Subject: BioBlitz Announcement: Paul Smiths VIC Prepares for 2007 Adirondack BioBlitz - posted 4/11/07
Posting Date: 4/11/07
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Adirondack Park Agency Visitor Interpretive Centers
ADIRONDACK PARK HQ for Parkwide Interpretation
April 3, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Further Information: (518) 327-3000
Contact: Andy Flynn, Senior Public Information Specialist
PAUL SMITHS VIC PREPARES FOR 2007 ADIRONDACK BIOBLITZ
PAUL SMITHS, NY — As spring arrives and naturalists frantically add items to their phenology calendars, environmental educators at the Adirondack Park Agency Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC) in Paul Smiths are gearing up for the first 24-hour BioBlitz at Paul Smiths, to be held July 20-21.
The Adirondack All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI), under the direction of Dr. Craig Milewski at Paul Smith's College, is organizing the 2007 Adirondack BioBlitz, which is designed to identify the biodiversity in a specific geographic location. Samples will be collected from 3 p.m. Friday, July 20 to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 21 in the Paul Smiths area, including Heron Marsh and Barnum Brook at the Paul Smiths VIC.
VIC Environmental Educator 2 Milt Adams is a member of the ATBI BioBlitz Committee and is in charge of the BioBlitz activities at the VIC. Training sessions for volunteer citizen scientists will be held prior to July 20, and the public will get a chance to visit with professional scientists in the field on July 21.
“The goal is to have an idea of the plant and animal species on the site,” Adams said.
Lists of the flora and fauna that have been identified will be posted at the VIC and at Paul Smith’s College, the official headquarters of the 2007 Adirondack BioBlitz.
The theme this year is “Wetlands.” Professional scientists and volunteers will be looking for plants, microinvertebrates, macroinvertebrates, birds, fish, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians in the local wetland watersheds. The professionals will be visiting from colleges throughout the region, including Paul Smith's College, the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and the SUNY College at Plattsburgh.
The Adirondack BioBlitz will rely heavily on volunteers from the Adirondack North Country region who will be acting as citizen scientists.
“I can't emphasize the importance of volunteers enough,” Adams said. “The more people in the field, the better the sample will be.”
There are no prerequisites for volunteers, and no experience is necessary. Citizen scientists, however, will need to be trained on identification and collection techniques by the chief scientists prior to the BioBlitz. It is expected that the trainees would then help the professional scientists take samples during the BioBlitz. Preregistration is required for these sessions by calling the VIC at (518) 327-3000. Here are the three training sessions to be held in the Paul Smiths area:
*May 19: Reptile and Amphibian Training with Al Breisch (Time: TBA). Paul Smiths VIC.
*June 16: Macroinvertebrate Training with Tim Mihuc and Luke Meyers (9:30 a.m. - noon.). Freer Science Building, Room 115, on the Paul Smith's College.
*July 19: Water Mite Training with Andrea Radwell (9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.). Paul Smiths VIC.
More training sessions will be held in other locations around the region. Call Milt Adams at (518) 327-3000 for more information. To learn about the Adirondack ATBI, go online to http://library.paulsmiths.edu/atbi/Index.htm.
BioBlitzes have been held around the United States, and the ATBI's 2007 Adirondack BioBlitz is not the first in the region. The Adirondack Mountain Club held one at its Heart Lake property near Lake Placid. More Adirondack BioBlitzes are expected to be held in future years at locations such as Tupper Lake and Newcomb.
Environmental educators from around the Adirondack Park are involved in the Adirondack ATBI, which was formed to “survey the diversity of life and connect people to the natural world through participation in biological inventories and related activities in the Adirondack Park of New York state.”
The New York State Adirondack Park Agency operates two VICs, in Paul Smiths and Newcomb, which are open year-round from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Christmas and Thanksgiving. They offer a wide array of educational programs, miles of interpretive trails and visitor information services. Admission is free.
The Paul Smiths VIC is located 12 miles north of Saranac Lake on Route 30. For more information about the VICs, log on to the centers' Web site at www.adkvic.org.
Andy Flynn
Senior Public Information Specialist
New York State Adirondack Park Agency
Visitor Interpretive Center
PO Box 3000, Paul Smiths, NY 12970
(518) 327-3000, ext. 114
ajflynn@gw.dec.state.ny.us
http://www.adkvic.org
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