Invasive Species Overview

Invasive species affect all New Yorkers - from hikers to highway personnel, from birders to boaters and from farmers to foresters. The Trail Conference and the Catskill Region Invasive Species Partnership (CRISP) are teaming up to teach the public about invasive species in the Catskill Mountains.  At the same time we will be putting some of those new skills to work by removing some invasive plant species that are growing around the Spillian trail network that the Trail Conference has been improving through workshops and work trips. This workshop is part of New York Invasive Species Awareness Week (ISAW).  The mission of ISAW is to promote knowledge and understanding of invasive species to help stop their spread by engaging citizens in a wide range of activities across the state and encouraging them to take action. The Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership is one of Eight Partnerships for Regional Invasive Species Management located across New York State. Each of the PRISMS are funded by the Environmental Protection Fund through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. CRISP's mission is to promote education, prevention, early detection and control of invasive species to limit their impact on the ecosystems and economies of the Catskills. This workshop is part of a series of workshops and work trips that will be held at Spillian in Fleischmanns, a partner with the Trail Conference and the center for Trail University workshops for the central and southern Catskills.  Ongoing workshops and work trips will held to rehabilitate and improve a network of former carriage roads and trails on the property that will be open to the public for hiking. We will be spendign part of the day in a classroom setting, and then the remainder of the time we will be on the trail: be sure to wear your hiking boots pack plenty of water and bring work gloves.  Light refreshments and snacks will be provided throughout the day and we'll end the workshop with a cookout at Spillian.