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Every March we celebrate spring and agriculture in New York State! Over the next few weeks we’ll focus on different agriculture practices and BMPs. Agriculture is part of our history, heritage, and values, and continues as an important part of our
culture and rural economy. Ag month is a the perfect opportunity for all of us to better appreciate agriculture’s breadth and beauty!

Pictured above, Steve Olson, of Hidden Canyon Farm, Steve and Susan Olson own and operate a 40 cow/calf beef farm, specializing in high quality meat production located in Lyons, NY

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Photo Courtesy NYS DEC

NYSDEC recently announced that the application period for the ‘Trees for Tribs’ “Buffer in a Bag” Program is now open. Qualifying private and public landowners may apply for a free bag of 25 tree and shrub seedlings for planting near streams, rivers, or lakes to help stabilize banks, protect water quality, and improve wildlife habitat.

DEC’s Trees for Tribs Buffer in a Bag program provides free tree and shrub seedlings for organizations and private landowners to create or improve stream buffers on their property. The seedlings are available to qualified landowners for streamside plantings under DEC Buffer in a Bag Program Learn more at https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/77710.html#Bag

Riparian buffers are strips of vegetation (trees, shrubs or grass) planted next to streams or other waterbodies. By planting vegetation along streams, space is created between the water and upland land uses, which helps protect the water quality and stream habitat. To qualify, landowners must have property in New York State with at least 50 feet bordering a stream, river, or lake, and provide photos or a map of the planting location.

Previous recipients are encouraged to reapply to continue to build riparian buffers. Applicants are eligible for one bag of 25 seedlings and recipients are chosen on a first-come, first-served basis. A total of 350 bags will be available statewide for this round of applications. The 2023 Buffer in a Bag program, application requirements, and the April 7 deadline.  Applications are due by 3 p.m.

These mighty waterside plants start out small, but their impacts are huge:

🌱 They help reduce pollution from entering waterways
🌱 They absorb rain during storms, which slows flooding
🌱 Their roots hold soil in place, which prevents erosion
🌱 The provide wildlife habitat both on land and in the water
🌱 They provide shade, which cools water temperatures and protects native fish
🌱 They absorb and store carbon dioxide, which helps combat climate change

Contact treesfortribs@dec.ny.gov with questions and visit DEC’s Trees for Tribs webpage to learn more.

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Diagram showing a windbreak and relationship between windbreak height and the subsequent impact on wind velocity (from: Tree Windbreaks for Farms and Homes, Purdue University Extension).

The Tree and Shrub Sale offers great stock if you are planning a windbreak or privacy row. Start with at least 3-4 rows. The Norway Spruce is excellent and is a fast growing (2-3’ per year) it can grow up to 5 ft a year in a good weather year, another conifer for the tall row is Douglas Fir. For the medium row, Eastern White Pine or White Spruce, for low row, a mixture of shrubs like Lilac or Hazelnut.

Tree and shrub windbreaks are valuable conservation tools with many functions:
🌲Reduced soil erosion — Windbreaks prevent wind erosion for 10 to 20 times their height downwind. They also filter wind-blown soil particles from the air.
🌲Energy conservation — Windbreaks can reduce winter heating costs 20 to 40% by reducing cold air infiltration into buildings. In summer water evaporation from leaves directly cools the air. Windbreaks can be designed to provide energy savings for a small residential lot, a farmstead, or an entire housing development.
🌲Wildlife habitat — In open areas where windbreaks are needed for wind reduction, they may also provide the only woody cover and food necessary for some wildlife species.
🌲Beauty — Trees provide visual screening and permanence in the landscape that other types of plants can not.
🌲Crop protection — Windbreaks can increase crop yields up to 44%. Wind protection reduces crop water use, increases a plant’s ability to make food, and may increase pollination. Quality of fruit and other high value crops can be increased due to reduced sand and soil abrasion.
🌲Snow control — Windbreaks can serve as “living snowfences”, controlling drifts near roads, buildings, or livestock or distributing snow evenly over large areas like
crop fields. Money and energy are saved by reduced need for snow plowing and artificial snow fences.
🌲Livestock protection —Windbreaks can be used as“outdoor barns,” sheltered areas for feeding, calving, and other livestock-related activities.
For questions or design ideas, call 315-946-7200 or email drew@waynenyswcd.org
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Join the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) Winter Mapping Challenge and win prizes! From Feb 1 – March 15, 2023, the iMap user who surveys the most sites* for HWA during the challenge wins a prize from the NYS Hemlock Initiative. Visit https://www.nyimapinvasives.org/hwa for more information and to get started.

1. Get outside and look for hemlock trees.

2. Check for white fuzz balls on the undersides of hemlock twigs – these are HWA egg masses.

3.  Report your findings to iMap – submit a presence or not-detected record to document your effort.

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#hwa #imapchallenge #imapinvasives #communityscience #citizenscience #maps #nyoutside #recreatelocal #insects #entomology #invasivespecies #winter #hiking

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The Great Backyard Bird Count starts tomorrow, February 17th and runs through the 20th. The Backyard Bird Count is a four day annual event, the world comes together for the love of birds!! The Backyard Bird Count is a four day annual event, the world comes together for the love of birds!! Over these four days the public is invited to spend time in their favorite places watching and counting as many birds as they can find and report them. These observations help scientists better understand global bird populations before one of their annual migrations. Visit Cornell Labs for reporting and more information. https://www.birdcount.org/[/su_column]

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The 2023 Forever Green Tree & Shrub sale is underway. This year the District is offering five different types of conservation packs. These are great starters for the garden. Each pack is $20 and contains 2 of each 5 different species. Order with payment due by March 10, 2023

Native New York Wildlife; 2 each of White Pine, Red osier Dogwood, Black Cherry Tree, Hazelnut Bush, Juneberry Bush

Perennial Plant Pack;  2 each of Dream Baby Daylilly, Stella De Oro Daylilly, Mixed Peony, and White Iris


Butterfly and Bird Pack; 2 each of Butterfly Bush, Elderberry, Lilatris, Ninebark, Stella Dora Daylily


Ornamental Flowering Pack; 2 each of Ninebark, Butterfly Bush, Lilac, Rose of Sharon, White Flowering Dogwood

Pond Habitat Pack
Pond Habitat Pack; 2 each of Red osier dogwood, Buttonbush, Sycamore, River Birch, Willow

Hosta Pack Pack
Hosta Plant Pack, 2 of each species/ variety of Ventricosa, Hyacinthia, Albo Marginata, F. Aureo Marginata, Honey Bells

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