This month, we are saying goodbye to Mike Young as our Terrestrial Invasive Species Project Manager and hello to Ryan Goolic, former Invasives Strike Force Crew member and Crew leader. The entire Invasives Strike Force team would like to thank Mike for all he’s done for our invasives programs and his dedicated efforts in cultivating the beautiful native landscape outside of the Trail Conference headquarters through his work in our Habitat Helpers program. Over the winter months, Ryan will be accepting, prioritizing, and scheduling project applications for the 2020 field season. He will also be creating training materials for next year’s crew. He’s especially excited to work with colleagues around the state to get more invasive plants added to New York’s Regulated and Prohibited Species List. Welcome Ryan! Congratulations also to Lindsay Yoder on wrapping up a successful first season as Aquatic Invasive Species Program Coordinator. Cheers to many more program achievements and missions accomplished in the months and years to come!
A hearty thank you also goes out to our amazing Conservation Corps Crew members Jackie Valadares, Chris Quirin, and Christel Walker who finished their 2019 AmeriCorps season at the end of October. These crew members wanted to thank all of the volunteers who came out to help them tackle invasive plants and to say that they couldn’t have done it without the amazing efforts of these volunteers. To read about all of their accomplishments and what they were up to in October, keep reading the Invasives Strike Force Crew Update section below.
A special congratulations to Invasives Strike Force volunteers Larry and Cathy Mazzella who have now achieved Level 7 Master Naturalist status through the New York State Master Naturalist Volunteer Program. Larry and Cathy were specifically recognized by the Master Naturalist Program "for their hard work and dedication, and their efforts to control invasive species, monitor wildlife populations, and restore habitats".
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