be posted at boat-launch areas on each affected waterway to say: Attention — Invasive species are present in this water body.” 

APA Chairman Curt Stiles congratulated Oles for her leadership. “We would not have (the program) if it weren’t for Hilary’s work,” he said. “(Awareness and control of) Adirondack invasive species would not have gotten done if it weren’t for the one person who made that happen. Most people would have walked away as seeing that as an insurmountable task.”

Mike Carr, executive director of the Adirondack chapter of the Nature Conservancy, said the Adirondack Park Invasive Program is an impressive display of perseverance. “It is a very elegant solution to a problem bigger than anyone ever thought it would be. “Hilary’s work is tangible and hopeful,” Carr added. “The blue line is not as impenetrable as we like to think it is.”

ON WATCH

The state alliance will monitor invasive species around the state in various habitats. The Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program has already trained a group of water stewards through Paul Smith’s College Watershed Institute. The stewards monitor boats coming and going from park waters and educates people about watching for invasive plants.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced the presence of the invasive algae didymo (Didymosphenia geminata) in the West Branch of the Delaware River downstream from the Cannonsville Reservoir, indicating that the main stem of the Delaware River is now infested as well.

This is the latest recorded incident of this aquatic nuisance species - also called "rock snot" - in New York State. Didymo has now been verified in the Batten Kill, the East Branch of the Delaware River downstream from the Pepacton Reservoir and the West Branch of the Delaware River downstream Cannonsville Reservoir. The main stem of the Delaware River is now also considered to be infested due to exposure from its East and West Branch tributaries. Currently, didymo is not known to be present in any other New York waterway.

The Delaware tailwaters are one of the premier trout fisheries on the East Coast, and are a popular destination for large numbers of anglers. The discovery of didymo in these waters is particularly troubling given their proximity to other famous trout streams, notably the Beaver Kill and Willowemoc Creek, and the tendency of anglers to fish multiple streams over the course of a day or weekend. The microscopic algae - an invasive species to New York - can survive for many days in cool, damp conditions. Porous materials such as neoprene waders and felt soles used by wading anglers are prime suspects in the spread of didymo among streams.

Didymo cells can produce large amounts of stalk material that forms thick mats on stream bottoms. The appearance of these mats has been compared to brown shag carpet, fiberglass insulation, or tissue paper (picture can be seen at http://www.dec.ny.gov/environmentdec/36890.html ). During blooms these mats may completely cover long stretches of stream beds and persist for months. The stalk material produced by didymo is slow to break down and may persist for up to two months following its peak growth.

While didymo does not pose a threat to human health, it can alter stream conditions, choking out many of the organisms that live on the stream bottom, potentially causing a ripple effect up the food chain affecting trout and other fish. Didymo has historically been limited to cold, nutrient-poor, northern waters, but in recent decades has been expanding its range and its tolerance to warmer and more productive streams.

Once introduced to an area, didymo can rapidly spread to nearby streams. Anglers, kayakers, swimmers, canoeists, boaters and jet skiers can all unknowingly spread didymo by transporting the cells on boats, bodies and other gear. There are currently no known methods for controlling or eradicating didymo once it infests a water body.

Anglers, canoeists, kayakers, boaters, or others who witness and suspect the presence of didymo in state waters are advised to contact DEC with the location so that samples can be taken to document and monitor the algae's spread.

DEC continues to urge anglers and other water recreationists to Check, Clean and Dry to prevent the introduction and spread of didymo and other potentially invasive organisms from one water to another:

Check -- Before leaving a river or stream, remove all obvious clumps of algae and look for hidden clumps. Leave them at the affected site. If you find any later, do not wash them down drains; dispose of all material in the trash.

Clean -- Treatment varies depending on what needs to be cleaned. Be sure that the solution completely penetrates thick absorbent items such as felt-soled waders and wading boots.

Non-absorbent items

Detergent or salt: soak or spray all surfaces for at least one minute in a 5% solution (by volume) of dishwashing detergent or salt (7 ounces of detergent or salt added to water to make one gallon); or

Bleach: soak or spray all surfaces for at least one minute in a 2% solution (by volume) of household bleach (3 ounces of bleach added to water to make one gallon); or

Hot water: soak for at least one minute in very hot water kept above 140 °F (hotter than most tap water) or for at least 20 minutes or in hot water kept above 115 °F (uncomfortable to touch).

