News from HHLT: July 2020
Learn How to Bring More Diversity to Your Landscape in July 30th Webinar
Join us on Thursday, July 30th, from 1-2pm for our latest webinar— Bringing Plant Diversity to Your Landscape: Invasive and Native Plants of the Hudson Highlands—to learn how you can help restore native habitats and preserve healthy biodiversity across our shared landscapes. Our expert speakers— Ryan Goolic from the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference and Jennifer Lerner with the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Putnam County—will share practical tips for how you can eradicate invasive plants and create a native plant garden on your own property.

The webinar is FREE, but advance registration via Zoom is required. You’ll receive a personalized link to access the webinar once you register. Please reach out to ashley.rauch@hhlt.org with any questions.

More information on this webinar, and recordings of all our past webinars (including last month's "Open Space has Gone Viral" webinar), are available on our website.
Meet Our New Summer Interns: Jailene and Brant
We are excited to welcome our two new Land Management interns, Jailene Gonzalez and Brant Martin, to the HHLT team! Jailene and Brant are joining us as part of a joint internship with The Fresh Air Fund (FAF) and the Vassar Ecological Preserve. They will split their time between FAF’s 2,000-acre Sharpe Reservation in Fishkill and our Granite Mountain Preserve in Putnam Valley, and also collaborate virtually with two interns stationed at Vassar.

At Granite Mountain, they will be working on invasive species management projects like eradication of yellow archangel and removal of black swallowwort from the trails, keeping the Preserve ecologically healthy and hikers safe. At Sharpe, they'll be removing water chestnut, eradicating mile-a-minute, and helping to develop an invasive species management plan.

Jailene is a rising senior at SUNY Geneseo, majoring in Biology. Brant graduated in May from SUNY Plattsburgh with a degree in Environmental Studies, and he previously worked at FAF as an Agriculture Educator. Please join us in welcoming Jailene and Brant to our team!

We are grateful to the Lower Hudson Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management for helping to fund this internship program through New York State's Environmental Protection Fund, as administered by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.
Keeping Up with Nature Time
Our team has been working to bring nature to you over these past few months with weekly "Nature Time" videos. We welcomed a few new faces to Nature Time with recent videos on invasive carp fish in Constitution Marsh with our Institutional Funding Manager, Mona Smith, and the Marsh's Director, Scott Silver; access to nature with our Nature Resources Manager, Nicole Wooten, and leaders from The Fresh Air Fund; and coneflower with our Executive Director, Michelle Smith.

You can check out these new videos below and the full series of Nature Time videos on our website.
Training the Stewards Who Help Care for Our Trails
Last month, our Natural Resources Manager, Nicole Wooten, helped train new Breakneck Ridge Trail Stewards as part of our partnership with the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference on their Trail Steward Program for the 2020 season. During the training, Nicole shared information on natural resource protection and strategies for the safe, enjoyable and responsible use of the popular hiking trail. 

The Trail Steward Program will look a little different this season due to COVID-19 guidelines. Stewards will be wearing masks and social distancing, plus there will be no distributing or collecting of materials, like maps or surveys. Breakneck Stewards will be on the ground five days per week.

If you are planning to hike Breakneck this summer or fall, be sure to check in with the Trail Stewards to learn how you can help protect our natural resources. And don’t forget to follow these new hiking how-tos when you head outdoors—for your safety, and for the safety of all hikers.

Thank you to the Trail Stewards for caring for the trails we love!
Calling All Birders! DEC Seeks Contributions to 2020 Breeding Bird Atlas to Help Protect Birds and Habitat
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is seeking community science volunteers to contribute data to the third New York State Breeding Bird Atlas, a statewide survey that takes place every two decades and details New York’s breeding bird distribution. To participate in this year’s survey, volunteers simply need to record the species and any breeding behaviors observed while birdwatching. You can create a free eBird account and either submit your data online through the atlas website or through the eBird mobile app. Contributions can be viewed here as they are reported. All bird sightings count!
Plans for Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail to be Unveiled in Community Webinars
If you've been curious about plans for the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail project, there are two upcoming community webinars planned over the next month:

  • July 21, 5:30–6:30 pm: The Fjord Trail Master Plan
  • August 19, 5:30–6:30 pm: The Breakneck Connector & Bridge

More information and online registration is available on the Fjord Trail website. Please contact hudsonfjordtrail@scenichudson.org with any questions.

HHLT protects the Hudson Highlands for all of us. You make it all possible.
Thank you for your support!

The Hudson Highlands Land Trust protects and preserves the natural resources,
rural character and scenic beauty of the Hudson Highlands.

Hudson Highlands Land Trust
20 Nazareth Way, P.O. Box 226, Garrison, NY 10524
(845) 424-3358