Items tagged with 'environment'
Watching for cicadas
An adult periodical cicada. The red eyes really make the look.
Perhaps arriving soon: the periodical cicada. A "brood" of the fantastically weird insects -- that climb from the ground every 17 years to molt, sing, mate, lay their eggs, and die -- are emerging along the East Coast this month. And we could see some of them in the Capital Region.
This particular cohort of cicadas -- Brood II, or "The East Coast Brood" -- last emerged in 1996. In previous appearances, its range has stretched from North Carolina to northern New York.
RUST at Radix
Coming up at the Radix Center in Albany: Regenerative Urban Sustainability Training (RUST), June 1-2. The workshop is focused on "skills for building ecologically resilient communities in today's cities." Blurbage:
In this class, Scott Kellogg and other sustainability experts give attendees a "toolbox" of techniques and knowledge usable by anyone wanting to create sustainable systems in their own communities. Through a combination of group hands-on activities and lectures, participants will learn how to build infrastructure for self-reliance that is simple, affordable, and replicable. These systems can be applied in either urban or rural environments.
The topics range from aquaponics to beekeeping to vertical farming to vegetable oil vehicles.
The cost for the workshop $150-$350, and includes meals. Space is limited.
Earlier on AOA: Startup contest update: The Radix Center
Woman bitten by potentially rabid fox in Cohoes
The Albany County Department of Health reported today that a woman in Cohoes was bitten by a potentially rabid grey fox this morning (area map). The fox got away, and officials are urging people to keep an eye out for wild or stray animals that are acting strangely -- and call 911 if one is sighted.
Update: A fox -- maybe the fox -- was shot by Cohoes police later in the day. Update update: The fox that was shot tested positive for rabies, Cohoes police say. [TU] [@CBS6Jennifer]
Rabid foxes turn up now and then in this area. Three foxes tested positive for rabies between January and October of 2012 -- one each in Albany, Rensselaer, and Saratoga counties -- according to the most recent data posted by the state DEC. There were also three positives in 2011 -- two in Saratoga County, and one in Schenectady County. Statewide that year there were 26 positive tests for rabies in foxes, 21 of those in grey foxes.
Back in 2010 a man was bitten by a rabid fox in Greenwich, in a scene that sounds like something from a B movie. From the Daily Gazette:
Richard Leddy, 40, said he was lying on the town beach reading when he heard someone in the water say, "Oh look, there's a fox."
"I thought they meant on the other bank, but then I heard a snarl and looked over to see the fox in mid-leap," Leddy said. "Next think I knew he'd sunk his teeth into my arm."
Yikes.
The animals that most often turn up with positive rabies tests in the state, at least over the last few years, are raccoons and bats. In 2011, there were 162 raccoons that tested positive, and 64 bats. (That's just a raw count of positive tests by the state lab, not a measure of prevalence within the population of those animals compared to other animals.)
In fact, the last two people to die of rabies in New York State -- in 1995 and 1993 -- got it from a bat, according to the state's Wadsworth Center.
Earlier on AOA:
+ "Pet" gray fox on the loose in Troy
+ Fox stalking
photo of a grey fox (*not* the grey fox in Cohoes): US Fish and Wildlife Service via Wikipedia
The Karner Blue as another sign from the Year of Odd Weather
They find the weather strange, too.
Another effect of the non-winter/early spring: Karner Blue butterflies have managed to squeeze out an extra generation this summer. From an Albany Pine Bush Preserve press release:
Karner blue butterflies typically have two broods per year, one in May/early June and the second in July. The discovery of a third brood is both remarkable and a bit alarming to Preserve scientists because the eggs produced by the July brood of adult Karners typically overwinter to produce adult Karners the following May. An early and very warm spring is the suspected cause of earlier broods this year and the additional late-season butterflies currently flying in the Preserve. The impacts of a third flight of adults to the long-term recovery of the species are unknown. ...
Only time and continued monitoring will determine if the late 2012 hatch will have an impact on the 2013 butterfly population and the longer-term recovery of the species. "We had no idea a third flight in a single season was possible before 2010" said [Albany Pine Bush Preserve Conservation director Neil] Gifford. According to Gifford, it was in 2010 that Karner blue butterfly managers from Wisconsin to New Hampshire suspected that the late season adults they were seeing may be a previously unknown third flight. "We don't yet have a good understanding of what the implications of a third brood will mean for the recovery of the species" said Gifford, adding "it will likely depend on whether the changing climate brings such conditions more frequently."