Absorbent items require longer soaking times. For example, felt-soled waders require:

Hot water: soak for at least 40 minutes in hot water kept above 115 °F; or

Hot water plus detergent: soak for 30 minutes in hot water kept above 115 °F containing 5% dishwashing detergent.

Dry -- If cleaning is not practical, after the item is completely dry to the touch, wait an additional 48 hours before contact or use in any other waterway. Check thick absorbent items closely to assure that they are dry throughout. Equipment and gear can also be placed in a freezer until all moisture is frozen solid.

NOTE: If cleaning, drying or freezing is not practical, restrict equipment to a single water body. While DEC recommends anglers always take these precautions, it is especially important that any gear used out of state be treated before using in NEW YORK waters.

Delaware River Plan

Trout Unlimited Statement on the Delaware River Flows

“A river is more than an amenity, it is a treasure.  It offers a necessity of life that must be
rationed among those who have power over it.”

 -U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, 1931 Delaware River Diversion Case

Trout Unlimited (TU) is dedicated to the ecological preservation of the Upper Delaware River environment and its trout fisheries.  Because of this, our organization and its New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania Councils cannot support the reservoir release schedules that are contained within the interim Flexible Flow Management Program (FFMP) due to the significant damage these releases will bring to the Delaware River’s ecosystem.  In particular, under the interim releases the trout fisheries of the Upper Delaware River’s main stem will be lost due to lethal rises in water temperatures and loss of habitat.  Additionally, the interim release schedule harms American shad populations and habitat, dwarf wedge mussels and other fish and wildlife as well as the recreational tourist economy of the Upper Delaware region.  TU does, however, support in principle the FFMP adaptive release concept to address the flow management issues in the Delaware River basin.

It is well documented that there is more than enough water in the Upper Delaware River for all the Decree Parties and for healthy aquatic habitat for trout, shad, and the many other species that live in and along the Neversink, East and West branches, and Main Stem of the river.  The current constraint under which the FFMP is modeled, however, is invalid, biased, and inflexible:

• New York City’s annual diversions from Neversink, Pepacton, and Cannonsville reservoirs over the past ten years have averaged 508 mgd.  Yet the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) has consistently required that all OASIS modeling of future scenarios consider an annual New York City diversion of 765 mgd.  This means that over 290 mgd is available for ecosystem benefits downstream of the reservoirs, not the 35 mgd that the DRBC is currently modeling.  

• By imposing a release schedule calculated for extreme water supply diversions (765 mgd) when the actual annual average diversions are much lower (508 mgd), the DRBC’s interim FFMP will result in far more reservoir spills and significantly higher reservoirs each year than the OASIS model currently predicts.  This is wasteful and irresponsible management of the Delaware River’s water.

• New York City’s annual average diversions have been decreasing over the past 15 years, and they are not projected to increase for the foreseeable future.

Given New York City’s average diversions and the resulting additional water in the Upper Delaware River, the following changes will correct the deficiencies of the FFMP with no risk to any of the Decree Parties’ water rights and availability.

(1) The releases in the interim FFMP must be increased.  Higher reservoir releases from Cannonsville are needed from May to September to protect trout habitat in the lower West Branch and Main Stem Delaware River.  Similarly, higher release rates are required for the Neversink and East Branch tributaries to protect against low flows and high water temperatures.  In light of the large quantity of available water that will not be diverted to New York City and will eventually find its way downstream as spillage over the dams, TU cannot accept any FFMP without an increase in releases from all three reservoirs.  The OASIS model can substantiate this, and the DSS model verifies the considerable habitat gains for the rivers.

 (2) More release levels and seasons are necessary in the interim FFMP.  The interim FFMP structure is very inflexible; during most summers, releases will remain in L2 more than 75 percent of the time. At a minimum, additional graduated levels need to be added to both the L1 and L2 Storage Zone.  The FFMP will also benefit from additional seasons, particularly because of traditional water temperature and flow problems in mid- to late-May, early-June, and the summer period through mid-September whenever Montague flow target releases are not made.

