Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 60.10
Liaison Michael Amadori
Submission Date March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

Hobart and William Smith Colleges
OP-10: Biodiversity

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 1.00 Sarah Meyer
Food Systems Program Manager
Finger Lakes Institute
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution own or manage land that includes or is adjacent to legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, or regions of conservation importance?:
No

A brief description of the legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, and/or regions of conservation importance:
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Has the institution conducted an assessment to identify endangered and vulnerable species (including migratory species) with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution?:
No

A list of endangered and vulnerable species with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution, by level of extinction risk:
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Has the institution conducted an assessment to identify areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution?:
Yes

A brief description of areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution:

The Henry Hanley Biological Preserve hosts a wide diversity of plants and animals, including whitetail deer, coyotes, red fox, beaver, mink, muskrats, red-tailed hawks, great blue herons, green herons, Canada geese and many species of ducks. The major vegetation types include agricultural fields, deciduous forest, old field/scrub and a small stand of pines. In the 10 acres of wetlands, the Colleges have identified such species as red twig dogwood, viburnum, native shrubs and Amelanchier.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges were named a 2019 Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation, receiving the honor for the seventh consecutive year. Tree Campus USA is a national program that was launched in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota to honor colleges and universities for their leadership promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation. To obtain the distinction, the Colleges met five core standards for sustainable campus forestry, including establishment of a tree advisory committee, evidence of a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance, and the sponsorship of student service-learning projects.


The methodologies used to identify endangered and vulnerable species and/or areas of biodiversity importance and any ongoing assessment and monitoring mechanisms:

Tax maps, NYS DEC maps, surveys by biology classes, surveys by buildings and grounds staff, and discussions/evaluations by an engineering firm have all been used to identify endangered and vulnerable species and environmentally sensitive areas.


A brief description of the scope of the assessment(s):

Fenlin, B., R. Bowser, A. Fantauzzo, D. Felicetti, S. Flickenger, W. Gotsch, J. Harwood, D. Hughes, C. Maciejewski, B. McCarthy, J. McDermott, V. Melrose, K. Miller, A. Puccio, K. Rockefeller, M. Salin, K. Schaeffer, C. Sorbero, V. Thomas, J. Throop, K. Todd, J. Zelazny, and J. Ryan. 1994. Ecological assessment of the Henry W. Hanley Biological Field Preserve.
https://books.google.com/books/about/Ecological_Assessment_of_the_Henry_W_Han.html?id=QAD6SAAACAAJ


A brief description of the plans or programs in place to protect or positively affect identified species, habitats, and/or ecosystems:

The Colleges have created a wildlife friendly habitat at Odell’s Pond and at the Houghton House grounds by preserving existing habitat and planting native species. As a Bee Campus USA (2019), HWS is in the process of composing a Pollinator Protection Plan and Native Plant List for campus. In Spring 2020, the student led 'Bee Green Project' is hoped to become the campus' second planted pollinator patch, the first having been planted in summer 2019 by Sarah Meyer and volunteers at the Finger Lakes Institute.


Estimated percentage of areas of biodiversity importance that are also protected areas :
0

Website URL where information about the institution’s biodiversity initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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