Colgate Student Completes Invasive Species Survey

Maya Mendez measures the area of invasive knotweed growing in CPF’s Willow Patch.

This summer, CPF was fortunate to welcome Maya Mendez as a Colgate University Upstate Institute field school summer fellow. Maya gained hands-on experience in local conservation while helping CPF lay the groundwork for a long-term approach to managing invasive species on its properties.

Working with CPF volunteer Amy Markowski, Maya participated in the Finger Lakes Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (FL-PRISM) Summer 2026 Trail Survey Program, a community science initiative. Using the Survey123 mobile app and CPF’s in-house Landscape property management software, she surveyed CPF’s properties and documented invasive species populations.

Maya also completed a focused project on the management of Japanese knotweed—one of the region’s most invasive plants—which has established itself along two CPF trails. Some of these areas have been managed by CPF staff and volunteers over the last several growing seaons. Maya carefully tracked the amount of time required to survey, measure, and manually remove patches of Japanese knotweed. By combining this information with measurements of the affected areas, she developed a model that can help CPF estimate the staff time and resources that may be required to manage future infestations based on the size of a patch. The positive outcome of this research is understanding that the personnel hours required to control a patch of a certain size in Year 2 or Year 3 is an order of magnitude  lower than in the first year of an active project.  

“It was incredibly rewarding to know that the methodology tested this summer will serve as a strategic foundation for CPF’s long-term conservation efforts,” Maya said.

CPF is grateful for the energy, curiosity, and hard work Maya brought to the organization this summer—and for the valuable foundation she has helped create for CPF’s future stewardship efforts.