(3) Weekly averaging of the Montague flow target is needed.  The wildly fluctuating releases that result from the efforts to meet Montague flow target shortages must be eliminated.  These extreme daily variances create dangerous water temperature fluctuations to the biota and disrupt various forms of recreation on the rivers.  Proactive directed releases must be based on a weekly average target rather than daily variances.  Anticipated hydropower generation releases from the Lackawaxen and Mongaup rivers make this entirely feasible and such a weekly averaging should be instituted immediately.  Using anticipated water diversions, anticipated Montague target releases, and projected hydropower releases, the Rivermaster can institute a weekly Montague release that accounts for these factors and eliminates these harmful and unnecessary daily fluctuations. 

(4) Directed releases for the Montague flow target must be balanced from the reservoirs. Some portion of the Montague releases should be apportioned as necessary to the East Branch and Neversink rivers when the Rivermaster requires water releases for the Montague flow target.  Such an allocation in releases will provide more aquatic habitat to the three tailwaters and help avoid draining Cannonsville during dry years.  

(5) A formal annual review of the FFMP is mandatory.  A process must be established to provide for an annual review of the FFMP to assess its performance.  Consistent review, analysis, and response are needed to address any of its shortcomings and incorporate new research.  Because these aquatic environments are extremely sensitive, we stress the need for the DRBC to maintain the ability to act quickly at times to avoid long-term environmental damage from loss of aquatic habitat.  Any formal process to review and respond to new information or environmental conditions must include the stakeholders and not be unnecessarily hindered by the bureaucratic process. 

TU recognizes the extraordinary efforts that are necessary for the equitable apportionment and management of the Upper Delaware watershed for both the DRBC and the Decree Parties.  We recognize that management needs for these rivers will remain dynamic and require constant assessment.  By implementing the above courses of action to correct the deficiencies of the interim FFMP, the DRBC and the Decree Parties can use their power to significantly improve the health of the Delaware River and its treasured trout fisheries—and with no risk to New York City or any other Decree Party’s water supplies or rights.

Another Article on Invasive Species and
their Damage on our Environment

Sunday, December 16, 2007   EAST LANSING -- A dozen dead loons lay chest up on a stainless steel table in Michigan's wildlife morgue, the crimson eyes turned ashen gray, their haunting calls silenced by a deadly epidemic sweeping across the Great Lakes.   A bacterium that surfaced in 1999 in Lake Erie has since killed 75,000 fish-eating birds in the Great Lakes, including nearly 10,000 this year in northern Lake Michigan.

Among the casualties: About 9,000 loons, the so-called icon of the North and a threatened species in Michigan, according to government and private bird monitoring data.   "There are thousands of birds in Lake Michigan dying from this; it's disturbing," said Thomas Cooley, a wildlife biologist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources who performs necropsies on the birds. "We don't normally see diseases that kill thousands of animals."   The culprit: Avian botulism, specifically Type E botulism, better known as food poisoning.   Biologists believe zebra mussels, quagga mussels and round gobies that hitchhiked into the Great Lakes in the 1980s in the ballast tanks of ocean freighters created a new link in the food chain, one that delivers deadly Type E botulism to fish and fish-eating birds.

The resulting bird kills are another example of how exotic species have altered the lakes' ecosystems, they said.   "To have mussels affect top-level predators, fish-eating birds, is really incredible," said Helen Domske, a biologist who tracks the epidemic for the New York Sea Grant program. "To know that botulism killed these birds shows how invasive species have changed this ecosystem."  

The botulism carnage that began in Lake Erie quickly spread to Lakes Huron and Ontario before killing 2,900 birds last year at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan, north of Manistee. This year, the bacteria killed another 1,000 birds at Sleeping Bear Dunes and about 8,500 more birds around the northern tip of Lake Michigan, according to monitoring data.   "This year, the dead birds in Lake Michigan were found from Ludington to the Mackinac Bridge and all along the Upper Peninsula coastline," said Ken Hyde, a wildlife biologist at Sleeping Bear Dunes. "It went from a 14-mile patch of dead birds last year to affecting most of the northern section of Lake Michigan this year. It just exploded."   Over the past decade, Type E botulism has killed birds from 52 different species in the Great Lakes -- gulls and mergansers, ducks and grebes, bald eagles and federally endangered piping plovers.

