Invasive Species Control

Managing invasive species is a major focus of Cornell Plantations’ Natural Areas Program. A non-native plant or animal is considered “invasive” if its spread impacts the long-term integrity of local ecological communities. 

Our management efforts involve:

• controlling highly invasive species that have infested our natural areas
• working to prevent their spread to new locations, and
• striving to prevent new invasive species from being introduced or established.

We make significant effort to control the most damaging plant invaders, including pale swallow-wort (Cynanchum rossicum), garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), Norway maple (Acer platanoides), common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), and amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii).

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Control

The recent discovery of hemlock woolly adelgids in the central Finger Lakes region poses a new threat to our natural areas.  This invasive insect, which has decimated eastern hemlock stands throughout the eastern U.S., has now been found on trees at multiple locations, including Cascadilla Gorge, Beebe Lake, Fall Creek Gorge, Edwards Lake Cliffs, and Fisher Old Growth Forest.

To learn more about the hemlock woolly adelgid, what Plantations is doing about it, and what you can do to curb its spread, click here.

Emerald Ash Borer

Since its discovery in southeastern Michigan in 2002, the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has been found across the midwest and northeast, including New York State.  To view a map of known locations and quarantined counties in the state, visit here. To help stop or slow the spread and provide critical time to identify control strategies, please remember to NOT MOVE FIREWOOD.  To learn more about EAB and report suspect signs and symptoms, visit  www.stopthebeetle.info., U.S.D.A. Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), or Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS).

Invasive Species Code of Conduct

To prevent the intentional introduction of new invasive plant species, Cornell Plantations has adopted a policy on the use of non-native plants in our accessioned collections.  The purpose of the document and its recommendations is to balance our public garden mission of maintaining diverse horticultural collections with our conservation mission of preserving natural areas and the broader environment.  The policy includes Plantations "Code of Conduct" principles, invasive species risk assessment and evaluation protocols, and lists of species considered highly to moderately invasive to natural areas in the central Finger Lakes region, including watch list species.  Visit here to read the full policy.