USFWS Conserving New York

The smell of snow is in the air, but fall is not yet over in New York! Peak fall foliage is expected to hit Long Island this week. Keep track of foliage here: http://ow.ly/V8r050Caqzh Central Park fall foliage/flickr http://ow.ly/e2XQ50Caqzi

The northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), a federally threatened species, is in decline due to a fungal disease known as white-nose syndrome. Hibernating in caves and mines, the northern long-eared bat has a wingspan up to three times the length of its body! Coloring Page PDF: http://ow.ly/mofG50zfSUG Happy #InternationalBatWeek (October 24-31)... https://batweek.org/ northern long-eared bat photo and coloring page/USFWS

New York is home to nine species of bats, six cave species that hibernate during winter and three species that migrate to warmer areas. Bats play important roles when it comes to pollination and pest control. One adult bat can eat over 1,000 mosquitoes in one hour an impressive late-night snack! Happy #InternationalBatWeek (October 24-31) http://ow.ly/1RLi50C0nMK... hoary bat, a NY native/Oregon State University http://ow.ly/2T5n50C0nML

It’s #InternationalBatWeek, time to bust some bat myths. No, bats in the U.S. won’t fly into your hair or drink your blood! They’d much rather be hunting for tasty moths and mosquitoes using echolocation by producing sound waves at frequencies above human hearing. These sound waves bounce off flying insects and structures, allowing bats to navigate the airwaves and hunt efficiently. Happy #InternationalBatWeek (October 24-31) http://ow.ly/ievP50C0nJM

The Ausable River in New York is an important corridor for Eastern brook trout and other aquatic species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s New York Field Office Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program has been partnering with the Ausable River Association, the Nature Conservancy’s Adirondack Chapter, and the Town of Jay to ensure stream culverts are correctly sized to reduce flooding and allow for fish passage. Article by the Adirondack Almanack: http://ow.ly/kL5u50BUPG5 Eastern brook trout underwater/USFWS

Feel like you've been hearing a lot about fish? That's because this Saturday is #WorldFishMigrationDay! To gather information about lake sturgeon migration, biologists use acoustic tags to track fish movement. Knowing more about fish migration helps biologists make informed decisions about conservation.

The changes we make to the landscape have long-lasting impacts. Scars left behind from colonial farming and mosquito control ditching have altered East Coast salt marsh hydrology for hundreds of years! Forming a buffer between the land and the sea, healthy salt marshes protect shores from storm surge and flooding while providing habitat to many critical species including salt marsh sparrows. Working against climate change and sea level rise, biologists and conservation partners are collaborating to heal agricultural remnants and old ditches from the bottom-up: http://ow.ly/F69n50BKelB

This month over 20,000 lake sturgeon were released in numerous waterbodies across New York State through a cooperative effort of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Genoa National Fish Hatchery and New York Field Office. These lake sturgeon fingerlings were raised at the Genoa National Fish Hatchery in Wisconsin and at the NYSDEC Oneida Fish Hatchery. The total number released in 2020 was 26,960 sturgeon! The stocked fingerlings will help restore self-sustaining lake sturgeon populations across New York State. lake sturgeon fingerlings/USFWS

Fall foliage is at peak stage throughout Central New York and the Finger Lakes Region. As nights grow longer and temperatures drop, chlorophyll within deciduous leaves breaks down and the green color disappears revealing red, orange, and yellow shades. This stunning view features Taughannock Falls in Trumansburg, NY. Taughannock Falls/Dustin Jamison on flickr http://ow.ly/kEaq50BRxQy Join the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a fall foliage tour of the Northeast. Gallery: http://ow.ly/AIxt50BRxW3

This small snapdragon-like plant is a late bloomer, showing its dazzling pink flowers from late summer to mid-fall. Sandplain gerardia grows in coastal grasslands across the Northeast and has been listed as endangered since 1988. Significant remnant populations of sandplain gerardia remain on Long Island, NY, and are monitored and managed by several partners including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex; New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; The Nature Conservancy and Friends of Hempstead Plains.

Application for the year-long Outreach Coordinator position at the New York Field Office is open for another week! Outreach coordinators assist in managing social media; designing outreach documents, posters, campaigns; and telling conservation stories from both the perspective of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists and the greater community. Please spread the word and respond to the below application if you’re interested. All applications are due by October 19th. Application details: http://ow.ly/Z3lD50BHgxQ

New York Field Office environmental quality biologists Dan Gefell and Amy Roe have been studying the potential for ecological impacts from pain killers and other pharmaceuticals, veterinary medicines, hormones, soaps, fragrances, cosmetics, pesticides, flame retardants, plasticizers and other environmental contaminants occurring in New York waterways and across the Great Lakes Basin: http://ow.ly/VyhT50BKe1O Consumers can help reduce the amount of contaminants in waterways by avoiding flushing medicine down the toilet and instead using prescription take-back programs. More consumer solutions: http://ow.ly/DFRT50BKe1Q

Critz Farm in Cazenovia, New York, is brewing an endangered species ale with a portion of proceeds supporting recovery efforts of the Chittenango ovate amber snail, a critically endangered snail only found at Chittenango Falls State Park! Celebrate these little snails and the coming of fall by trying the endangered species ale with hints of blood orange at Critz Farm.