Updated 12/17
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Moreau, NY tackles threat posed by invasive plant species
By PAUL POST, The Saratogian
MOREAU, NY — A local environmental group is taking steps to control invasive plant species that it says threaten habitat for birds and other wildlife.
The Moreau Conservation Advisory Council hopes to employ strategies ranging from education to eradication.
For example, the town Planning Board could urge developers not to landscape with harmful plants, while the town Highway Department could remove invasive plants found along local roads.
“It’s a huge problem not only locally, but statewide and nationwide,” council Secretary Ramona Bearor said. “It affects everything — birds, insects and animals that depend on native plants in some way.”
Specifically, she cited three types of invasive species that are causing problems.
One is Japanese knotweed, sometimes called “American bamboo.” Found in the wild, it spreads rapidly. One place it’s taking over is along the Betar Bikeway bordering the Hudson River in South Glens Falls.
Japanese barberry, often used by developers in housing development common areas, is another invasive species, along with the popular burning bush. Each plant produces thousands of seeds that birds eat and spread in their droppings. Seeds quickly take root and force out existing vegetation, changing soil composition in the process. [...]
Bearor said Moreau is the first town in Saratoga County to take a proactive approach in controlling the invasive plant species. The nine-member council was first organized last spring and appointed by the Town Board, as called for in the town’s master plan. [...]
Read the full article at link.
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Editorial: Why the delay on rules halting invasive species?
Sheboyganpress.com
The wheels of government grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small. The wheels of the U.S. Coast Guard apparently just grind slowly.
More than 20 years after the first zebra mussels found their way into the Great Lakes in the belly of ocean-going tankers, the Coast Guard has come up with regulations to deal with such non-native aquatic life.
But it will be nearly six years before the rules take full effect, and some ships may not have to comply with them until 2021.
The timetable set by the Coast Guard calls for feasibility studies to be performed prior to the rules taking effect.
But we've known for some time now how the problem began.
Zebra mussels, and many of the more than 180 other invasive species that found their way into the Great Lakes in the last two decades, arrived here in the ballast water that the tankers take in for stability when traveling on open water and that is later discharged when they arrive. [...]
The frustrating thing for Wisconsin and other states bordering the Great Lakes is that the call went out years ago for treatment or cleansing of ballast water in order to kill non-native plant and animal life before it is discharged.
But the Coast Guard dragged its feet and there was little pressure put on the agency by Congress to take action. This forced Wisconsin and other Great Lakes states to come up with their own rules in the interim when it would have been much more effective to have a national standard that all ships would have to meet.
Congress must put pressure on the Coast Guard to step up the pace on effective rules to guard against further damage to the Great Lakes.
Waiting even another two years is too long. Strict rules against invasive species must be in place no later than 2012.
Read the editorial a link.
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Update on DEC's wild boar war in Central New York: They're still out there and moving around
By David Figura/The Post-Standard
In his office, Moravia businessman Andy Boos proudly displays the head mount of the 320-pound black Russian boar he shot three years ago on his property in Spafford.
“I was out deer hunting at the time and this animal came running through the bushes,” he said. “It sounded like a Mack truck. It appeared about 80 yards away at a full run. I took one shot with a handgun (a Thompson Contender 308) and he came down in a pile.”
It’s the kind of story that makes some state Department of Environmental Conservation officials and property owners in the Scott/Spafford area grimace.
In the past few years, the area has been deluged with out-of-towners calling and stopping by to see where they can hunt wild boar. Most of the property in the area has been posted by farmers and other property owners, and trespassing has been a real problem, some farmers said.
“Personally, I think it’s highly overrated,” said John Wanish, owner of J. Dubs Gas and Grub convenience store, along Route 41 in the town of Scott. Nevertheless, the store’s bulletin board has several pictures of wild hogs shot by locals in recent years.
“I’ve had them (hunters) come and stop by the store as far away is Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York City,” he said. “Apparently, there must be a Web site on it or something.”
The DEC has been actively involved the past several years in attempts to clear the invasive species off the area landscape. The animals are believed to have escaped from a private pay-to-hunt game farm nearly a decade ago and are spreading.
The state’s position, as reflected in this year’s DEC hunting and trapping guide is that feral swine are a harmful, invasive species and need to be eradicated. For the past two years, local DEC officials have been trapping the animals at undisclosed private and public properties.
While casual or “opportunistic” shooting of individual boars by, for example, deer hunters isn’t discouraged, local DEC officials are standing by previous statements that systematic hunting — or pursuit — of groups of the animals tends to spread them and make their populations more vigorous.
Is the DEC, which is working with other agencies such as the Cortland Soil and Water District and the U.S. Department of Agriculture on the issue, winning the wild boar war? Evidently not, said many local residents who were interviewed in recent weeks. Many said it’s time to call off the battle and stop spending state money on the effort. [...]
This year’s DEC hunting guide for the first time (page 20) notes their presence locally and in other parts of the state, and reminds hunters that all they need is a license that’s valid for hunting small game to shoot feral pigs.
They’re considered “unprotected wildlife.” There’s no season, no take limits or time-of-day restrictions. General hunting rules, such as the distance one can discharge a firearm from a building, still apply. (For more, see pages 16-17 of the DEC hunting guide). [...]
What’s the problem with wild pigs?
DEC officials say they are capable of wreaking havoc on plant life, native animal species and water quality in wetlands and streams, in addition to causing extensive crop damage and carrying various diseases transmissable to wildlife. If you’ve seen or shot a wild boar, contact the DEC at mlputnam[at]gw.dec.state.ny.us or call 607-753-3095, ext. 296.
Are they dangerous to humans?
Like domestic pigs, females are very protective of their young. The state Department of Conservation only has one report locally, though, of a man being attacked by a wild boar. Greg Piercey, formerly of Scott (now living in Kentucky), was building a deer hunting treestand in 2006 when he notice that Red, his golden retriever, had “gotten into it” with a wild boar piglet, according to Piercey’s ex-wife, Kathy. Piercey got down from the tree and started beating the sow with a piece of wood. A piglet ran up to Piercey, “shredded his pants” and bit him on the leg. “He had to have rabies shots,” she said.
Read the full story at link.
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The Exotic Menace
Non-native species invade land, water
By DINAH VOYLES PULVER
Environment Writer
news-journalonline.com
A growing worldwide trade in exotic plants and animals, fueled by a fascination with the rare and beautiful, often wreaks havoc on Florida's native plants and animals and costs the nation billions each year.
"America has a love affair with exotic species, but unfortunately it has a dark side," said Don Schmitz, a research program manager with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Go down to Miami International Airport. It's amazing what comes in on a daily basis from overseas."
The list includes tropical flowers, colorful fish, scorpions and spitting cobras.
Though the imports can start harmlessly as pretty plants or cool pets, far too many wind up in the wild, becoming a growing exotic menace that some say is the single biggest threat to the nation's protected species.
Many scientists consider Florida ground zero in the invasion with more exotic imports arriving daily and more protected species at risk than anywhere else except Hawaii. Hundreds of nonnative species flourish in the wild.
"In a decade or two, the ecology of the state of Florida is not going to be what we've known all our lives," said Herky Huffman of Enterprise, a former wildlife commissioner. "It's going to be changed by all these exotic species."
FLORIDA THE POSTER CHILD
People have long traded in goods such as seeds, plants and animals. But an explosion in global trade and Internet sales triggered a more rapid and prolific exchange. Overall, more than 50,000 species of plants, animals and microbes have been introduced to the United States.
Tom Jackson, an exotic species specialist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Florida, calls it "the great experiment."
"We're moving a staggering number of (species) from disparate places to our lands, and sometimes waters, at a speed never before accomplished," Jackson said. And much of it happens with little oversight.
That troubles conservation scientists who fear invasive species are threatening natural ecosystems. A plant or animal becomes "invasive" when it thrives and reproduces in new surroundings and harms native plants and animals, placing them at risk of extinction.
Most species brought to the United States are beneficial rather than invasive, including cattle and crops such as rice.
But when exotics escape or are released into the wild and face no natural predators, they can cause major problems. For example, imported mussels disrupt shipping in the Great Lakes. Yellow star thistle invades thousands of acres of native grasslands in California.
Florida, however, with up to 100,000 pythons roaming in the Everglades, is considered by some the poster child for "really creepy invasives."
Some scientists believe the huge snakes could move into Central Florida. Dozens of other nonnative reptiles and amphibians thrive in the state's temperate and subtropical climates.
The invasives "impact our lifestyles, our economies, our natural areas and our native species," said Doria Gordon, director of conservation science for The Nature Conservancy in Florida. If Floridians want to know how exotic invasive species can affect them, most need go no farther than their own lawn, Gordon said. "We all care about fire ants in a big way."
But the menace reaches far beyond front yards.
Exotic armored catfish imported to eat algae in aquariums invade the Blue Spring run and plague manatees that swim there. Plants such as hydrilla and hyacinth clog tributaries to the St. Johns River and other waterways, closing some to boating traffic. Acres of native plants disappear beneath a creeping forest of aggressive Old World climbing fern.
An Asian beetle brought laurel wilt fungus to red bay trees near Savannah, Ga., in 2002. It decimated red bays around Jacksonville, mowed down trees in Palm Coast and was found this year in Daytona Beach.
Similar problems nationwide leave nearly half the country's 958 protected species at risk from competition by exotics, according to a study by Cornell University professor David Pimentel and colleagues.
Invasives cost the country more than $137 billion a year in damage and containment efforts, the study concluded. That's one dollar for every $8 worth of food grown and nearly double what the nation spends annually on cancer treatment. Florida property owners and agencies spend more than $600 million a year. [...]
