EAB, 'PILLARS & MOTHS...OH MY! If the pending arrival of Emerald Ash Borer has you wondering how to protect your woodlands, attend this free seminar "Threats to Our Forest: Defoliators and Worse" on March 17. The program will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Okun Theater, Farrell Student and Community Center, SUNY Delhi. Speakers include Joshua VanBrakle, Wood Products Specialist at WAC, and J. Rebecca Hargrave, Natural Resources Educator with CCE Chenango County. Moderating the discussion will be Jack Tessier, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biology, SUNY Delhi. They will discuss life cycles, detection and means of combating defoliators such as gypsy moth and forest tent caterpillars, as well as destructive pests like the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), which has the potential to decimate the ash tree population in the Catskills. Sponsored by the Catskill Institute for the Environment with support from NYC Environmental Protection, this seminar is part of an ongoing series of lectures and panel discussions titled "20/20 Vision for the Catskills." The series is intended to cast a spotlight on issues facing the region today that will impact Catskill people, waters and lands in 2020. CIE member organizations include WAC, CWC, regional colleges and other environmental organizations.

FARM TO MARKET CONNECTION:

Need inspiration (or just the right introduction to the right person to get your product to market)? Register now through March 22 for the third annual regional conference for producers-buyers-growers. Workshops address:

• increasing sales success at farmers' markets,
• production of local grain and flour,
• connecting with community groups through buying clubs,
• whole-carcass marketing of local meat and
• recent policy developments related to regional food infrastructure.

Cost is $25. Find full conference details at purecatskills.com.

VIDEO: This 3-minute video from the USDA Watershed Learning Center, Into the Watershed, is the first in a five-part animated series on what affects water quality and watershed conditions.

OF INTEREST:

REPORT: NYC DEP Strategic Plan 2011-2014

GRANT: USDA NRCS Environmental Quality
Incentives Program (EQIP) due March 4