The bacterium also has claimed dozens of lake sturgeon and thousands of salamanders, known as mud puppies, in Lakes Erie and Ontario.   The outbreak has spread as far south as Ludington on the Lake Michigan coast. But experts said fish and birds in all the Great Lakes except one, Superior, are vulnerable to the bird kills because of the presence of zebra mussels, quagga mussels and round gobies.  

Common loons seem to be particularly susceptible to the botulism outbreak.   Loon deaths are significant because the birds are a threatened species in Michigan, which has an estimated population of less than 500 breeding pairs, according to the Audubon Society. Its North American population is being squeezed by shoreline development, powerboats that scare the birds off lakes, along with mercury in fish and lead fishing gear that can poison the birds, biologists said.   In October and November, hundreds of dead loons and thousands of other birds washed up on beaches across northern Lake Michigan, according to monitoring data.   "We see dead gulls and cormorants ... but most disheartening of all -- loons," said Henry Singer, a retired Petoskey physician who has a Lake Michigan cabin south of Cross Village. "Our precious loons, whose eerie calls echo off the lake and turn early summer dawns into a meditation on the northern wilderness experience ... it's tragic."   There are about 545,000 loons that nest each summer in Canada and another 32,000 in the U.S., according to data compiled by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.  

Loons are not believed to be in any immediate danger of being wiped out by Type E botulism. But continued outbreaks could quickly reduce their numbers because the long-lived birds, on average, produce less than one chick per year, said Joe Kaplan, a biologist and co-director of Common Coast Research & Conservation in Hancock.   Kaplan said some species of birds, such as gulls and cormorants are better suited to surviving the botulism outbreak because there are more of them and they reproduce faster than loons.  

"The thought of botulism turning the Great Lakes into killing fields, it's not a good situation," Kaplan said. "This botulism outbreak in northern Lake Michigan is right at the back door of where loons are breeding every summer."   Threat is old and new   Type E botulism is a naturally occurring compound released by the "Clostridium botulinum" bacteria. Spores of the bacteria reside in the bottom sediments of the Great Lakes and many other lakes.   The botulinum bacteria is harmless unless exposed to low oxygen conditions, which allows it to grow into a vegetative state that contains a toxin capable of paralyzing the muscles and respiratory systems of fish, birds and humans.  

The colonization of the Great Lakes by zebra and quagga mussels triggered a chain of events that unleashed the toxic strain of the botulism and pushed it up the food chain.   Humans and dogs that eat fish or birds infected with Type E botulism could become seriously ill or die, said Domske. Most people who die from food poisoning are killed by Type A or Type B botulism, but there have been rare cases of humans dying after eating improperly cooked or smoked fish contaminated with Type E.   People who swim in the Great Lakes are not at risk of contracting Type E botulism, experts said. Humans only come in contact with the bacteria by eating infected fish or birds.  

The state of New York has issued advisories urging anglers and hunters to avoid eating fish or birds that act lethargic, and to avoid handling the guts of fish and waterfowl when cleaning those animals. Michigan has not yet issued advisories warning about the dangers of Type E botulism.   Avian botulism has killed Great Lakes birds before. >From 1963 to 1983, Type E killed 16,000 birds in Lakes Michigan and Huron, according to federal data. Some researchers blamed those bird kills on alewife, a foreign fish that overpopulated the lakes in the 1960s and often died in huge numbers. Alewife that littered Great Lakes beaches provided a fertile breeding ground for Type E botulism, experts said.   Salmon first stocked in Lake Michigan in 1967 reduced the alewife population and the botulism outbreaks waned.

The deadly bacteria went into remission for 16 years, until it was confirmed as the cause of death for thousands of birds in Lakes Erie and Huron in 1999.   What's different now is the widespread distribution of zebra and quagga mussels and round gobies, in four of the five Great Lakes. Only Lake Superior, which hasn't been colonized by quagga mussels or round gobies, has avoided the latest botulism outbreak.   Experts believe vast areas of the other four Great Lakes are vulnerable to fish and bird kills from Type E botulism because they all have the necessary ingredients: quagga mussels, beds of cladophora, round gobies and fish-eating birds.   Elizabeth Brockwell-Tillman, a nature interpreter at P.J. Hoffmaster State Park in Norton Shores, said the deaths of thousands of birds in northern Lake Michigan seems to be having an effect here. She said there were far fewer water birds this autumn at Hoffmaster, a haven for migratory birds.   "Just because our beaches aren't littered with dead birds right now doesn't mean we're not affected; it means we're going to see some species of birds less frequently," Brockwell-Tillman said. "The lake is not healthy and these bird deaths are a symptom of the overall health of the lake. It's scary."

