ESFPA E-News

ESFPA at NYS Envirothon

Last week, ESFPA Executive Director John Bartow provided the Keynote address to the 2024 NYS Envirothon at Cortland University.  41 Envirothon teams from across New York, 200+ high school students, 100 team advisors/leaders and 100 volunteers. 

John spoke about the NY Climate Scoping Plan and the roles of and impacts on New York’s forests and wood product manufacturers. John also was a judge in the final student oral presentations on the 2024 Envirothon topic of siting community solar.

Awesome job by some very smart young adults! There is hope! 

Combining Indigenous Knowledge with Western Science

A new report combines Indigenous Knowledge and western science for climate-adapted land management in the United States. The report recommends prioritizing restoration through active management, recognizing the reciprocal relationship of humans and ecosystems, and honoring responsibilities to future generations. Specific management actions for eastern forests include prescribed burning, promoting climate-adapted species, treatment of invasive species and more.

Click the link below to read the full report: 

A similar report was presented at the Adirondack Research Consortium by Keely Jock entitled Indigenous Perspective of Rating Environmental Quality/Priorities. Keeley’s presentation will eventually be posted here.  

Spongy Moth in New York 2024

Spongy moth caterpillars are appearing this year in New York, with the worst of the infestations expected south of Albany. Sightings this spring are part of a lingering population explosion that defoliated parts of the Northeast in 2021. The spongy moth has been established as an invasive species in North America since the 19th Century, and while it isn’t venomous, officials ask people to avoid touching it and take precautions if working outside

Local officials recommend methods to help homeowners protect their trees: “For the homeowner with few trees in their yard, we do recommend the banding with sticky tape to catch the caterpillars as they walk up and down the trees,” said Cole. “And then later in the season, we recommend using burlap on the trees because the caterpillars, later in June, they're actually looking for a place to pupate, and they'll crawl up in that burlap and put their pupil chambers there, in which case people can go scrape them off and get rid of them.”

Click the link below to learn more:

Summer Heat

New tree-ring analysis revealed that summer 2023 was the hottest in the Northern Hemisphere in the past 2,000 years. While previous research only offered climate comparisons dating back to the mid-19th century, the new paper analyzed the tree-ring data to find that the 2023 Northern Hemisphere summer was hotter than any other summer dating back to 1 C.E. 

Meteorologists are predicting another summer of record-breaking temperatures in North America, based on observations of unusually warm ocean temperatures. A combination of factors is coming together to make this summer particularly hazardous for the Lower 48 states.

Only Two Weeks Left in the 2024 NY Legislative Session

There are only two weeks (7 Legislative Days) left in the 2024 scheduled Legislative Session.  There is a lot of activity and here is our full memo on legislative priorities to the end of session.  Some highlights from last week:

• Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (EPR) - OPPOSE A. 5322-B (Glick)/S. 4246-B (Harckham) Bill remain in the Assembly Rules and Senate Finance committees.  We heard that both houses conferenced on the bills this week and there is a lot of contention among members.  Perhaps the main concern is the bill is too big and very few legislators really understand it.  The bill is also conflicting with the Bigger Better Bottle Bill which is also ready to pass both houses but members still have concerns.  EPR could be reported to the floor anytime, but we are cautiously optimistic the bills will not pass both houses this session.
• TREES Act (Deforestation-free Procurement Act) - OPPOSE A. 9711 (Zebrowski)/S. 8898 (Krueger)   On May 13^th A. 9711 passed the Assembly and on May 16^th it passed the Senate. The bills will be sent to the Governor this fall for her consideration.  We will advocate for a veto as the Governor considers this legislation. The bill was vetoed by the Governor last year.
• NY Home Energy Affordable Transition Act (HEAT Act) - OPPOSE A. 4592-B (Fahy)/S. 2016-B (Krueger) We heard this week that the Governor has called for a three-way discussion on the HEAT Act.  This could mean that she wants this bill to come before her for signing.  ESFPA did file a memorandum of opposition on the bills this past week and we signed an industry coalition memo in opposition as well. We are working with a number of affiliated associations on language that could be more amenable to industry should this bill be amended yet again.  
• Pesticides in Wetlands OPPOSE A. 9712 (Burdick)/S.9379 (Harckham) Senator Harckham introduced S. 9379 this week and it was reported to the Floor from En Con Committee this week.  Looks as if this legislation will pass both houses before June 6^th.  The bill has been amended in a way that minimizes impacts on our sector, but we continue to object in that Article 33 of the ECL clearly preempts local regulation of pesticide application. 

Who knows what else we will see in these last two weeks, but nothing will be surprising.  The Legislature passed 500 bills in the last week of Session in 2023.