A.33. SUMMARY OF AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT IN NEW YORK 
A.33.1. AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT PLAN 
New York’s Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Comprehensive Management Plan was 
published in 1993 (see Appendix B, State Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan 
Summaries for a general description of the Plan). 
A.33.2. AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES 
• New York State Invasive Species Task Force. The Task Force is composed of multiple 
state agencies and nongovernmental organizations and is jointly chaired by the New York 
Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York Department of 
Agriculture and Markets. The original function of the Task Force was to evaluate the 
spectrum of invasive species issues and to make recommendations to the legislature and 
Governor as to how the state should address the issue. The Task Force has completed 
this report and now works to implement the proposed recommendations. 
• Purple Loosestrife Biocontrol Program, Cornell University, Ecology and 
Management of Invasive Plants Program. The Program releases biocontrol insects at 
over 4,000 sites across the country. It is trying to determine why treatment has succeeded 
in some areas and not others. 
• Phragmites, water chestnut, Japanese knotweed biocontrol research, Cornell 
University, Ecology and Management of Invasive Plants Program. Scientists are 
researching biocontrol options. 
• Lake Services Section, New York Department of Environmental Conservation 
(NYSDEC), Division of Water. The Division provides local assistance grants for 
aquatic plant control. It operates a volunteer program to teach plant identification and 
how to collect and submit samples, conducts plant research and surveys in Lake George, 
and engages in public outreach through conferences, lake association meetings, site visits, 
and management activities. 
• NYSDEC, Division of Fish, Wildlife, and Marine Resources. The Division undertakes 
local management of aquatic invasive species (AIS) and is modifying regulations to 
prevent introduction of Chinese mitten crab. It also has a program for hand-harvesting 
water chestnuts and monitoring AIS, such as round goby, spiny water fleas, and zebra 
mussels, and their effects (which includes the ecological effects of zebra mussels in eight 
Finger Lakes). Finally, the Division administers a $1 million grant program for AIS 
eradication projects. (In FY2005, 32 grants were funded. The program will continue in 
FY 2006, but the funding will be shared with a terrestrial invasive species eradication 
grant program that is currently under development.) 
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