FIGHTING BACK
Jenkins and other conservation scientists say legislation and rule changes are needed urgently to limit the flow of invasive, exotic species, build a coordinated nationwide effort to determine the extent of the problem and repair the damage.
They hope to enlist others in the battle to contain and control exotics, including legislators who could funnel more money to combat the problem. They hope to convince backyard gardeners to plant natives and to stop owners of exotic pets from releasing them into the wild. [...]
Efforts to restrict trade and exotic pet ownership meet heavy resistance.
"You have to have some pretty major evidence that something is going to be a problem before you can get it prohibited," said Bill Haller, acting director of the Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants at the University of Florida.
Progress toward a zealous national effort to control exotics has been slow, but the call for action took on new urgency after July 1. That's when a Sumter County family's pet Burmese python strangled a toddler. Officials say the python was improperly caged and the family didn't have a permit.
The resulting nationwide headlines made threats posed by exotic animals a "very major issue," Haller said.
People who have pushed for more stringent regulations for years hope the child's tragic death may finally bring change to aging laws they say fail to protect the nation. They hope to make it more difficult to import problem-causing species.
A U.S. Senate committee on Thursday approved a bill that would ban import and interstate shipment of nine large constrictor and python species.
Proponents of exotic pet and plant ownership and some scientists fear the rush to new legislation and rule changes might unfairly hinder trade, limit personal freedom, and create an underground black market that could make matters worse.
The industry agrees the issue needs attention, said Marshall Meyers, chief executive officer for the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council. However, change should come from a scientific assessment of individual species and not on an emotional legislative "quick fix," he said. [...]
Read the article at link.
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Vegetation having deleterious effect on Lake Takanassee in Long Branch, NJ
By CAROL GORGA WILLIAMS • COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU
LONG BRANCH — For decades, Pete Bacinski visited Lake Takanassee in pursuit of his hobby — bird-watching — and for his livelihood, as sanctuary director of the New Jersey Audubon Society's Sandy Hook Bird Observatory.
The observatory's senior naturalist Scott Barnes more than two years ago noticed a small amount of what appeared to be an invasive plant species blooming in two small ponds near the railroad tracks at the lake that marks the boundary between West End and Elberon.
"We worried about it, but since it didn't spread anywhere else, we didn't take it into major consideration," Bacinski said.
In March, the situation had not changed much from their first view of it. But the situation would not stay stable for long.
"In October, when I saw this plant growing in all parts of the lake, it really scared me," Bacinski said. "It all happened in a seven-month period."
For Bacinski, the other Audubon members and birding hobbyists, this is really about how the vegetation affects the lake's use by avian life.
"It is a great waterfowl stopover and wintering area," explained Bacinski, of Atlantic Highlands. He suspected the problem vegetation might be parrotweed, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture lists as an invasive noxious weed.
John A. Tiedemann, a specialist professor of marine and environmental biology within Monmouth University's School of Science, had another idea. In September, he finished co-writing a report for the school's Urban Coast Institute on "The Future of Coastal Lakes in Monmouth County."
Tiedemann said the plant blooming wildly in Takanassee is more likely Eurasian water milfoil, which has invaded many of the region's lakes. It also is an invasive plant that can choke out other plant life, according to the USDA.
Eurasian water milfoil likely would thrive in Lake Takanassee's nutrient-rich, eutrophic surroundings, crowding out native plants and hastening the potential demise of the lake.
"If it gets totally taken over by this water milfoil, it will leave no place for the waterfowl to stay for the winter months and have a home," Bacinski worried.
The impact on waterfowl, however, is just a small part of the deleterious effects on the lake, from water quality to aesthetics, Tiedemann explained. Stormwater discharges, fertilizers and too much imperious surface all help the invasive plant thrive.
"Without management and treatment, the lakes get overgrown," he said.
The UCI report concluded government can implement either chemical or mechanical solutions for weed control, even if those are only stop-gap methods.
"The real solution is to control the nutrients that go into the lake," he said. "Rather than mowing the lawn along the lake, plant a vegetated buffer that functions as a biofilter."
Other responses include adopting an ordinance that controls the timing, limiting the amount and type of fertilizer property owners can use on their lawns, overseeing a Canada geese management program, adopting a zero-silt runoff program and installing stormwater system retrofits. [...]
Read the full story at link.
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Invasive Plants Threaten Avalon Dune Health
By Leslie Truluck
Cape May County Herald.com
AVALON, NJ — The borough is seeking to remedy potential threats to the health of the dune system and natural maritime forests here caused by invasive plant species.
“The conditions in the dunes require attention,” Environmental Commission Chairman Dr. Brian Reynolds told council Dec. 9.
Invasive species, like Japanese black pine and bamboo, have caused concern for diminishing animal habitat and food sources, potential fire hazards, as well as spread of insects and disease.
Japanese Black Pine was once thought to be a good stabilizer for the dunes, due to its thick roots. However, they have the genetic potential to grow up to 80 feet and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service categorize it as “mildly invasive.”
The commission is updating the borough’s Dune Vegetation Management Plan in order to monitor and control of what is planted in the dune areas, to ensure they are suitable for that environment. Corrective changes to the ordinance will move the pines to the “not recommended” list. The pines attract insects that attack the trees and carry diseases.
Japanese black pines produce extremely flammable needles and cones that, in the event of a fire, could cause it to spread, resulting in damage to properties and the dunes natural maritime forest, Reynolds said.
He said the pines don’t serve as habitat and are not a source of food for wildlife.
A species of bamboo planted on a property near 40th Street has potential to grow 25 feet high and spread. Since most types of bamboo are invasive, the commission has opted to prohibit all bamboo types in the dunes.
The plan encourages a wider diversity of trees and shrubs in the dunes system through systematic replacement of the invasive species with indigenous plants. A test area at the 74th Street dunes, where Japanese black pines have already begun to die will be replaced, as recommended in the report.
The trees’ crowns will be removed, but roots will remain intact, to hold the dunes together. They need to be removed by hand, without heavy machinery, in order not to damage dunes. The half-block 74th Street pilot area is outside of piping plover nesting areas protected by the Department of Environmental Protection.
Funding for this endeavor may be available through a Smart Growth Planning Grant funded by the NJ Environmental Trust.
The commission will review a final draft of the Dune Vegetation Management Plan, prepared by Lomax Consulting Group of Court House, before it is presented to council.
Lomax investigated the entire borough dune system from Townsend Inlet to 80th Street to understand the pine’s height and density distribution. Trees are nearing 25-feet in the 74th Street pilot area.
Environmental Commission will discuss changes to the plan for the dune area during its regular meeting Dec. 15, at 4 p.m. at Borough Hall.
A copy of the plan will be available on the borough’s Web site, www.avalonboro.org.
Read the story at link.
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Researchers reveal that zebra mussels can be controlled
While a lone zebra mussel is relatively harmless, its appearance usually indicates the arrival of thousands of the unwanted visitors. In waterways around the globe, the mussels are outcompeting native animal species for food and clogging industrial water systems.
Scientists and municipalities in affected areas struggle with how to eradicate the mussels quickly without causing wide-scale damage to the surrounding ecosystem by using harmful pesticides or other damaging chemicals to remove the mussels.
A recent zebra mussel eradication program led by scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Darrin Fresh Water Institute is now providing a promising example of how zebra mussel populations can be successfully controlled without damaging the natural ecosystem.
“Conventional wisdom on zebra mussels holds that once a population is established, they are impossible to control,” said Darrin Director Sandra Nierzwicki-Bauer. “However, we have been able to show that it might be possible to remove enough mussels to reduce the population density to the point where successful reproduction can be impeded.”
The researchers looked at how a relatively low-tech approach, coupled with extensive community outreach and no small amount of volunteer elbow grease, successfully removed what is estimated to be more than 90 percent of a mussel infestation in Lake George within two months. To perform the removal at the freshwater lake, a popular tourist destination in upstate New York at the foot of the Adirondack Mountains, the researchers enlisted the assistance of volunteer SCUBA diving teams to hand remove more than 21,000 zebra mussels from the site.
The study took place from 1999, when the mussels were first discovered in Lake George by divers with underwater archaeology firm Bateaux Below, to 2007, although the removal effort continues today. The vast majority of mussels were removed during the first year of the project, from an area covering 3,900 square meters that is divided into nine dive sections. After hundreds of hours of dives, the researchers’ continued investigation and monitoring of the site for larvae suggests that the mussels have not successfully reproduced since the removal began a decade ago.
Because of the nature of the zebra mussels and their link to human activity, particularly their ability to hitch a ride on a contaminated hull or in the bilge water of a boat after a boating trip in an infested waterway, Darrin Fresh Water Institute’s surveillance of the lake has since resulted in the discovery of eight new colonies of zebra mussels. Each is being systematically removed through SCUBA dives in the same way that the initial site was cleaned.
“A critical component of this effort has been a broad-based surveillance program,” Nierzwicki-Bauer said. “This allows us to quickly mount the SCUBA-based approach while the population remains relatively small.” The Darrin Fresh Water Institute and other organizations on Lake George regularly monitor the waterway for new zebra mussel infestations.
“Perhaps ‘mission impossible’ can never be claimed in the fight against zebra mussels, but the prevention of colonization may well be possible with a long-term commitment to monitoring and rapid removal,” she said.
The research team’s findings, based on activities and study from 1999-2007, were published late this summer in the journal Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. Along with Nierzwicki-Bauer, researchers contributing to the study are John Wimbush of the New York State Department of State; Marc Frischer of Skidaway Institute of Oceanography; and Joseph Zarzynski of Bateaux Below.
