This coming week, New York is holding its sixth annual Invasive Species Awareness Week to educate people about the non-native species and their impact on the ecology and economy.
The theme of this year’s awareness week is 'Early Detection: Explore, Observe, Report. In northern New York, research and control efforts are coordinated by the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program. Director Brendan Quirion says the week is a critical statewide education and outreach event. “Knowledge of invasive species lags behind other top environmental challenges. There are a lot of people that don’t know what invasive species are or haven’t even heard that term before.”