Didymo Alert!

Update your list of invasive species to include the aquatic diatom (a unicellular algae) known as didymo, or Didymosphenia geminata. ‘Rock snot’ was confirmed present in the Upper Connecticut and White Rivers in Vermont in June of this year. And as if this news wasn’t bad enough, biologists with the USGS, NY DEC and VT ANR just confirmed Didymosphenia geminata is also present in the Batten Kill in VT and NY.

By the time you read this, there will be signs posted on the Batten Kill advising all river users of the presence of didymo in the river, and offering recommended procedures to help prevent its spread to other waters. While we wait to hear of the plans devised by VT, NY, and NH environmental agencies, who are cooperating in this effort, as to how they intend to deal with didymo, here are a few facts about didymo, what to do if you think you’ve found it, and most importantly, what you should do as a responsible angler to help prevent spreading it to other waters.

Didymo can form extensive mats or ‘blooms’ on the bottom of rocky stream beds. When it does this, it can make survival impossible for aquatic macro invertebrates, plants, and other organisms by smothering them.

A single cell of didymo is microscopic, making it nearly impossible to detect on waders, boots, or clothing. Therefore, it is essential for all anglers to adopt a preventive attitude, and follow these guidelines established by New Zealand Biosecurity: Check, Clean & Dry. (For more details on these steps, see page 3.) According to the EPA, decontaminating your equipment in between uses in different freshwater systems is vital to preventing the spread of didymo.

Sightings of Didymo in VT should be reported to: Didymo Identification, Water Quality Division 103 S. Main St., Bldg 10N, First Floor Waterbury, VT 05671-0408 (802) 241-3770 or (802) 241-3777

The VT ANR is urging anglers and all freshwater recreationists to follow these procedures outlined by New Zealand Biosecurity for preventing the introduction and spread of didymo: Check, Clean and Dry.

1.  Check: Before leaving a river or stream, remove all obvious clumps of algae and look for hidden clumps. Leave them at the affected site. If you find any later, do not wash them down drains; dispose of all material in the trash.

2.  Clean: Soak and scrub all items for at least one minute in either hot (140 degrees F) water, a two percent solution of household bleach or a five percent solution of salt, antiseptic hand cleaner or dish washing detergent. Be sure that the solution completely penetrates thick absorbent items such as felt-soled waders and wading boots.

3.  Dry: If cleaning is not practical, after the item is completely dry to touch, wait an additional 48 hours before contact or use in any other waterway.

Belleayre Mountain Project Update

I am sending this message to the Clearwater Chapter of TU, knowing your long interest in preserving the unspoiled nature of the Catskill Mountains and its trout laden streams, to inform you that a large resort that has been planned for some time on Belleayre Mountain once again threatens a premier NYS fishing area (see picture at www.belleayreresort.com   ). 

After a period of long dormancy and hoped for death it has sprung back to life with the efforts of an Albany initiated series of closed door meetings to divide and conquer the opposition. There remains vigorous opposition on environmental, aesthetic and economic grounds. These are shown in the Save the Mountain web site www.savethemountain.net . 

The people most opposed are the ones that live in the area that will be directly impacted. Those who enjoy fishing, hiking and natural beauty in the Catskills will probably find a huge resort complex on the top of Belleayre Mountain inappropriate also. We are looking for people to sign a petition on the web site and to write letters to the NYS DEC about the scope of review to be done in the NYS DEC State Environmental Quality Review (SEQRA), commonly call "seeker". The primary purpose of the scoping letter is to tell the NYS DEC what things should be looked at in the SEQRA process. If anything is left out of the scoping at the beginning of the process it is not possible to address it later.     

The article from Oneonta Star linked here will give more information about providing input to the scoping process and where to write. http://www.thedailystar.com/local/local_story_361040034.html

Thanks for your interest and please send this on to your members and others interested in preserving the Catskills that we love.

Kevin Millar

kjmilow@yahoo.com