DEC Announces $1 Mil Federal Grant

On Wednesday, May 6, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced a partnership grant program with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to restore trees in communities affected by the Asian Long-Horned Beetle (ALB) in both Nassau and Suffolk counties.

The event featured the replanting of Kwanzan cherry trees, a non-ALB host species, at a location that lost trees after they were discovered to be infested with the Asian Long-Horned Beetle.

In attendance were DEC Regional Director and DEC staff, officials from Nassau and Suffolk County offices of Cornell Cooperative Extension, the New York State Department of Agriculture Markets, United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the U.S.D.A. Forest Service. 

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County will use $595,000 of the $1,000,000 grant to coordinate replanting on private property.

“On behalf of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County and the County residents we serve, I want to express my gratitude in being selected for this re-planting/educational grant from APHIS, USDA-US Forest Service and NYS-DEC,” said Gregory M. Sandor, Executive Director, CCE-NC. “We look forward to working with the many different partners joining forces on this project. Trees not only provide beauty in our landscapes but also provide social, communal, environmental and economic benefits for all. We are confident that the project will be a tremendous success.”

More information on this partnership to follow.

Last updated August 4, 2015