Provided by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Invasive algae found in Garrett Co.'s Savage River
DNR biologists discover habitat-attacking didymo in another MD trout stream
By Candus Thomson
The Baltimore Sun
Another premier Maryland trout stream has become tainted by an invasive algae feared worldwide for its ability to coat the bottom of rivers and lakes and smother the habitat and food supply of fish.
Biologists at the Department of Natural Resources announced Wednesday that didymo, known by anglers as "rock snot," was found in Garrett County's Savage River late last month.
"There's nothing we can do short of closing the area down, and that's draconian," said Don Cosden, inland fisheries director. "We're going to try hard to contain it."
Officials fear the algae could spread to the North Branch of the Potomac below the Jennings Randolph Reservoir, another of the state's best trout waters.[...]
At least three streams in West Virginia have been tainted as has the Delaware River in Pennsylvania.
Cosden said biologists doing routine water quality testing just below Savage River Dam were suspicious of initial results and went back to test again. This time, they found a small mass near a foot bridge and on some rocks.
Didymo was first identified in the 1890s in Europe and China. Scientists on the West Coast detected it a decade ago. An outbreak in New Zealand in 2004 prompted a "biosecurity lockdown," complete with checkpoints and penalties of five years in prison and $100,000 fines for anglers and boaters who failed to clean their gear. A year later, reports were down 90 percent, but officials warned the decrease could be part of a natural cycle.
The same thing could happen here, Cosden said. Didymo "doesn't compete well" in rivers where other algae is present, a condition that exists in the Gunpowder and the Savage rivers. But the North Branch, with its ice-cold water and clean bottom, is a perfect host for didymo, he said.
"We just need to pay attention and be careful," Cosden said. "I suspect we'll have to do more targeted sampling and we'll reach out to anglers when they start returning to the rivers later this winter."
Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun
Read the full article at link.
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Exotic Species Threaten Puerto Rico’s Ecosystem
Latin American Herald Tribune
SAN JUAN – Invading species of green iguana and red lionfish are threatening the ecosystem of Puerto Rico, according to the head of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, or DRNA, of the Caribbean island, Daniel Galan.
Galan said Tuesday in an interview with Efe that neither of the two species is native to Puerto Rico, and so their presence threatens not only the animals but also the plants here.
“The main problem they pose is that neither of the two species has a natural predator in Puerto Rico,” said Galan, after noting that the green – or common – iguana (Iguana iguana) was introduced to the island 20 years ago by people keeping them as pets. [...]
Read the full story at link.
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Milfoil control requires coordinated effort
By Larissa Mulkern
Editor of The Carroll County Independent
TAMWORTH — State and local officials from three towns met last week to discuss launching a coordinated effort to combat and control variable milfoil in the Ossipee Lake system, before the choking weed affects tourism and property values on a lake that borders three communities.
Representatives from the Ossipee Lake Alliance, Green Mountain Conservation Group, select board and conservation members from Ossipee, Freedom and Effingham and a state representative from Moultonborough gathered the morning of Dec. 8 at Samantha's Inn in Tamworth. The meeting was arranged by Ossipee Conservation Commission Chair Elizabeth Gillette after the commission and alliance members met with Ossipee selectmen and NH Department of Environmental Services Limnologist Amy Smagula to discuss milfoil treatment options for Pickerel Cove and other areas of infestation.
Ossipee Lake Alliance Board Member Bob Reynolds, who recently attended the N.H. Legislative Exotic Aquatic Weeds and Species Committee's Milfoil Summit meetings in Concord, kicked off the meeting with an update. He said a proposed bill would not generate expected revenues to fund milfoil control until 2011. He added that the fact the bill was proposed indicates that the state understands towns and property owners can't win the milfoil battle alone.
The DES spent nearly its entire $450,000 milfoil budget on prevention alone, he said, leaving just $60,000 for milfoil control to be distributed to dozens of communities already affected by the weed. [...]
Read the full article at link.
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Showing posts with label Maryland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maryland. Show all posts
Monday, December 14, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Week of July 13, 2009
Updated July 17
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Nassau County teams with environmentalists to thwart invasive species
By Phil Spadanuta, Long Island Press
Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi and Nassau County Legis. Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) worked with volunteers from the Nature Conservancy to remove the invasive plant species, the water chestnut, from Mill Pond Park in Wantagh on Tuesday. [...]
“The best time of the year to remove this harmful plant is in late spring or early summer before it sets seed,” said Kathy Schwager, Invasive Species Ecologist for The Nature Conservancy. “The seeds are viable for up to 10 years so control efforts must be conducted for many years, but luckily this plant has only been found in two locations on Long Island.” The water chestnut is invading Oyster Bay too. But through early detection and rapid response, the water chestnut plants invasion can be curtailed before more damage to the environment occurs. [...]
As Suozzi waded into the pond to remove water chestnut plants by hand, Denenberg followed closely behind him while holding a trash bag for Suozzi to put the plants in. The effort to remove plants by hand complements $20 million worth of pond improvement projects that the county has implemented at south shore ponds over the last few years.
“They not only damage the lands and waters that native plants and animals need to survive, they hurt economies and threaten human well-being,” Suozzi said.
In addition to removing the plants, Schwager hopes to get plants that are considered invasive species banned worldwide by the Horticultural Industry so they cannot be sold anymore or spread to other areas.
Special areas of land that are protected from invasive species completely, called invasive species prevention zones, have also been created by members of The Nature Conservancy to help combat the problem. According to Schwager, about 12 zones exist right now covering around 33,000 acres of land.
In addition to ridding Mill Pond Park of water chestnuts, Nassau is involved with at least eight other projects involving the improvement of other bodies of water in the county through dredging and adding vegetation. The parks projects include work at Camman’s Pond in Merrick, Milburn Pond in Freeport, Tanglewood Park and Preserve in Lakeview, Lofts Pond and Silver Lake in Baldwin, Roosevelt Pond and Massapequa Preserve. [...]
For more information about The Nature Conservancy go to www.nature.org/longisland
Read the full story at link.
Photo above: Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, Legis. Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) and Kathy Schwager of The Nature Conservancy at Mill Pond in Wantagh.
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Vermont officials ban out-of-state firewood
By John Dillon, Vermont Public Radio
State and federal officials hope to control the spread of two forest insect pests by banning out-of-state firewood at campgrounds.
The two insects of concern are the Emerald Ash Borer and the Asian Long Horned beetle. Both are non-native species and they pose a serious threat to the hardwood trees.
Steven Sinclair is the Vermont state forester.
(Sinclair) "They bore into the tree, then it gets cut up as firewood so they can be sleeping so to speak in the tree. And then when temperatures are right in the spring, they emerge, they can live in dead wood, so they'll emerge and potentially spread to other locations. So moving firewood is a hidden danger where the general public may not even know what they're doing."
(Host) The U.S. Forest Service wants only kiln-dried, packaged firewood used in campgrounds in the Green Mountain National Forest.
Wood from local sources is still permitted. But starting July 17th, visitors could face a $5,000 fine if they're caught transporting untreated wood from out-of-state into the national forest.
Vermont is taking a less punitive approach.
Sinclair said that although only local firewood is allowed at state campgrounds, visitors can exchange their out-of-state wood for a local supply from the state park.
(Sinclair) "If a camper came to one of our state parks and was bringing with them firewood that originated from 50 miles away from the radius of the state park - and was more than what we thought they could burn in the evening - we would confiscate that wood and reimburse the camper with some free wood from the state park."
(Host) State and federal officials are concerned because the emerald ash borer has spread rapidly to 13 states and two Canadian provinces.
And the Asian Long Horned Beetle was discovered last year near Worcester, Massachusetts, just 50 miles from the Vermont border.
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N.H., Maine on alert for two nasty bugs
By Deborah McDermott, SeaCoastOnline.com
Forestry officials in Maine and New Hampshire are sending out an all-points bulletin to out-of-state campers and to residents who buy unfinished furniture or even some bagged mulch: beware two nasty, exotic bugs that have the potential to devastate both states' forests.
And in New Hampshire, the city of Portsmouth in particular has been identified as a potential site for infestation.
Entomologists say the Asian longhorned beetle and the emerald ash borer are now confined to other states, many on the Eastern Seaboard and as close as Worcester, Mass., where more than 22,000 trees infested with the longhorned beetle have been cut down and destroyed. [...]
New Hampshire officials are so concerned they have banned from state parks all firewood brought in by out-of-state campers this summer, and have strongly suggested private campgrounds also comply. [...]
In Maine, the most heavily forested state in the nation, with more than 17 million acres of forests, both insects have the potential of destroying many acres of woodlands and affecting its wood products, tourism and maple sugar industries, said state entomologist Colleen Teerling. [...]
Although Maine has not banned out-of-state firewood as the Granite State has, Teerling said her office is working with state and private campgrounds to spread the word. They're going to campground association shows, putting up posters, sending out fliers and the like.
Read the full story at link.
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New Hampshire 0fficials have banned out-of-state firewood in state and White Mountain National Forest campgrounds
By Elaine Grant, New Hampshire Public Radio
Bring firewood across state lines into state and national forest campgrounds, and you’ll get a warning or even a fine of up to two thousand dollars.
Wood brought in from out of state could be infested with the invasive Asian longhorned beetle or the emerald ash borer.
Both the state and the U.S. Forest Service are trying to avoid what could be devastating damage from the insects. [...]
Read the full story at link.
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ALB "Train-the-Trainer" sesions in Boston and Springfield, Mass.
NEW! Don't miss the opportunity to join upcoming ALB "Train-the-Trainer" sessions in Boston and Springfield. We will provide you with the tools and skills you need to teach others how to recognize ALB and to survey trees for ALB damage.
