For Release: Immediately October 4, 2011
     
   
 
State Environmental Agency Recognizes Central Hudson

(Albany, NY) Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. has received “Special Recognition” from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) for assistance the utility provided as part of a team that included NYSDEC regional staff in helping to determine the extent and distribution of the Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive insect that threatens native ash trees.

Central Hudson invited the NYSDEC to utilize its facility in Lake Katrine, Ulster County, through the winter of 2010-2011 to conduct studies of cut tree samples to determine the extent of infestation and develop mitigation techniques. Central Hudson also provided access to utility easements in parts of Ulster County to permit inspections along utility lines.

“We’re proud to be recognized by the NYSDEC, and happy to do our part to address a major threat to a natural resource in New York,” said James P. Laurito, President of Central Hudson. “Mitigating the Emerald Ash Borer requires the combined effort of public and private organizations, and awareness on the part of all property owners.”

“Partnerships like the one with Central Hudson, as well as with private land owners and municipalities throughout the Mid-Hudson region, are absolutely vital to stopping the spread of these destructive insects,” said Robert K. Davies, Director of Lands and Forests and State Forester for NYSDEC.  “We have a very good relationship with Central Hudson, and the space at the Lake Katrine facility suited the needs of our delimitiation survey perfectly.”

The larva of the Emerald Ash Borer, a small green beetles native to Asia, feed on the inner bark of ash trees. Tens of millions of trees have been killed by the insect throughout the Midwest and Mid Atlantic states. The insect was first discovered in New York in 2009.

The NYSDEC is studying ways to protect ash trees in the New York, which number about 900 million and comprise 7 percent of all trees in the state. Central Hudson’s Lake Katrine facility was chosen due to its proximity to the Catskills and nearby at-risk areas.

Central Hudson is one of two statewide recipients of the special recognition, presented at the NYSDEC’s Peter Berle Memorial Award ceremony this month. For more information on Emerald Ash Borers, visit the NYSDEC website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7253.html.

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Above: Officials recognized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in Albany for the Emerald Ash Borer project are (right to left), Karl Schoeberl, Central Hudson Director of Environmental Affairs; Frank Curtin, DEC Seasonal Technician; Amy Walsh, DEC crew leader; Mark Mulpeter, Central Hudson Director of New Business & Commercial Account Services; Nate Siegert, New Hampshire Forest Service*; Joseph Martens, DEC Commissioner; Michael Callen, DEC Forester; Michael DeCola, Dutchess County resident who provided a machine shop for the operation; Jeffrey Rider, DEC Supervising Forester; and Terry Miller, Chief Director, Forest Service of New Hampshire.* Not pictured: Christopher DeRoberts, Central Hudson Environmental Coordinator, who facilitated the DEC’s use of the Lake Katrine location.

*(Out of state services cooperated in this project)

The Emerald Ash Borer, a native of Asia, threatens millions of ash trees in the United States.

The larva of the insect feeds on the inner bark of ash trees, destroying the trees.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation utilized Central Hudson’s Lake Katrine facility to study cut samples of ash trees to determine the extent of infestation. The NYSDEC recognized Central Hudson for its assistance and cooperation.