Using data reported for “respiratory symptoms” on June 8 from Emergency Medical Services response data, which is a timely early-warning source, the health department observed a statewide increase of 17.8 percent in the rates per 100,000 on Wednesday, June 7, as compared to the average of the five-day period of June 1 through 5. At the same time, for the metropolitan New York City region, the increase was 28.4 percent and for the Capital Region, it was 12.4 percent.

ALBANY COUNTY — Speaking from the University at Albany on Wednesday evening, Governor Kathy Hochul said the poor air quality throughout most of the state caused by wildfires in Quebec was “unprecedented.”

“The bigger ecological story here is the fact that the beetles can damage the pine stands — that is more a symptom of an ecosystem’s health,” says Neil Gifford, the conservation director for the Albany Pine Bush Preserve.

The Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy, Northeastern Cave Conservancy, and Huyck Preserve and Biological Research Station each received funds from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as part of a $3.4 million statewide grant disbursement.

On April 14, the state issued an order to ban all fowl auctions and other events for the purchase, sale, swap, or trade of fowl in New York State to help prevent the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza.

Southern pine beetles, a destructive forest pest, pose a “significant threat” to pine forests, particularly pitch pine like that found in the Albany Pine Bush, according to the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.

This summer’s drought has dried even wetlands, raising concerns from at least one resident, although experts say it’s part of a natural cycle for wetlands.

John MacDonald, of 153 Altamont Road in Voorheesville, said that the wetland behind his house was “as dry as I’ve seen it in the 18 years we’ve been here.”