Boston sessions:
- July 28th, 8:30am-10:30am (http://bit.ly/albBoston1)
- August 11th, 6pm-8pm (http://bit.ly/albBoston2)
Springfield sessions:
- July 30th, 8:30am-10:30am (http://bit.ly/albSpring1)
- August 13th, 6pm-8pm (http://bit.ly/albSpring2)
Breakfast and dinner (pizza) will be provided. Sign up via links above, or email jennifer.forman-orth AT state.ma.us, or call 617-626-1735.
--------------------------------------------------------
Power plants? Invasive weeds might produce electricity
WEST BRIDPORT, VT —Electricity just might be wrung from these otherwise discarded weeds.
Elegant in theory, the experiment in its early stages is loud and ugly.
The bright-orange harvester looks out of place in Lake Champlain. Part riding mower, part paddle-wheeler and front-end loader, the graceless watercraft the length of three mid-sized sedans that tops out (in reverse) at 3 and a half mph. It’s even slower when it travels forward, cutting through underwater thickets of Eurasian watermilfoil that choke the lake’s shallows near East Bridport.
But the harvester belongs. The milfoil, an aggressive newcomer, doesn’t.
While no one believes the weed will ever be eradicated, a handful of visionaries believe in its potential to generate electricity. [...]
Read the full article, with photos and video of weed harvesting, at link.
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Weevils unleashed in northwest Greenwich to fight mile-a-minute vine
GreenwichTime.com
About 500 tiny weevils were unleashed at Audubon Greenwich's Gimbel Sanctuary on Friday morning in a bid to reverse the damage an invasive vine has inflicted on native plant species. The weevils are being used in an experiment to fight the growth of the mile-a-minute vine.
The vine is believed to have arrived in the country mixed in with a delivery of holly seeds from Japan to a now-defunct nursery outside of York, Pa., in the 1930s. It was first identified positively as being in northwest Greenwich in 2000.
The weevils, brought over from China after it was discovered they were effective against the vine in laboratory experiments, are raised at the New Jersey Department of Agriculture's Phillip Alampi Beneficial Insect Laboratory in West Trenton, N.J. They have been used since 2004 in other areas of the country, including Delaware and New Jersey.
The weevils were released first in North Haven on July 2. Thursday, they were spread at two locations in Newtown. Though destructive to the mile-a-minute vine, weevils are not harmful to other plants.
-- Frank MacEachern
--------------------------------------------------------
Mass. combats invasive zebra mussels
By Associated Press
LEE — The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game is taking emergency action to combat the spread of invasive zebra mussels.
The department on Friday authorized local officials in Berkshire County to bar the use of boat ramps that have been on Laurel Lake within the last 30 days, unless they have been subjected to vigorous cleaning and disinfection. [...]
Read the full story at link.
---------------------------------------------------------
Bill seeks to limit unwelcome carp
By Todd Spangler • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
U.S. Sen. Carl Levin is moving to put the invasive bighead carp species of Asian carp on a list of creatures prohibited from importation into the United States.
It may be too late, however, for some waters; the fish, which can grow as big as 110 pounds, have spread from catfish farms in Louisiana in the 1970s up the Mississippi River and are only kept out of the Great Lakes by an electric barrier in a canal.
By adding the species to prohibited wildlife under the Lacey Act, Levin and cosponsors hope to prevent any intentional introduction of the bighead carp to yet-untouched American waters.
Read the story at link.
---------------------------------------------------------
Mighty moth may become Everglades' new weed eater
BY CURTIS MORGAN, MiamiHerald.com
Compared to kudzu, the infamous vine that ate The South, Old World climbing fern may be an obscure pest plant. But they're a lot alike.
The fern just has a slightly smaller appetite. It's only eating South Florida.
It's been doing it at an alarming pace, smothering more than 130,000 acres from cypress forests to Everglades tree islands to coastal mangroves in dense cloaks of death -- despite millions spent trying to halt it with sprays, spades and machetes.
But a new weapon -- in development for a dozen years by federal researchers in Fort Lauderdale -- shows significant promise to beat back an invader so aggressive it would cover a third of the wetlands between Orlando and Naples if left unchecked.
It's a nondescript moth, a ''bio-control'' dubbed ''Neo,'' a nickname considerably catchier than Neomusotima conspurcatalis.
Discovered near Hong Kong in 1997 by Bob Pemberton, an entomologist with the U.S. Agricultural Research Service, Neo has produced millions of hungry larvae that have chewed through thick fern blankets with stunning gusto in three field tests.
''I have never, in all my career, seen a biological control that looks as promising as this one,'' said Dan Thayer, who directs invasive-plant control for the South Florida Water Management District. ''My jaw dropped,'' he said, when he saw how Neo colonies in Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County stripped ferns naked.
Though they stress it's still early, Pemberton and fellow entomologist Anthony Boughton, both based at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Invasive Plant Research Laboratory in Fort Lauderdale, agree Neo is a ray of hope for what seemed an almost impossible task: stopping an exotic fern, formally known as Lygodium microphyllium, considered among the most serious threats to the Everglades. [...]
In a soon-to-be-published research paper, the scientists reported Neo numbers rocketing from 31,091 releases to 1.6 million to 8.2 million larvae at site. Neo had stripped some 3.5 acres of fern and expanded its range, moving to adjacent areas a third of a mile away.
Now, researchers are working with state and federal park and land managers to expand releases, starting in fern-choked Loxahatchee.
They don't expect Neo alone to defeat the fern. They already have other candidates in the pipeline, such as stem-boring moths.
But, if Neo keeps it up, there may well be much less need for herbicides and hand tools. Ted Center, director of the Fort Lauderdale lab, called the impact ``incredible.''
''If that becomes the way this agent works, then we have really introduced a very helpful tool in the fight,'' he said.
Read the full story at link.
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Cornell scientist to discuss drastic reduction of weed growth in Chautauqua Lake, NY
ObserverToday.com
LAKEWOOD - The Chautauqua Lake Association is sponsoring a symposium entitled the "Chautauqua Lake Aquatic Plant Workshop" led by aquatic scientist Robert L. Johnson, manager of Cornell University's Research Pond Facility, on July 13 at 7 p.m. at the Chautauqua Suites in Mayville. A second workshop is scheduled for July 14 at 7 p.m. at The Casino in Bemus Point. The events are free to the public.
The workshops will give the community an opportunity to see, identify and learn about the different plant and insect species residing in the lake. Topics include the dramatic reduction in weed growth in Chautauqua Lake this year and the methods Johnson and the CLA used to curb infestation. [...]
Chautauqua Lake is experiencing a drastic reduction in weed growth this year according to Johnson. Areas like Burtis Bay are virtually weed free. "The milfoil problem that reaped so much publicity is missing from the Bay this summer," Johnson said. "The CLA has been instrumental in supporting natural remedies to control weed growth like the introduction of moth larvae and monitoring of other insects that feed on and control the milfoil problem."
The CLA, an organization that maintains the health and beauty of the lake, supports a "green" approach to controlling nuisance vegetation like Eurasian milfoil.
"The CLA fought to have the Cornell studies continue," Association President Chris Yates said. "We are firm believers in keeping up with the science of the lake. We hope events like these symposiums will serve to educate the public on the overall benefits of good science."
Read the full story at link.
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Zebra mussels clog Berkshire lake
By Beth Daley, The Boston Globe
LEE, Mass. - State aquatic ecologist Tom Flannery poked his face out of Laurel Lake yesterday morning, adjusted his scuba mask, and glumly shook his head at dam owner Roger Scheurer, standing on the concrete structure above.
In between Flannery’s thumb and forefinger was a zebra mussel, an invasive freshwater species that has clogged pipes, fouled water supplies, and endangered wildlife across the Great Lakes.
“They are everywhere,’’ said Flannery, bobbing in the water. “You can’t go a . . . foot without seeing them.’’
Scheurer sagged. In the week since Massachusetts’s first zebra mussel was confirmed in this popular 175-acre Berkshire lake, it has dawned on business people, boaters, and others just what a disaster the mollusks’ spread could turn out to be. Divers found rocks with clinging mussels virtually everywhere they looked yesterday in Laurel Lake, and fears are growing that the nearby Housatonic River is also contaminated.
In an attempt to slow the mussels’ spread, local officials have shut down boat ramps in at least five popular Berkshire lakes; they hope to stop the mussels, which can invade boat machinery and attach to hulls, from being inadvertently transported from lake to lake.
Some fishermen and boaters said they are doubtful that closing ramps will stop the spread, because the animals can hitch rides to other bodies of water on geese or other wildlife. Indeed, officials rarely talk about wiping out zebra mussels once they take hold in a region. Their only hope is to slow the spread.
Instead of closing its ramps, Pittsfield is stationing volunteer boat monitors at two popular lakes to ensure that vessels that have been in infested waters in Connecticut and New York - and now Laurel Lake - are properly decontaminated.
“A lot of our boaters are transient; they go from one lake to another,’’ said Pittsfield Harbormaster Jim McGrath. [...]
The mussels are especially feared in the Berkshires because many waterways there are high in calcium and nonacidic, conditions in which the mussels thrive. If microscopic mussel larvae get into boat intake valves or even kayaks, they can hitch a ride to another lake and take hold, many officials fear. The only way to slow their spread is to get boaters and other water users to carefully wash all equipment and gear or let it dry for about a week in sunny weather, which kills the mussels. [...]
Read the full story at link.
Photo: State aquatic ecologist Tom Flannery searched Laurel Lake in Lee for zebra mussels. (Nancy Palmieri for The Boston Globe)
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Hunts sought to control pythons in Fla. Everglades
By MATT SEDENSKY, Associated Press
MIAMI (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson called Tuesday for organized hunts of thousands of pythons believed to be living in the Everglades to kill the snakes and prevent potential attacks.
