Lower Hudson PRISM 2016 Block Buster Survey
Purpose
The BlockBuster Survey program detects emerging invasive species introductions and fills data gaps in the Lower Hudson region. The Lower Hudson Valley counties have been divided into 5km by 5km (about 3 x 3 mile) blocks, which volunteers will select to survey.
Map
Training
Training sessions for Terrestrial species surveys have completed for this year. Email us at invasives@nynjtc.org if you'd like to be on the list to get notified when we start next year's BlockBuster survey. You are welcome to self-study the materials below and select a block to survey this year if you feel comfortable. Let us know what block you would like to work in.
For aquatic species surveys, see AIS training events posted on our Events calendar.
Resources:
- 2016-2018 Focal Species list - this is the list of species we are surveying for (note terrestrial surveys and aquatic surveys are run separately with separate methods)
- Quick Id Guide (PDF)- pictorial quick guide. Print double-sided and cut pages in half horizontally to create the guide.
- Individual species pages with links to fact sheets
- Mistaken Identity Guide (PDF) - covers common look alikes for many of our focal species
Volunteering
If you are not already a CCE Master Gardener Volunteer, we would like you to register as a New York-New Jersy Trail Conference volunteer.
- Fill out the NYNJTC Volunteer form here - and return before going out to do your survey (scan and email to invasives@nynjtc.org or mail to: Linda Rohleder, 600 Ramapo Valley Rd, Mahwah, NJ 07430)
If you will be working in a New York State Park, please fill out the Volunteer Service Agreement for the park
IF you will be working in a New York State Department of Conservation (NYSDEC) lands, please fill out the DEC Volunteer Service form.
IMPORTANT: these forms must be filled out *prior to* surveying.
Data Collection
Survey Protocol - detailed instructions on how to collect your data
Thank you to Jonathan Rosenthal and Radka Wildova from the Ecological Research Institute for designing our survey protocol and data sheets!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Page - clarifications based on questions asked by participants.
Data sheets
- Link to Natural Area Trail blue data sheet
- Link to Highly Probable Area pink data sheet
- Link to Natural Area Parking/Trailhead yellow data sheet
- Link to Opportunistic white data sheet
Tracking Your Volunteer Hours
Its important to us to evaluate the design and success of our programs that we collect information about how much time you spent working on the BlockBuster survey project. Please keep track of the amount of time you spend preparing to survey (other than the training session), travelling to survey, surveying and entering data.
Enter your volunteer hours here (you can enter multiple times)
Submitting Your Data
Steps 1-2 must be completed by all surveyors, and Step 3 must also be completed if you have taken photos as part of the survey.
1. Enter your data on-line at:
- Enter Highly Probable Area (pink sheet) Survey data
- Enter Natural Area Parking / Trailhead (yellow sheet) Survey data
- Enter Natural Area Trail (blue sheet) Survey data
- Enter Opportunistic Survey data (white sheet)
Or, Return your forms to one of the following CCE offices or the Trail Conference:
- CCE Rockland, 10 Patriot Hill Dr, Stony Point, NY 10980
- CCE Putnam, 1 Geneva Rd, Brewster, NY 10509
- CCE Dutchess, 2715 Route 44, Millbrook, NY 12545
- NY-NJ Trail Conference, Linda Rohleder, 600 Ramapo Valley Rd, Mahwah, NJ 07430
2. Export and email your points/tracks from PDF Maps or your GPS unit to: invasives@nynjtc.org
Or, return your borrowed GPS unit with points on it so the lending organization can extract the points and submit them.
3. Photos should be emailed to: invasives@nynjtc.org make sure not to send too many in one email.
DON'T FORGET TO ENTER YOUR VOLUNTEER HOURS TOO!
