Forest Pest Hunters: Surveying for Beech Leaf Disease

Forest Pest Hunters: Surveying for Beech Leaf Disease

Join the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) for a free webinar from 10:00-11:30am on Wednesday, Augsut 2, to learn about beech leaf disease (BLD) and how you can help survey for it in the Adirondack region.

BLD was first detected in Ohio in 2012 and in New York State in 2018. In 2022, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) confirmed the presence of beech leaf disease in over 30 counties in New York including Herkimer County, the first infestation in the APIPP PRISM. Little is known about BLD, and researchers are still trying to determine its cause and how it spreads.

DEC Forest Health Specialist Maria MoskaLee will shed some light on BLD with a discussion on BLD history, identification and lookalikes, and research. APIPP Terrestrial Invasive Species Coordinator Becca Bernacki will cover basic survey techniques, how to sign up for a trail to survey, and to use iMapInvasives, New York state's invasive species database, to report the presence of BLD.