CCE Ulster County, Kingston, NY – Training to Search for EAB-Resistant Native Ash in the Kingston/Saugerties area

A small percentage of naturally occurring native ash trees stay healthy years after the rest of the trees in an area have died from Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). US Forest Service scientists have shown that twigs (scion) from such “lingering ash” can be used to breed highly resistant, locally adapted native trees for ash restoration. These trees can be detected only during a brief time window after the rest of the ash in the area have been killed by EAB. The Monitoring and Managing Ash (MaMA) program of the Ecological Research Institute, developed in collaboration with the US Forest Service, has revealed that the timing is now perfect to search for these trees in the Kingston-Saugerties area of the Hudson Valley/eastern Catskills. In this workshop, you’ll learn where to search for lingering ash, how to recognize them and how to use the MaMA Lingering Ash Search citizen science project to report their locations so they can be used for propagation. The future of ash is in your hands!

This workshop will be presented by Jonathan Rosenthal, Director of the Ecological Research Institute, and Dr. Radka Wildova, its Senior Scientist. Preregistration encouraged as space is limited. To register, email Dona Crawford atdm282@cornell.edu. If you have questions about this workshop or the MaMA program, please call (845) 419-5229 or send an email to Outreach@MonitoringAsh.org. More information on MaMA is available at www.MonitoringAsh.org.