The WNY Emerald Ash Borer Task Force will present a Public Workshop on Emerald Ash Borer on Saturday, July 21st, in coordination with the 20th Annual NYS ReLeaf Conference. The workshop is FREE – Register in Advance. Presenters include staff from Cornell Cooperative Extension, the NY Department of Environmental Conservation and the arborist of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy.

Homeowners Workshop on Emerald Ash Borer:

This workshop is designed for private landowners, but educators, municipal officials, policymakers and anyone interested in urban forest health and liability associated with the Emerald Ash Borer.

Workshop Date: Saturday July 21, 2012
Time: 9am – 12pm, registration begins at 8:45am
Location: Canisius College – Grupp Lounge in the Richard E. Winters Building
(A map of Canisius College is available at: http://www.canisius.edu/admissions/PDFs/Web_Campus_Map2000.pdf

The workshop is FREE but registration is requested by Tuesday, July 17th:
Registration Contact: Sharon Bachman, Community Educator for Agriculture, Cornell Cooperative Extension Phone: 716-652-5400 x 150 or Email: sin2@cornell.edu. For persons with disabilities requiring accommodations, please contact Sharon Bachman at 716-652-5400 x 150 by July 16th.
Funding for the workshop has been provided by The Erie County Environmental Education Institute (ECEEI), an organization that seeks to fund grass-root organizations to facilitate local community efforts in the development and promotion of environmental education programs.

Workshop Overview:
The workshop will provide information on how to identify ash tree and EAB infestations, when and how homeowners should treat their trees as EAB approaches their community, and the role of tree boards and local conservation committees in education, early detection and management. EAB infestations will affect all New Yorkers in some manner, and require collective efforts to “Slow the Spread.” Slowing the spread of EAB will allow more time for communities that are yet to be affected to plan for the eventual arrival of EAB, thereby helping to minimize economic impacts.

Presenters:
Mark Whitmore, Forest Entomologist with Cornell University;
Dave Paradowski, Regional Forester with NYS DEC; and
Shane Daley, Certified Arborist and Forester with the Olmsted Parks Conservancy.

Whitmore works with professional land managers, state and federal agencies, government officials and concerned citizens to understand the issues and strategies for minimizing that impact of forest insect pests, particularly non-native invasive pests.
Paradowski is in charge of State Forests and Private Land Services within Region 9 of NYS DEC.
Daley oversees the trees and forested land in Buffalo’s Olmsted Parks including South Park near the Erie County Botanical Gardens where Emerald Ash Borer was first discovered in Erie County in 2011.

About EAB and Trees in NY State:
New York State has over 900 million ash trees, comprising 7% of all our trees in the state. Many are located on streets, in parks and yards, and in forests. All ash trees are vulnerable to Emerald Ash Borer. Once ash trees die, they quickly rot and break apart. The loss of shade trees on streets, yards and parks will negatively impact winter and summer energy consumption, water use, property values and aesthetics. The loss of ash trees can have a profound effect on local economies including the cost to treat or remove ash trees near homes and in public areas, the cost to replant, the devaluing of homes with ash shade trees and the loss of ash trees in the wood product supply. Further information on community preparedness can be found in the New York State Emerald Ash Borer Community Preparedness Plan Development Workbook at: http://emeraldashborer.info/communityplan.cfm

Organizers:
The WNY EAB Task Force is a volunteer organization of forestry professionals, scientists, natural resource managers, local officials and private citizens assembled to facilitate a science-based response to the economic, ecological and public safety impacts of EAB within the forests and communities of the eight county region of western New York.

The workshop has been developed through the efforts of Taskforce members including the WNY Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM), Cornell Cooperative Extension – Erie County (CCE), NYS Urban and Community Forestry Council, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and Cornell University. For more information on the ReLeaf Conference, visit: http://www.nysurbanforestrycouncil.com

Cornell Cooperative Extension is a collaboration among Cornell University campus-based faculty and extension associates, regional specialists and local educators to design and conduct field-based research and educational programs on a wide array of topics including natural resource management, on-farm food safety practices, season extension techniques, and business management.