Nelson requested permission in a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who got a close-up look at a 15-foot python found in the swampland during a May visit hosted by the senator. The request also comes weeks after a 2-year-old central Florida girl was strangled by an unlicensed pet python that escaped from a terrarium in her home, drawing further scrutiny to the issue.
"They are threatening endangered wildlife there," the Democratic lawmaker wrote to his former Senate colleague, "and, Lord forbid, a visitor in the Everglades ever encounters one."
Also Tuesday, another lawmaker, U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., introduced legislation to allow python hunts in the Everglades.
Nelson has estimated 100,000 pythons are living in the Everglades, an invasive species population believed to be the result at least in part of pets being released into the wild when they grow too big. "They now have become such a problem in the park," said Dan McLaughlin, Nelson's spokesman, "you could spend the next 10 years setting traps."
The senator asked Salazar to approve supervised hunts of the snakes by U.S. Park Service staff, other authorities and volunteers to kill the pythons en masse. The invasive species have been multiplying in the Everglades for years. [...]
Nelson recently introduced a bill to ban imports of the snakes, after years of trying to persuade federal wildlife officials to restrict their entry into the country. [...]
Read the full story at link.
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New U of Maryland Pest Threats Web Site
The University of Maryland's Pest Threats Web Site is up and running. The new site offers photographic keys to help diagnose and identify exotic pest and disease problems that are a threat to the United States. Some of the pests and disease may be present in limited areas of the country but are in danger of spreading to other parts of the United States and North America.
The Nature Conservancy of MD/DC has available many of their new invasives brochure--it features 10 of the worst invaders around the Potomac River watershed (and is applicable to PA, NJ, DE, MD, VA, WV and beyond) and also has a handy insert card with alternatives to invasives for folks planning gardens or heading to their local nurseries. The link is below for download--if you would like hard copies, contact TNC.
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Nassau County teams with environmentalists to thwart invasive species
By Phil Spadanuta, Long Island Press
Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi and Nassau County Legis. Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) worked with volunteers from the Nature Conservancy to remove the invasive plant species, the water chestnut, from Mill Pond Park in Wantagh on Tuesday. [...]
“The best time of the year to remove this harmful plant is in late spring or early summer before it sets seed,” said Kathy Schwager, Invasive Species Ecologist for The Nature Conservancy. “The seeds are viable for up to 10 years so control efforts must be conducted for many years, but luckily this plant has only been found in two locations on Long Island.” The water chestnut is invading Oyster Bay too. But through early detection and rapid response, the water chestnut plants invasion can be curtailed before more damage to the environment occurs. [...]As Suozzi waded into the pond to remove water chestnut plants by hand, Denenberg followed closely behind him while holding a trash bag for Suozzi to put the plants in. The effort to remove plants by hand complements $20 million worth of pond improvement projects that the county has implemented at south shore ponds over the last few years.
“They not only damage the lands and waters that native plants and animals need to survive, they hurt economies and threaten human well-being,” Suozzi said.
In addition to removing the plants, Schwager hopes to get plants that are considered invasive species banned worldwide by the Horticultural Industry so they cannot be sold anymore or spread to other areas.
Special areas of land that are protected from invasive species completely, called invasive species prevention zones, have also been created by members of The Nature Conservancy to help combat the problem. According to Schwager, about 12 zones exist right now covering around 33,000 acres of land.
In addition to ridding Mill Pond Park of water chestnuts, Nassau is involved with at least eight other projects involving the improvement of other bodies of water in the county through dredging and adding vegetation. The parks projects include work at Camman’s Pond in Merrick, Milburn Pond in Freeport, Tanglewood Park and Preserve in Lakeview, Lofts Pond and Silver Lake in Baldwin, Roosevelt Pond and Massapequa Preserve. [...]
For more information about The Nature Conservancy go to www.nature.org/longisland
Read the full story at link.
Photo above: Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, Legis. Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) and Kathy Schwager of The Nature Conservancy at Mill Pond in Wantagh.
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Vermont officials ban out-of-state firewood
By John Dillon, Vermont Public Radio
State and federal officials hope to control the spread of two forest insect pests by banning out-of-state firewood at campgrounds.
The two insects of concern are the Emerald Ash Borer and the Asian Long Horned beetle. Both are non-native species and they pose a serious threat to the hardwood trees.
Steven Sinclair is the Vermont state forester.
(Sinclair) "They bore into the tree, then it gets cut up as firewood so they can be sleeping so to speak in the tree. And then when temperatures are right in the spring, they emerge, they can live in dead wood, so they'll emerge and potentially spread to other locations. So moving firewood is a hidden danger where the general public may not even know what they're doing."
(Host) The U.S. Forest Service wants only kiln-dried, packaged firewood used in campgrounds in the Green Mountain National Forest.
Wood from local sources is still permitted. But starting July 17th, visitors could face a $5,000 fine if they're caught transporting untreated wood from out-of-state into the national forest.
Vermont is taking a less punitive approach.
Sinclair said that although only local firewood is allowed at state campgrounds, visitors can exchange their out-of-state wood for a local supply from the state park.
(Sinclair) "If a camper came to one of our state parks and was bringing with them firewood that originated from 50 miles away from the radius of the state park - and was more than what we thought they could burn in the evening - we would confiscate that wood and reimburse the camper with some free wood from the state park."
(Host) State and federal officials are concerned because the emerald ash borer has spread rapidly to 13 states and two Canadian provinces.
And the Asian Long Horned Beetle was discovered last year near Worcester, Massachusetts, just 50 miles from the Vermont border.
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N.H., Maine on alert for two nasty bugs
By Deborah McDermott, SeaCoastOnline.com
Forestry officials in Maine and New Hampshire are sending out an all-points bulletin to out-of-state campers and to residents who buy unfinished furniture or even some bagged mulch: beware two nasty, exotic bugs that have the potential to devastate both states' forests.
And in New Hampshire, the city of Portsmouth in particular has been identified as a potential site for infestation.
Entomologists say the Asian longhorned beetle and the emerald ash borer are now confined to other states, many on the Eastern Seaboard and as close as Worcester, Mass., where more than 22,000 trees infested with the longhorned beetle have been cut down and destroyed. [...]
New Hampshire officials are so concerned they have banned from state parks all firewood brought in by out-of-state campers this summer, and have strongly suggested private campgrounds also comply. [...]
In Maine, the most heavily forested state in the nation, with more than 17 million acres of forests, both insects have the potential of destroying many acres of woodlands and affecting its wood products, tourism and maple sugar industries, said state entomologist Colleen Teerling. [...]
Although Maine has not banned out-of-state firewood as the Granite State has, Teerling said her office is working with state and private campgrounds to spread the word. They're going to campground association shows, putting up posters, sending out fliers and the like.
Read the full story at link.
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New Hampshire 0fficials have banned out-of-state firewood in state and White Mountain National Forest campgrounds
By Elaine Grant, New Hampshire Public Radio
Bring firewood across state lines into state and national forest campgrounds, and you’ll get a warning or even a fine of up to two thousand dollars.
Wood brought in from out of state could be infested with the invasive Asian longhorned beetle or the emerald ash borer.
Both the state and the U.S. Forest Service are trying to avoid what could be devastating damage from the insects. [...]
Read the full story at link.
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ALB "Train-the-Trainer" sesions in Boston and Springfield, Mass.
NEW! Don't miss the opportunity to join upcoming ALB "Train-the-Trainer" sessions in Boston and Springfield. We will provide you with the tools and skills you need to teach others how to recognize ALB and to survey trees for ALB damage.
Boston sessions:
- July 28th, 8:30am-10:30am (http://bit.ly/albBoston1)
- August 11th, 6pm-8pm (http://bit.ly/albBoston2)
Springfield sessions:
- July 30th, 8:30am-10:30am (http://bit.ly/albSpring1)
- August 13th, 6pm-8pm (http://bit.ly/albSpring2)
Breakfast and dinner (pizza) will be provided. Sign up via links above, or email jennifer.forman-orth AT state.ma.us, or call 617-626-1735.
--------------------------------------------------------
Power plants? Invasive weeds might produce electricity
WEST BRIDPORT, VT —Electricity just might be wrung from these otherwise discarded weeds.
Elegant in theory, the experiment in its early stages is loud and ugly.
The bright-orange harvester looks out of place in Lake Champlain. Part riding mower, part paddle-wheeler and front-end loader, the graceless watercraft the length of three mid-sized sedans that tops out (in reverse) at 3 and a half mph. It’s even slower when it travels forward, cutting through underwater thickets of Eurasian watermilfoil that choke the lake’s shallows near East Bridport.
But the harvester belongs. The milfoil, an aggressive newcomer, doesn’t.
While no one believes the weed will ever be eradicated, a handful of visionaries believe in its potential to generate electricity. [...]
Read the full article, with photos and video of weed harvesting, at link.
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Weevils unleashed in northwest Greenwich to fight mile-a-minute vine
GreenwichTime.com
About 500 tiny weevils were unleashed at Audubon Greenwich's Gimbel Sanctuary on Friday morning in a bid to reverse the damage an invasive vine has inflicted on native plant species. The weevils are being used in an experiment to fight the growth of the mile-a-minute vine.The vine is believed to have arrived in the country mixed in with a delivery of holly seeds from Japan to a now-defunct nursery outside of York, Pa., in the 1930s. It was first identified positively as being in northwest Greenwich in 2000.
The weevils, brought over from China after it was discovered they were effective against the vine in laboratory experiments, are raised at the New Jersey Department of Agriculture's Phillip Alampi Beneficial Insect Laboratory in West Trenton, N.J. They have been used since 2004 in other areas of the country, including Delaware and New Jersey.
