August 12, 2026 at 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM / FREE
Join naturalists with the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) and Clinton County Soil and Water Conservation District (CCSWCD) to learn about invasive species, water quality monitoring, and how you can get involved as a citizen scientist. This free guided walk will begin at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, August 12, at Heyworth Mason Park in Peru. Participants will walk along the Little Ausable Trail with APIPP Communications Manager Shaun Kittle, who will teach them about basic plant identification, how to identify invasive species, and how they can become volunteer Forest Pest Hunters by adopting a trail to monitor for beech leaf disease. Some invasive species will be identified in the wild and there will be samples on hand as well. CCSWCD District Technician Brittany Bashaw will talk about her organization’s water quality monitoring project along the Ausable River.
Please register for this event so you can receive updates about the walk.
Beech leaf disease has not yet been confirmed in the Peru area, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. The forest pest was first discovered in Ohio in 2012, and it was confirmed in Herkimer County in 2023 and near Lake George the following summer. It has since spread throughout the southeastern portion of the Adirondack Park. Beech trees are an essential food source for many animals, and the disease can kill healthy trees in just a few years. Tracking its whereabouts is integral to helping scientists understand more about how to control and prevent the spread of this invasive species.