The preserve says this spring's emergence of Karner Blues was the earliest on record -- 10 days earlier than the previous record, and 21 days earlier than the 20-year average.
To say that the weather over the past year is odd would be an understatement. A handful of the signs and side effects:
Now emerging: Karner Blues
Beautiful and rare.
The Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission announced today that it has 600 Karner Blue butterflies emerging from their cocoons right now. From the press release:
Adult female Karners are captured from New York sites and immediately transported to the rearing facility in Concord, NH. Eggs produced by these butterflies are raised to chrysalises and returned to the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. The adults that emerge are released into restored habitat to begin new colonies. ...
"This is a very exciting, and very limited chance to see this Federally endangered butterfly," says Discovery Center Director Jeffrey Folmer. "One question visitors often ask is 'Where can I see the Karner blues?' These beautiful, but tiny butterflies are rare, hard to spot, live only three to five days and are difficult to distinguish from other similar non-endangered butterflies. We now have 600 of them emerging from their chrysalises one by one and they're on view until they all emerge."
The commission says butterflies will available for viewing at the Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center until mid-July. Admission is free.
The Albany Pine Bush -- a sandy inland pine barren -- is one of the Karner Blue's native habitats (there aren't many remaining). In fact, the butterflies are called "Karner Blues" because of the no-longer hamlet of Karner, New York. Vladimir Nabokov -- yep, the author -- stopped to study the butterflies there in 1950 and ended up naming them. Nabokov once described the insects as being "like blue snowflakes."
Earlier on AOA:
+ The Karner Blue
+ Why the Albany Pine Bush is sandy
+ On state animals, vegetables and whatnot
photo: courtesy of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission
A heads up when something could stink about the Hudson River
Passed during the end-of-session rush at the Capitol: the "Sewage Pollution Right to Know Act." The environmental org Riverkeeper explains:
The Sewage Pollution Right to Know Act, once signed by the Gov. Andrew Cuomo will make public reporting about unsafe water conditions nearly as routine as severe weather warnings. The law will require public wastewater treatment plants to publicly disclose within four hours of releasing raw or partially-treated sewage. The state will also for the first time report annually on reported sewage discharges.
This is an important issue around here because of something called "combined sewer overflows" (CSOs). Basically, when many of the antiquated sewer systems in this area become overwhelmed with storm water, they start dumping the excess -- sewage and all -- into the Hudson and its tributaries. Yep, eww.
Riverkeeper did testing last year for sewage-indicating bacteria in Hudson -- and two of the worst spots for contamination were near Albany (Island Creek/Normans Kill in Glenmont, and the Dunn Memorial Bridge). The org reported that the Capital Region's CSOs "dump an estimated 1.2 billion gallons of combined sewage and wastewater into the Hudson each year."
[via @AndyArthur]
Earlier on AOA: Something stinks about the Hudson near Albany (includes some good discussion in the comments)
photo: Flickr user andyarthur (cc)
The spread of Lyme disease
Reported cases, year by year, from 2001-2010.
Mappage: We came across this CDC map of reported Lyme disease cases over the last decade (ending in 2010). The CDC site allows you to switch from year-to-year -- we piled all those years into the animation above.
The thing that struck us about the map is the way it illustrates how Lyme has spread from the coast and the very central part of the Hudson Valley to the entire Northeast (as well as Wisconsin and Minnesota).
As it happens, the number of reported cases in New York was down noticeably in 2010, the last year for which the data's posted by the CDC. The state's incidence rate that year -- confirmed cases per 100,000 people -- was 12.3 that year (12th highest in the country). It was 21.2 in 2009, and 29.5 in 2008.
Delaware led the nation in 2010 with a rate of 73.1. Vermont's rate was 43.3 that year, and Massachusetts' 36.3.
Earlier this spring a research org in the Hudson Valley -- the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies -- reported the "northeastern U.S. should prepare for a surge in Lyme disease this spring." And the reason wasn't the mild winter. Rather, researchers based their projections on mice and acorns:
The North Greenbush bear lands, softly
All this attention? For me?
After spending most of Wednesday hanging out in a tree, the North Greenbush bear finally came down shortly after 4 pm. It wasn't by choice -- he had been hit with a tranquilizer dart -- but it was a soft landing, apparently.
"This guy went down pretty good," said NYS DEC police lieutenant Jim Hays shortly after the landing. Hays said the bear appeared to hit the ground softly while zonked on tranquilizers. "They're like a big bowl of jello when they land."