The weevils were released first in North Haven on July 2. Thursday, they were spread at two locations in Newtown. Though destructive to the mile-a-minute vine, weevils are not harmful to other plants.
-- Frank MacEachern
--------------------------------------------------------
Mass. combats invasive zebra mussels
By Associated Press
LEE — The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game is taking emergency action to combat the spread of invasive zebra mussels.
The department on Friday authorized local officials in Berkshire County to bar the use of boat ramps that have been on Laurel Lake within the last 30 days, unless they have been subjected to vigorous cleaning and disinfection. [...]
Read the full story at link.
---------------------------------------------------------
Bill seeks to limit unwelcome carp
By Todd Spangler • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
U.S. Sen. Carl Levin is moving to put the invasive bighead carp species of Asian carp on a list of creatures prohibited from importation into the United States.
It may be too late, however, for some waters; the fish, which can grow as big as 110 pounds, have spread from catfish farms in Louisiana in the 1970s up the Mississippi River and are only kept out of the Great Lakes by an electric barrier in a canal.
By adding the species to prohibited wildlife under the Lacey Act, Levin and cosponsors hope to prevent any intentional introduction of the bighead carp to yet-untouched American waters.
Read the story at link.
---------------------------------------------------------
Mighty moth may become Everglades' new weed eater
BY CURTIS MORGAN, MiamiHerald.com
Compared to kudzu, the infamous vine that ate The South, Old World climbing fern may be an obscure pest plant. But they're a lot alike.
The fern just has a slightly smaller appetite. It's only eating South Florida.
It's been doing it at an alarming pace, smothering more than 130,000 acres from cypress forests to Everglades tree islands to coastal mangroves in dense cloaks of death -- despite millions spent trying to halt it with sprays, spades and machetes.
But a new weapon -- in development for a dozen years by federal researchers in Fort Lauderdale -- shows significant promise to beat back an invader so aggressive it would cover a third of the wetlands between Orlando and Naples if left unchecked.
It's a nondescript moth, a ''bio-control'' dubbed ''Neo,'' a nickname considerably catchier than Neomusotima conspurcatalis.
Discovered near Hong Kong in 1997 by Bob Pemberton, an entomologist with the U.S. Agricultural Research Service, Neo has produced millions of hungry larvae that have chewed through thick fern blankets with stunning gusto in three field tests.
''I have never, in all my career, seen a biological control that looks as promising as this one,'' said Dan Thayer, who directs invasive-plant control for the South Florida Water Management District. ''My jaw dropped,'' he said, when he saw how Neo colonies in Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County stripped ferns naked.
Though they stress it's still early, Pemberton and fellow entomologist Anthony Boughton, both based at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Invasive Plant Research Laboratory in Fort Lauderdale, agree Neo is a ray of hope for what seemed an almost impossible task: stopping an exotic fern, formally known as Lygodium microphyllium, considered among the most serious threats to the Everglades. [...]
In a soon-to-be-published research paper, the scientists reported Neo numbers rocketing from 31,091 releases to 1.6 million to 8.2 million larvae at site. Neo had stripped some 3.5 acres of fern and expanded its range, moving to adjacent areas a third of a mile away.
Now, researchers are working with state and federal park and land managers to expand releases, starting in fern-choked Loxahatchee.
They don't expect Neo alone to defeat the fern. They already have other candidates in the pipeline, such as stem-boring moths.
But, if Neo keeps it up, there may well be much less need for herbicides and hand tools. Ted Center, director of the Fort Lauderdale lab, called the impact ``incredible.''
''If that becomes the way this agent works, then we have really introduced a very helpful tool in the fight,'' he said.
Read the full story at link.
----------------------------------------------------------
Cornell scientist to discuss drastic reduction of weed growth in Chautauqua Lake, NY
ObserverToday.com
LAKEWOOD - The Chautauqua Lake Association is sponsoring a symposium entitled the "Chautauqua Lake Aquatic Plant Workshop" led by aquatic scientist Robert L. Johnson, manager of Cornell University's Research Pond Facility, on July 13 at 7 p.m. at the Chautauqua Suites in Mayville. A second workshop is scheduled for July 14 at 7 p.m. at The Casino in Bemus Point. The events are free to the public.
The workshops will give the community an opportunity to see, identify and learn about the different plant and insect species residing in the lake. Topics include the dramatic reduction in weed growth in Chautauqua Lake this year and the methods Johnson and the CLA used to curb infestation. [...]
Chautauqua Lake is experiencing a drastic reduction in weed growth this year according to Johnson. Areas like Burtis Bay are virtually weed free. "The milfoil problem that reaped so much publicity is missing from the Bay this summer," Johnson said. "The CLA has been instrumental in supporting natural remedies to control weed growth like the introduction of moth larvae and monitoring of other insects that feed on and control the milfoil problem."
The CLA, an organization that maintains the health and beauty of the lake, supports a "green" approach to controlling nuisance vegetation like Eurasian milfoil.
"The CLA fought to have the Cornell studies continue," Association President Chris Yates said. "We are firm believers in keeping up with the science of the lake. We hope events like these symposiums will serve to educate the public on the overall benefits of good science."
Read the full story at link.
---------------------------------------------------------
Zebra mussels clog Berkshire lake
By Beth Daley, The Boston Globe
LEE, Mass. - State aquatic ecologist Tom Flannery poked his face out of Laurel Lake yesterday morning, adjusted his scuba mask, and glumly shook his head at dam owner Roger Scheurer, standing on the concrete structure above.In between Flannery’s thumb and forefinger was a zebra mussel, an invasive freshwater species that has clogged pipes, fouled water supplies, and endangered wildlife across the Great Lakes.
“They are everywhere,’’ said Flannery, bobbing in the water. “You can’t go a . . . foot without seeing them.’’
Scheurer sagged. In the week since Massachusetts’s first zebra mussel was confirmed in this popular 175-acre Berkshire lake, it has dawned on business people, boaters, and others just what a disaster the mollusks’ spread could turn out to be. Divers found rocks with clinging mussels virtually everywhere they looked yesterday in Laurel Lake, and fears are growing that the nearby Housatonic River is also contaminated.
In an attempt to slow the mussels’ spread, local officials have shut down boat ramps in at least five popular Berkshire lakes; they hope to stop the mussels, which can invade boat machinery and attach to hulls, from being inadvertently transported from lake to lake.
Some fishermen and boaters said they are doubtful that closing ramps will stop the spread, because the animals can hitch rides to other bodies of water on geese or other wildlife. Indeed, officials rarely talk about wiping out zebra mussels once they take hold in a region. Their only hope is to slow the spread.
Instead of closing its ramps, Pittsfield is stationing volunteer boat monitors at two popular lakes to ensure that vessels that have been in infested waters in Connecticut and New York - and now Laurel Lake - are properly decontaminated.
“A lot of our boaters are transient; they go from one lake to another,’’ said Pittsfield Harbormaster Jim McGrath. [...]
The mussels are especially feared in the Berkshires because many waterways there are high in calcium and nonacidic, conditions in which the mussels thrive. If microscopic mussel larvae get into boat intake valves or even kayaks, they can hitch a ride to another lake and take hold, many officials fear. The only way to slow their spread is to get boaters and other water users to carefully wash all equipment and gear or let it dry for about a week in sunny weather, which kills the mussels. [...]
Read the full story at link.
Photo: State aquatic ecologist Tom Flannery searched Laurel Lake in Lee for zebra mussels. (Nancy Palmieri for The Boston Globe)
--------------------------------------------------------
Hunts sought to control pythons in Fla. Everglades
By MATT SEDENSKY, Associated Press
MIAMI (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson called Tuesday for organized hunts of thousands of pythons believed to be living in the Everglades to kill the snakes and prevent potential attacks.
Nelson requested permission in a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who got a close-up look at a 15-foot python found in the swampland during a May visit hosted by the senator. The request also comes weeks after a 2-year-old central Florida girl was strangled by an unlicensed pet python that escaped from a terrarium in her home, drawing further scrutiny to the issue.
"They are threatening endangered wildlife there," the Democratic lawmaker wrote to his former Senate colleague, "and, Lord forbid, a visitor in the Everglades ever encounters one."
Also Tuesday, another lawmaker, U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., introduced legislation to allow python hunts in the Everglades.
Nelson has estimated 100,000 pythons are living in the Everglades, an invasive species population believed to be the result at least in part of pets being released into the wild when they grow too big. "They now have become such a problem in the park," said Dan McLaughlin, Nelson's spokesman, "you could spend the next 10 years setting traps."
The senator asked Salazar to approve supervised hunts of the snakes by U.S. Park Service staff, other authorities and volunteers to kill the pythons en masse. The invasive species have been multiplying in the Everglades for years. [...]
Nelson recently introduced a bill to ban imports of the snakes, after years of trying to persuade federal wildlife officials to restrict their entry into the country. [...]
Read the full story at link.
--------------------------------------------------------
New U of Maryland Pest Threats Web Site
The University of Maryland's Pest Threats Web Site is up and running. The new site offers photographic keys to help diagnose and identify exotic pest and disease problems that are a threat to the United States. Some of the pests and disease may be present in limited areas of the country but are in danger of spreading to other parts of the United States and North America.
The objective of this web site is to increase the diagnostic skills of green industry professionals, Cooperative Extension personnel including Master Gardeners, government personnel, and citizens to improve their abilities as first detectors – people able to recognize exotic invasive pests of urban and ornamental plant systems that represent potential threats to our Homeland Security. This web site provides “one stop shopping” for information on the identification, biology, and management of exotic pest threats to the U.S., and how to report a potential exotic pest citing.
