Invasive Species

We offer free invasive species identification services!

There is a need for a national early detection and rapid response system to prevent invasive species from becoming established. We need your help protecting our treasured natural resources in the Catskill region. Cornell Cooperative Extension is here to help you learn about the invasive species of concern in our region.   We can identify plants and insects at our office in Hamden.

If you find a plant, insect, or animal that you suspect could be invasive . . . 

  • Please bring it to our office for confirmation OR
  • Send a clear photo (Close-up with white or neutral backgrounds are helpful) along with your contact information. Mail & Email accepted.

If an invasive species is confirmed, you will receive a current fact sheet including management strategies for the particular species. Please consider getting involved. Together we can make a difference and stop the invasion!

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County is working with the Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership (CRISP) to develop an early detection and rapid response system in the Catskill region. Research has shown that the best strategy to deal with invasive species is to identify and eradicate them before they become established. We urge people in our region to join us for this important task. The more eyes we have looking for these invaders, the better able we will be to deal with them quickly and effectively.

 

A few examples to watch out for…

Swallow Wort

Flowering black swallow-wort (left) and pale swallow-wort (right)

Have spread across NE U.S. and S.E Canada and are appearing further west.

Related to milkweed, each swallow-wort plant produces hundreds of seeds.

 

Here is the result:

 

Japanese Knotweed

 

Japanese Knotweed

Member of the buckwheat family.

Introduced into the U.S. from Eastern Asia in the late-1800s.

Can grow from three to 15 feet tall.  Has bamboo-like stems.

Reproduces mainly by rhizomes, sometimes by seed.

Once established can spread rapidly, creating monoculture stands that threaten native plant communities.

Oriental Bittersweet

Oriental Bittersweet

Grows as a vine.

Introduced in the 1860s as an ornamental and for erosion control.

 Girdles and smothers plants.

 Uproots trees due to its weight

More information on Invasive Species:

 

For more information, contact Carla Hegeman Crim, Ph.D.

Horticulture & Natural Resources Extension Educator

ceh27@cornell.edu

(607) 865-6531