A Wayne County conservation project aimed at protecting one of the region’s rare hemlock forests has been awarded nearly $40,000 through New York’s Great Lakes Basin Small Grants Program.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and New York Sea Grant announced this week that the Montezuma Audubon Center will receive $39,943 to combat the spread of the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid at the Northern Montezuma Wildlife Management Area.
The funding will support efforts to protect a rare 40-acre hemlock stand surrounding Turtle Pond, an ecologically significant area recognized as a globally important bird habitat.
As part of the project, the Montezuma Audubon Center will train and coordinate approximately 70 volunteers to monitor both hemlock woolly adelgid populations and priority bird species before and after treatment efforts. The center will also host forest restoration and management workshops for about 100 foresters and landowners.
The project will be carried out through the Montezuma Alliance for Restoration of Species and Habitats Program and the Next Generation of Conservationists Program.
State officials say the grant is one of five awarded this year through the Great Lakes Basin Small Grants Program, which supports local projects focused on improving water quality, protecting ecosystems and strengthening community resilience across New York’s Great Lakes watershed.
Since the program launched in 2015, more than $2 million has been awarded to 66 projects throughout the Great Lakes Basin. Officials said the selected projects advance the goals of New York’s Great Lakes Action Agenda by supporting community-led conservation efforts and protecting critical natural resources.