Visit the site at http://pestthreats.umd.edu/.
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Congressional Bills - 111th Congress (2009-2011)
Provides information for invasive species related Congressional bills, including introduction date, sponsor, summary, full bill text, and bill status.
H.R.3173 - Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act
S.1421 - Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act
H.R.1145 - National Water Research and Development Initiative Act of 2009
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Guilty Plea by first person ever charged under anti-invsive species law
A Philippine citizen, Charles P Posas, the second highest officer onboard the M/V Theotokos, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of lying to the Coast Guard and violating record keeping laws aimed at reducing the risk of marine invasive species. According to the DOJ, Mr Posas is the first individual ever charged under the anti-invasive species law, a law designed to mitigate the introduction of marine invasive species into waters of the United States. Posas, who served as the vessel’s chief officer, pleaded guilty to one count of false statement and one count of violating the Non indigenous Aquatic Nuisance and Prevention Control Act.
The 1984-built, 71,242 dwt vessel is owned by Liberia-based Mirage Navigation Corporation and is managed by Polembros Shipping Limited. Sentencing has been set for 14 October.
Read the full story at link.
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Work to Eradicate Brazilian Pepper Threat
PONTE VEDRA BEACH – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTM Research Reserve) is partnering with St. Johns County Environmental Division, the Friends of GTM Reserve, members of the South Anastasia Community Association (SACA) and the northeast Florida Student Conservation Association (SCA) to eradicate Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolia) and other invasive plants that are beginning to displace native vegetation on barrier islands in St. Johns County.
“The GTM Research Reserve and St. Johns County Environmental Division are working aggressively to prevent the spread of the Brazilian pepper plant within the ecosystems of St. Johns County,” said GTM Research Reserve Stewardship Coordinator Forrest Penny. “By partnering with the Friends of GTM Reserve, the SACA and the northeast Florida SCA we are able to work as a team and take the appropriate actions to control the invasive plant by cutting it down and spraying the stump with herbicide." [...]
Read the full story at link.
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How the invaders got here: "Pandora's Locks"
North Country Public Radio
The Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Seaway’s 50th anniversary has inspired a number of new books about the waterway. One blames the federal government, not the shipping industry, for the invasion of foreign species into the Great Lakes that has cost the region billions of dollars. The Environment Report's Lester Graham talks with author Jeff Alexander about his new book, Pandora's Locks. [...]
Read the full story at link.
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Invasives brochure for the Potomac River watershedThe Nature Conservancy of MD/DC has available many of their new invasives brochure--it features 10 of the worst invaders around the Potomac River watershed (and is applicable to PA, NJ, DE, MD, VA, WV and beyond) and also has a handy insert card with alternatives to invasives for folks planning gardens or heading to their local nurseries. The link is below for download--if you would like hard copies, contact TNC.
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/maryland/news/news2699.html (webpage with links)
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/maryland/files/mdinvasivebrochure.pdf (pdf of main brochure)
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/maryland/files/mdinvasives_final_card.pdf (pdf of wallet insert)
They also have recently updated the Good Neighbor Handbook (Tips and Tools for River Friendly Living) and you can download it, or request copies from TNC:
Mary Travaglini
Potomac Gorge Habitat Restoration Manager
The Nature Conservancy of MD/DC
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Potomac Gorge Habitat Restoration Manager
The Nature Conservancy of MD/DC
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Monday, May 25, 2009
Week of May 25, 2009
Renewed concerns over invasive beetle in Vermont and New Hampshire
Summer brings renewed concerns about the Asian longhorned beetle. The invasive pest has an appetite for maple trees, and has devastated entire forests in Massachusetts. So far, Vermont and New Hampshire have escaped the invasion.
But the concern is that the bugs will be transported here in firewood carried by campers. As a precaution, New Hampshire next month will ban out-of-state firewood at federal and state-owned campgrounds.
From WCAX News. Link
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Madison High School students control invasives at Wildlife Refuge
MADISON, NJ -- It was almost lunchtime on the Madison High School Day of Service and Mark DeBiasse, History Department Chairperson and Service Learning Coordinator, said that his cell phone had not rung once yet to report a problem from any of the more than 40 work sites he was supervising.
Sawing, drilling, measuring, mulching, planting, drawing, painting, digging -- and that's just the beginning, the task list goes on. More than 400 Madison High School students plus faculty members came together to work on service projects that spread lots of cheer and goodwill throughout the school district, the borough and beyond on Wednesday, May 20, during the high school's fifth annual Day of Service.
They formed green teams to test Passaic River water quality and remove invasive plant species at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, while others organized a blood drive with the American Red Cross.
Read the full story at link.
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Saw Mill River Audubon plans “Trees for Tribs” planting
From Saw Mill River Audubon
Sunday, May 31, 9:00 a.m.
Volunteers Invited to Help Plant Native Trees and ShrubsThe last Sunday of May is planting day at Brinton Brook Sanctuary in Croton on Hudson. Everyone is invited to bring a spade, dig a hole, and “go native,” joining Saw Mill River Audubon (SMRA) and the New York State Department of Conservation (DEC) in planting native trees and shrubs to improve streamside habitats in the sanctuary. The restoration is part of the DEC’s “Trees for Tribs” program along tributaries to the Hudson River.
The DEC is providing 100 native plants carefully chosen for this site. The 40 trees and 60 shrubs represent 13 species, including witchhazel, American cranberrybush viburnum, red maple, and sassafras.
Advance preparation by SMRA included scouting the location with the DEC, removing invasive plants from the area, planning the location for each new plant, and preparing labels with plant names.
For information about volunteering, contact:
Ellen Heidelberger
Saw Mill River Audubon
914-666-6503
office@sawmillriveraudubon.org
http://www.sawmillriveraudubon.org/
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Giant Hogweed confirmed in Butler County, PA
HARRISBURG, Pa., May 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is warning residents of Forward Township in Evans City, Butler County, that Giant Hogweed, a noxious and invasive weed that can cause blistering and scarring on the skin of susceptible people, has been confirmed in their area.
Located along the Pittsburgh/Buffalo railroad tracks at the intersection of Spithaler School and Ash Stop roads, and at the intersection of the tracks and Ash Stop Road, the area with Giant Hogweed has been identified and marked with Department of Agriculture signage.
Citizens with suspected sightings of the plant are asked to call the Giant Hogweed Hotline at 1-877-464-9333. Brochures to aide in identification are available at the Forward Township Municipality Building or online at http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/ under "Plant and Animal Health."
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PA Gov., PDA Turn Up The Heat on Ash Borer
http://www.lancasterfarming.com/
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell proclaimed May 17-23 as “Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week” in Pennsylvania to help draw attention to the devastating, non-native invasive beetle that has been killing trees in six Pennsylvania counties during the past two years.
The governor urged the public to help contain the beetle’s spread to protect trees and also the jobs associated with Pennsylvania’s $25 billion forest products industry.
“The emerald ash borer has already killed tens of millions of ash trees nationwide and its arrival in Pennsylvania could have a damaging affect on our hardwoods industry,” Rendell said.
“Pennsylvania has been proactive in controlling its spread by enacting a firewood quarantine for counties found to have infestations and completing in-depth surveys to determine the extent of the infestations.
“By designating Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week, we are reminding citizens of the potentially severe impacts this beetle could have on our environment and economy so they can take steps to help stop its spread.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) held a press conference at Bald Eagle State Park in Centre County on Tuesday to recognize Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week. The conference took place in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Envirothon.
Firewood Transport Spreads Beetle
Firewood is the primary means of long distance movement for emerald ash borer and other invasive forest pests, so this camping season people are reminded to use only locally cut sources of firewood and to burn it completely on site. To help protect Pennsylvania’s forests and urban trees, “burn it where you buy it.”
People who suspect they have seen emerald ash borer should call the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s toll-free pest hotline at (866) 253-7189. For more information about the quarantine, contact Walt Blosser at (717) 772-5205, and for more information about emerald ash borer, contact Sven-Erik Spichiger at (717) 772-5229.
Information is also available at www.agriculture.state.pa.us/emeraldashborer.
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Garlic mustard puts Quarry Hill at risk
By KEITH WHITCOMB JR., Bennington Banner
POWNAL, VT — Timing is everything with garlic mustard, an invasive species of plant that grows on roadsides and in forests. Spotting it before it flowers is difficult, and going after it too late spreads the seeds.
"It's an evil plant," said David McDevitt, the Southern Vermont land steward with The Nature Conservancy. "There is no easy way to get rid of it."
The most effective way, McDevitt said Thursday atop Quarry Hill, where the Conservancy owns a parcel of land, is to pull it out of the ground by hand. McDevitt and a small number of volunteers have been up Quarry Hill three times this year and pulled nearly 100 pounds of the plant.
Ruth Botzow, a volunteer steward for the local Conservancy lands, said she goes up often on her own time to remove the weed.
The Conservancy acres on Quarry Hill are home to a number of rare and unique plants, which the garlic mustard is crowding out.
McDevitt said garlic mustard is widespread across Vermont and other parts of New England. Some areas in Massachusetts, he said, are so infested that pulling the plants by hand isn't an option. He said two days ago in Manchester, he and other volunteers pulled nearly 400 pounds of garlic mustard out of a preserve.
McDevitt said the seed pods can lie dormant for a number of years, meaning areas have to be continuously worked from year to year before progress is made. "If it's a really infested place, you'll be picking that spot for years until you can say you've beaten it," he said, adding the site on Quarry Hill has seem some progress, although last year was an unusually bad year for garlic mustard.
Read the full story at link.