The black bear had climbed a a large tree in the front yard of a house on Meadow Dr, just across Williams Road from the North Greenbush Town Park. DEC had originally planned to let the bear come down on his own. But after he seemed content to sit in the tree for hours, DEC decided it was time to move things along.
Hays said they were worried about the situation becoming a public safety issue. Williams Road was filling with rush hour traffic. A large crowd of media and onlookers had gathered just on the other side of road. And Hays said people had started to circle around the scene for a better look, cutting off potential escape routes for the bear.
This most recent bear is the third one captured in the the core Capital Region in the last couple of weeks -- the other two were in Albany and Schenectady. There was also a bear
"We need to learn how to live with them," Hays said, describing Albany and Rensselaer counties as bear country. "They're not going to go away."
As with the other recently captured bears, DEC will keep the North Greenbush bear overnight for observation. If he checks out OK, Hays says they'll take him some place more bear appropriate and release him.
There are a bunch of photos from today's scene after the jump.
Wanted, dead or live: feral pigs
Interesting story in the New York Times this weekend about a population of feral pigs in the Champlain Valley, about 150 miles north of Albany. DEC officials are worried the population will permanently establish itself, spread, and threaten farms and Adirondack habitats:
Perhaps most worrisome is their reputation as eating machines: the pigs devour ground-nesting birds and reptiles, fawns and domestic livestock, native vegetation and crops. Feral pigs have already proliferated in parts of western New York. But state officials are drawing a line in the topsoil, so to speak, determined to protect both the agrarian economy and the fragile ecosystem from the nascent herd -- or "sounder" in swine-speak -- in the town of Peru.
"There's a real sense of urgency," said Ed Reed, a wildlife biologist for the state's Department of Environmental Conservation. "Once the pigs get established, they are very difficult to eradicate completely."
And what are they using to lure the pigs into traps: Jello-laced donuts.
The DEC says "people with a small game license may shoot and keep feral swine at any time and in any number." The resulting pork is said to be rather tasty -- although in some cases apparently there isn't enough sage to cover up the stink.
Feral pig populations are widespread in the South and California -- causing so many problems, in such great numbers, that as an official remarked: "With over 2 million hogs in Texas, we're not going to barbecue our way out of this problem." The animals reportedly cause $400 million in damage there each year and people have resorted to shooting them from helicopters.
photo: NYS DEC
New York State's 2011 bear "harvest"
The state Department of Environmental Conservation reports there were 1258 bears killed by hunters in New York in 2011. That's up about 18 percent from 2010 -- and higher than the five-year average (1,152) -- but short of the record on the books (1864 bears in 2003).
Last year's total did include a record number for the sub area that covers part of the Capital Region. The DEC attributes the record to bear hunting being opened in counties stretching from Rockland and Westchester counties north to Washington County. The cover of the DEC report includes a photo of a hunter with a bear killed in Columbia County, which the agency says might have been the first bear taken in the county since the 1800s.
Capital Region
There were 26 bears killed in the Capital Region's core counties last year: Albany (4), Rensselaer (11), Saratoga (11).
Counties in the greater Capital Region: Columbia (10), Greene (68), Schoharie (19), Washington (20), Warren (27).
In recent years DEC has said that bear populations in the state are "thriving."
By the way: the word used by the DEC to describe a year's take of bears (and deer) is "harvest" -- which makes sense. But it always makes us think of a field of bears growing in rows. And we suspect the bears have a different word for it.
Earlier on AOA: Don't feed the bears
photo: Flickr user peupleloup
Unmanufacturing in Troy
Where electronics start their afterlife.
Electronic gadgets are everywhere -- and in greater numbers every day. It's one side effect of an industry in which an item is considered "old" if was released just a year ago.
So, these items often have a short lifespan. And when the end comes, they have to go somewhere -- and increasingly, that place is not a landfill. As of the start of this year, businesses and municipalities in New York State are no longer allowed to pitch electronics into landfills. And by 2015 that restriction will apply to everyone -- even individuals.
With that in mind, a recent invitation to check out an electronics recycling business in south Troy made us curious to see where this stuff goes.
Well, that, and we almost never pass up the opportunity to see stuff get crushed.
White Nose Syndrome continues to kill off bats
Bats with White Nose Syndrome in Hailes Cave in Albany County.
