Spring Partner Meeting – April 28th

Please join WNY PRISM and our Partners as we kick off our 2016 Field Season with our Spring Partnership Meeting!  Being held on Thursday, April 28, 2016 from 1:00 – 3:30 pm at Tifft Nature Preserve, WNY PRISM Partnership Meetings offer a unique opportunity to learn about new invasive species efforts and to meet with Partners implementing projects across our region. This spring we are pleased to welcome guest speakers from the NYS Invasive Species Coordination Unit and SUNY Buffalo State, who will present on the statewide invasive species program and the use of drone technology for invasive species monitoring, respectively. We will continue with a presentation on our upcoming field season, and discuss regional projects and potential funding opportunities. In addition, we’ll have education and outreach materials available. If you and/or your organization have materials available to distribute to Partners throughout the region, please bring those as well!

WNY PRISM is pleased to welcome Catherine McGlynn (AIS Coordinator), Megan Phillips (Education and Outreach Coordinator), and Willow Eyres (Response and Management Coordinator) from the NYS Invasive Species Coordination Unit (ISCU). Within the last year, the ISCU has increased their staff from 2 to 5, which demonstrates NYS’s dedication to addressing invasive species issues. Our guests will speak about the overall role of ISCU, as well as their individual positions within the statewide program. We will hear about statewide invasive species efforts and how they involve WNY, available resources, and additional projects and initiatives.

Recent advances in drone technology are enabling natural resource agencies to investigate the efficacy of drones in monitoring a wide range of habitat conditions. Dr. Christopher Pennuto, Director of WNY PRISM and Buffalo State Professor, will provide an update on drone use legislation and highlight some local and national projects incorporating drone surveillance of plant and animal resources.

We will also have a discussion on Funding and Partnership Opportunities. More and more, funders are looking at strength of partnerships when deciding among applications for grant programs. However, this add a complexity to projects that can make the short turn-around time from release of an RFP to the due date difficult. In order to better position WNY for these funding opportunities, we will discuss some of the current and upcoming grant programs. If you are looking for Partners, have a project that you are trying to get off the ground, or need assistance in submitting a grant application, please add your thoughts to our discussion.

For more information and to RSVP, please contact Andrea Locke, WNY PRISM Coordinator – lockeas@buffalostate.edu