Our 2021 Land Management Interns wrapped up their internships last week, and we are so grateful for their great work over the summer! The interns, Katie, Adriana, Echo, Bronwyn and Rue, were with us as part of a joint summer internship program between HHLT, the Fresh Air Fund's Sharpe Reservation, the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve, and the Environmental Monitoring and Management Alliance (EMMA).

They spent part of their internship at our Granite Mountain Preserve in Putnam Valley, helping to manage invasive species and surveying for emerging invasives and related issues, like Beech Leaf Disease. Plus, to share the knowledge and skills they learned over the summer, the interns produced several educational videos on improving forest health, which will soon be available on our YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Our thanks to the Lower Hudson Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (through New York State's Environmental Protection Fund, as administered by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation) and the John and Frank Sparacio Foundation for helping to fund this internship program.

This spring, we announced that local philanthropist Christopher Davis will be generously donating 74+ acres of the 300-acre Garrison Golf Club to HHLT once the golf course is decommissioned later this year. We plan to permanently protect this land and oversee habitat restoration, while simultaneously working with the community to develop a thoughtful plan for public access.

To that end, we have been offering small-group walking tours of the 74+ acres. These tours allow people to walk the land and bring ideas to the table as we start our community engagement and planning process. Please join us for our next tour on Wednesday, August 25th at 6-7:30pm. We will add more tour dates/times if interest warrants.

The tour is limited to 12 people, so advance registration is required. More information and online registration is available via Eventbrite. Please note this tour will only cover the 74+ acres that will be owned and managed by HHLT, not the remainder of the property.

All across the country, tree cover tends to be sparser in low-income neighborhoods compared to wealthier (and often whiter) neighborhoods. Living near trees provides countless benefits—and people without adequate access to trees often suffer. This concept of “tree equity”—or, more appropriately, tree inequity—doesn’t just affect large cities. It exists right here in the Hudson Highlands.

Learn more about tree inequity in our communities, and what local conservation groups are doing to remedy it, in the latest issue of Relearning Highlands History.

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is encouraging pool owners to participate in their annual Asian Longhorned Beetle Swimming Pool Survey. The goal of the survey is to locate infestations of these invasive pests before they cause serious damage to our forests.

For the remainder of the swimming pool season, the DEC is asking pool owners to periodically check their filters for insects that resemble the Asian Longhorned Beetle (pictured to the right), and report their findings either by emailing photos to foresthealth@dec.ny.gov or mailing insects to DEC's Forest Health Diagnostics Lab at 108 Game Farm Road, Delmar, NY 12054, Attn: Liam Somers.

You can learn more about the Asian Longhorned Beetle and the Pool Survey on the DEC's website.

The proposed Danskammer fracked gas plant in Newburgh cannot be built and operate until the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issues it an air permit under Title V of the Clean Air Act. The DEC is currently seeking public comments on a draft air permit for Danskammer.

In addition to comments on the draft permit, the DEC also seeks comments on the proposed project's compliance with the Climate Act, including: (1) whether the proposed project would be inconsistent with or would interfere with the attainment of New York's GHG emission limits; (2) the potential need or justification for the project; and (3) appropriate alternatives or GHG mitigation measures to be required.

DEC is accepting public comments until August 29, 2021. More information and a draft comment with key talking points can be found on the Stop the Plant website. Comments can be submitted via the form on the Stop the Plant website or emailed to DanskammerEnergy@dec.ny.gov.