White Nose Syndrome -- the bat disease first identified in the Capital Region -- has killed as many as 6.7 million bats, according to recent estimates by biologists working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Since first being documented in 2006, the disease has now spread to 16 states -- and at many sites it's killed almost 100 percent of the bats. It has some biologists worried that some once-common varieties of bats could be facing extinction. [US FWS] [NYT]
The "white nose" in the syndrome's name refers to a fungus that grows on the face of the bats. Last fall researchers confirmed the fungus was responsible for the syndrome after 100 percent of the bats exposed to it in captivity developed the symptoms in a study. The fungus infects the bats' skin and causes lesions. [Nature News]
In 2010, New York State's Department of Environmental Conservation reported the White Nose Syndrome was likely in all bat caves in the state. The population of some species of bat had declined by 90 percent. [NYS DEC]
The disease was first identified in Howes Cave in Schoharie County -- it spread to other caves in the region and large bat die-offs followed.
Bats don't necessarily have the best reputation with a lot of humans, but they're an important part of the ecosystem because they eat huge numbers of insects -- including mosquitos.
photo: Nancy Heaslip, NYS DEC
This just in: the Adirondacks have a lot trees
Where the trees are in New York. (We added the star for the approximate location of Albany as a point of reference.)
Forestry fact of the day: the Adirondacks are one of the areas with the most tree mass in the country, according to a map of "above ground woody biomass" created by the NASA Earth Observatory.
A clip from the map, of New York State, is above. The darker the green, the more tree mass there is.
The national map is posted after the jump in large format. You can see the large swath of forest that runs from Maine, through New Hampshire and Vermont, includes eastern New York, and then runs along the Applachians. And as dense as parts of the swath are, the long, narrow (relatively speaking) forests of the West Coast still trump the East for density of tree stuff (the trees are rather large out there).
Researchers built the map as part of an effort to better understand how much carbon is stored in forests -- and which way that amount is trending.
[via Buzzfeed]
Earlier on AOA: The darkness just to the north
Something stinks about the Hudson near Albany
The Hudson River at the Dunn Memorial Bridge was among the 10 worst spots in the study.
The environmental org Riverkeeper released a report this week on Hudson River sewage contamination levels -- and the results for this part of the Hudson were... uh... gross.
Riverkeeper's testing found sewage-indicating bacteria levels were above acceptable limits more than 50 percent of the time at both Island Creek/Normans Kill in Glenmont (65 percent of the time) and the Dunn Memorial Bridge in Albany (50 percent). Those two spots were among the top-10 worst of all the spots tested. The data for all the locations tested are posted online -- and table with local data is after the jump.
So, what's causing this problem? The Capital District's combined sewer systems dump untreated sewage into the river when they're over capacity (example: after a heavy rain).
Riverkeeper says the systems release 1.2 billion gallons of untreated sewage and wastewater into the river each year.
The Karner Blue
Nabokov once described the a group of Karner Blues appearing like "blue snowflakes".
The first flight of Karner Blue butterflies should be appearing in their habitats around the Capital Region right about now.
The beautiful endangered butterflies hang around sandy pine barren habitats. Two such spots in the Capital Region: the Albany Pine Bush Preserve and the Wilton Wildlife Preserve. Drew was at the Wilton preserve this past week and said the butterflies were easy to spot.
Karner Blues congregate in these habitats because they're also the habitat for blue lupine. The butterflies lay their eggs on the plants.
There's some great history Capital Region history involving the Karner Blue. The common name of the butterflies is linked to a spot here -- and Vladimir Nabokov classified the butterflies. Yep, the author.
What the frack is going on?
In the event you were holding out on learning about hydrofracking until it was all set to music, your moment has arrived. The video embedded above was produced by NYU students as part of a collaboration with the journalism org Pro Publica.
Hydrofracking is potentially one of the biggest environmental issues facing the state. A rather large deposit of hard-to-reach natural gas runs through the state. And energy companies are reportedly eager to give it a good fracking. That could mean significant economic gain -- and significant environmental problems.
Pro Publica has been all over the issue. Oh, and that part about flammable water -- true, in some cases.
Sheep eat the baaaaad
Sheep -- and dogs -- will be working to clear invasive plants from the Normanskill Farm.
There's a new (old) way to combat invasive plant species in upstate New York: small flocks of sheep.
Gary Kleppel, a professor of biological sciences at UAlbany and director of the Biodiversity Conservation and Policy Program there, is in the process of setting up a "targeted grazing" project using sheep at Albany's city-owned Normanskill Farm.
His sheep start arriving in a few weeks and then, with the help of students, dogs, and a fancy fence, the sheep get to work -- eating and gnawing at the plants that cause problems for our ecosystem.
... said chrisck about The alligator man