Babylon, NY - May 17, 2016 - The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is advising that aerial spraying of the pesticide Gypcheck will take place at Bethpage, Heckscher and Connetquot River State Parks on Friday, May 20, 2016, beginning at sunrise.

This helicopter spraying will be limited to forest areas infested with gypsy moths. This spraying will last no more than 4-hours. There will be restricted access to those areas of the parks sprayed.

It is expected those areas impacted will be reopened in the afternoon. Public notification will occur at all park entrance locations and the area to be sprayed will be posted as well.

This spraying is occurring due to extremely heavy infestations of gypsy moths. If the trees are left untreated, it will cause significant defoliation and will cause further decline in the health of the trees, possibly killing them.

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees 180 state parks and 35 historic sites, which are visited by 62 million people annually. A recent study found that New York State Parks generates $1.9 billion in economic activity annually and supports 20,000 jobs.

For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit www.nysparks.com, connect on  Facebook, or follow on Twitter.