Genesee River Lake Sturgeon Project

Fact sheet on lake sturgeon and a survey of them in Genesee River

Interactions between white-tailed deer density and the composition of forest understories in the northern United States

Forest understories across the northern United States (US) are a complex of tree seedlings, endemic forbs, herbs, shrubs, and introduced plant species within a forest structure defined by tree and forest floor attributes. The substantial increase in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmerman) populations over the past decades has resulted in heavy browse pressure in many of these forests. To gain an objective assessment of the role of deer in forested ecosystems, a region-wide forest inventory across the northern US was examined in concert with white-tailed deer density information compiled at broad scales. Results indicate that deer density may be an additional driver of tree seedling abundance when analyzed along with stand attributes such as above ground biomass, relative density, and stand age. Tree seedling abundance generally decreased as deer density increased above 5.8 deer km2 for all forest type groups with the exception of oak-dominated forests. Findings indicate that introduced plant species, of which 393 were recorded in this study, increased in areas with higher deer density. The abundance of white-tailed deer is just as important as forest stand and site attributes in the development of forest understories. Given the complexity of forest and land use dynamics across the northern US, this study provides directions for future research as more data linking forest-dependent wildlife and forest dynamics at regional and national scales become available

Metropolitan New York in the Greenhouse: Air Quality and Health Effects

A variety of potential effects on human health resulting from climate change have been identified in several assessments. According to an international panel{sup 1} they include direct effects of extreme temperatures on cardiovascular deaths, secondary effects due to vector-borne diseases or crop yields, and tertiary effects such as those that might arise from conflicts over freshwater supplies. To this fist we add the secondary effects of increased air pollution, which may result either directly from climate change or indirectly from increased air conditioning loads and the corresponding pollutant emissions from electric utilities. Higher ozone concentrations have been linked to increased ambient temperatures by both theory and observations of monitoring data. A similar association with particulate matter has been limited to observations, thus far. The pollution-heat linkage has been recognized before` but health effects have not been evaluated in terms of predictions of the joint effects of both agents. This paper has been prepared in two sections. First, we discuss the ozone situation with special reference to the Northeast Corridor and New York. In the second section, we present estimates of the health effects of climate change on New York and discuss some mitigation options

Adirondack Map

Adirondack Map. Land use map. Albany, NY: Conservation Department State of New York, 1953. Print.https://digitalworks.union.edu/arl_maps/1108/thumbnail.jp

Surveillance Optimization Project for Chronic Wasting Disease dataset for New York State, US, 2002-2021

This dataset contains four files containing data from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation shared with the Cornell Wildlife Health Lab (CWHL) at Cornell University for the purpose of the Surveillance Optimization Project for Chronic Wasting Disease (SOP4CWD). Professionals at the source facility have provided written permission for professionals at the CWHL to post this open data to this persistent eCommons repository. NYSDEC_WTD_surveillance_2021.csv: This datafile constitutes records in standardized form depicting the results of chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in New York State, US for hunting seasons from 2002-03 to 2020-21, as completed by wildlife health diagnosticians at (or in partnership with) the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. NYSDEC_WTD_harvest_2021.csv: This data constitutes the total number of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) legally harvested by hunters by county in New York State, US for hunting seasons from 2019-20 to 2020-21, as recorded by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. NYSDEC_processors_2021.csv: This data constitutes the total number wild cervid meat processors and taxidermists by county in New York State, US for hunting seasons from 2012-13 to 2020-21, as recorded by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. NYSDEC_cervid_facilities_2021.csv: This data constitutes the total number of captive cervid facilities by county in New York State, US for the year 2021, as recorded by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.Data collection was funded by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Wildlife Health Unit and the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Grant W-178-R. The SOP4CWD project was funded by Multistate Conservation Grant Program # F21AP00722-01; Michigan Disease Initiative # RC109358; Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency; New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; and Virginia Department of Natural Resources

Essex County

Recreation map of Essex County, no scale listed. Albany, NY: New York State Conservation Department Division of Conservation Education. Print. Undated.https://digitalworks.union.edu/arl_maps/1048/thumbnail.jp