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Find of Invasive Zebra Mussels Could Spell Serious Damage
By Ashley Halsey III, Washington Post
The discovery of eight shells no bigger than a fingernail in Maryland waters has signaled the arrival of the exotic zebra mussels that have caused an estimated $5 billion in damage to the Great Lakes.
If they spread, the invasive fresh-water mussels could threaten the less-salty waters of the Chesapeake Bay northward from Annapolis.
The zebra mussels found in Maryland apparently were transported on a recreational fishing boat that was plopped from a car trailer into the fresh waters of the Susquehanna River above Conowingo Dam. Whether that handful can get past the Harford County dam and into the Chesapeake may be a multibillion-dollar question.
"If a bit of debris with a zebra mussel on it gets to the dam, it goes through," said Merrie Street, spokeswoman for Conowingo Dam. "There is no filter."
Read the full story at link.
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Adirondack lake stewards try to stop spread of invasive species
By MICHAEL VIRTANEN, Associated Press
ALBANY — When boaters show up this summer to Great Sacandaga Lake in the lower Adirondacks they are likely to be met at public launch sites by stewards asking to check for alien plants or animals.
The stewards, college students, will be looking for aquatic invasive species that have been found so far in about one-quarter of the lakes surveyed in New York’s northern mountains.
They will also ask to check boats leaving the lake, which last fall was the first inland waterway in New York where the spiny water flea was found. They want to keep that small crustacean, native to Eurasia, from spreading to other American lakes and rivers.
“When we move from one waterway to another, we’ve just got go be mindful of what’s hitchhiking,” said Hilary Smith, director of the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program. “We need to include cleaning our boat and gear as part of the sport.”
Using hundreds of volunteers, the program has monitored 216 Adirondack lakes, finding 53 with one or more harmful nonnative plants like Eurasian water milfoil, curly leaf pondweed or water chestnut.
“My sense is we’re going to find more uninvaded lakes than invaded,” Smith said.
Read the full story at link.
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Maryland sends in goats to save turtles
By Michael Dresser Baltimore Sun reporter
A herd of goats coming to the rescue of a handful of imperiled turtles may sound like the plot of a Saturday morning children's cartoon show, but that's just what's happening in the Carroll County town of Hampstead.
The State Highway Administration has enlisted the help of about 40 goats to devour invasive plant species in wetlands along the path of the soon-to-open, 4.4-mile Hampstead Bypass to protect the habitat of the bog turtle - a species listed as threatened in Maryland.
State highway officials decided to give the goats a tryout as four-legged lawn mowers rather than to attack the unwanted vegetation with mechanical mowers that might have killed the diminutive reptiles or damaged their boggy habitat on the fringe of Hampstead. The goats - leased from a local farmer who prefers to remain anonymous - have been on the job for a week, and highway officials say that so far they seem to be up to the task.
Until now, the bog turtles have been getting all of the attention. Highway and environmental officials have spent years hashing out the details of the $85 million bypass, and finding ways for the road and the reptiles to co-exist. The site where the goats are employed was once right in the highway's path, but officials rerouted it to the ridgeline above to avoid the sensitive wetlands.
William L. Branch, a biologist with the highway agency's Office of Environmental Design, said the decision to use goats to swallow up vegetation at the site - which officials prefer not to identify specifically because of the threat of turtle-poaching for the exotic pet trade - was the result of collective brainstorming by state and federal officials on how to build the road without damaging the local turtle population.
Branch said the Hampstead experiment is Maryland's first use of goats in connection with a state road project. He said officials had heard about previous projects using goats to control vegetation in bog turtle habitats in New Jersey and Pennsylvania - two of the other states in the reptile's range.
Read the full story at link.
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Monday, March 16, 2009
Week of March 16, 2009
Updated 3/20
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Vitex eradication effort gains traction
Group tallies past year's accomplishments
By Gareth McGrath, StarNewsOnline.com
Fort Fisher, North Carolina - The invasive plant has been discovered in Virginia and in places in North Carolina thought to be vitex-free.
But that's not necessarily a bad thing, since it shows that the educational and outreach efforts of the Carolinas Beach Vitex Task Force about the menace posed by the foreign invader are working.
It also shows, however, that there's a lot of work to do to eradicate the shrub. It is native to the Pacific Rim and was once viewed as the savior of the coast, but it's turned out to be a huge biological menace.
On Friday members of the task force gathered at the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher to celebrate the past year's successes and discuss the remaining challenges facing the multi-state effort to eradicate beach vitex.
Among the 2008 accomplishments included getting North Carolina to declare beach vitex a noxious weed, making it illegal to be sold or possessed by nurseries or individuals, and securing a $128,000 grant for coastal eradication and educational efforts.
But Melanie Doyle, the state's beach vitex task force coordinator and horticulturist at the aquarium, said there's been an even bigger success over the past year.
"What I'm most proud about is nothing's been mandated by anyone," she said, ticking off the local and voluntary support up and down the coast that the task force has received in promoting eradication efforts. "This has all come about because of people who care."
But with greater awareness of the threat posed by vitex has come the reality of how big the problem is in North Carolina.
"We've got vitex in the northern part of the state," said Dale Suiter, a Raleigh-based biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Just a year ago, we didn't know that."
So far there are more than 400 known locations, including worrisome outbreaks along inland waterways that dramatically increases the amount of shoreline to survey. Link
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Fire service's newest toy burns invading grasses on Mullica River, NJ
By LEE PROCIDA, PressofAtlanticCity.com
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, NJ - The thumping sound of helicopter blades preceded the state Forest Fire Service’s Bell 206 JetRanger as it flew south over the Mullica River and turned to survey Hog Island, where it burned 132 acres of reeds Friday morning.
Hanging out the side was Rob Gill, an aerial ignition specialist, who would be operating the service’s new fire-starting device mounted to the helicopter, “The Red Dragon.”
Generically referred to as a plastic-sphere dispenser, the dragon is filled with paintball-like orbs containing potassium permanganate. When turned on, the machine injects the balls with antifreeze and drops them to the ground, where the mixture of chemicals bursts into flames about a minute later.
The group recently cooperated with the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife to spray herbicide over an infestation of phragmites, and is now paying the fire service a few thousand dollars to burn the invasive plants away to make room for native flora and fauna.
“Global warming aside, phragmites is the No. 1 threat to the health of our estuaries,” said Emile DeVito, manager of science for the NJ Conservation Foundation, who was familiar with Friday’s project. “It basically consumes all the habitat and virtually wipes out all the species.”
On the Atlantic County bank of the river, a crowd of trucks and people assembled to watch the blaze. A red fire service truck was parked near an Egg Harbor City police SUV in case the fire jumped the water, and a couple other pickup trucks were around from the locals fishing.
Continued at Link
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Weed removal money sought in Massachusetts
By JOHN APPLETON, The Republican
BRIMFIELD, MA - The Lake Sherman Association is asking the town for financial help while also seeking grants to cover the $10,300 cost of removing invasive weeds which have been dramatically spreading the past few years.
Association president Robert Chevalier said the $10,300 figure is based on a price quote from Lycott Environmental, Inc., of Southbridge, MA for a chemical treatment this spring to wipe out what has been identified as aquatic variegated milfoil.
The 55-member lake association is basing its case for financial assistance from the town in part on the fact that the town has a boat launch at the pond and that people go in swimming from the launch area.
"It's a landmark for the town and for anyone who is close to this town," said David W. McVeigh, a member of the association.
"We are trying to preserve it in any way we can," McVeigh said.
The association has applied to the Norcross Foundation for a grant for the weed eradication work and is considering other grant possibilities.
"We have been working on trying to get funding for three or four years," said Janet L. Hastings, the association vice president. Association members told the selectmen last week that the weeds already interfere with swimming and boating and, if left unchecked, they can spread to the point of choking the lake, which is only 12 feet deep at its deepest point. Link
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Waging war on invasive plants in Connecticut
By Keila Torres, ConnPost.com
Invasive plants are taking over the state's parklands and killing off native species, throwing fragile eco-systems into turmoil as wildlife is starved of its natural food source.
Invasive species -- including Oriental bittersweet and Japanese barberry -- have become a widespread problem around the state, said Todd Mervosh, a weed scientist for the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven.
This year, the state Department of Environmental Protection is offering cities and towns grants to get rid of the annoying, non-native plants that have cropped up and taken root here.
The invasive species "are displacing the native vegetation, the plants that have always been here as part of our ecological system," Mervosh said. "There are a lot of animal species that co-exist with these native species, that depend on them."
Oriental bittersweet, an Asian vine with yellow fruit that entwines itself around other plants, is considered by many the "worst invasive plant in the state," he said.
Richard Tiani, executive director of Groundwork Bridgeport, said a group of Harding High School students working with his agency has also found a lot of Japanese barberry -- a vine that wraps around trees -- during their cleanup efforts in Bridgeport's parks and in surrounding towns.
"Over time it becomes so strong and heavy that it kills trees and pulls them down," Tiani said of the invasive plant.
The Harding "Green Team," working with Groundwork Bridgeport as paid summer interns, is partnering this year with the city of Bridgeport in a project to remove a multiflora rose and garlic mustard infestation in Veterans Memorial Park.
The city is seeking a $49,236 grant from the DEP to clean up a section of the 107-acre park. Another section of the park and wetlands, near the proposed Discovery Magnet School, will be cleaned up as part of the $31 million inter-district school project.
Getting rid of invasive plants is essential to preserving the city's parklands and wildlife, officials say.
Continued at Link
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Congress Approves Funds For Invasive Species Prevention
By KBJR News 1
Congress has granted nearly 1–million dollars to help slow the spread of invasive species into the Great Lakes Chain.
President Obama signed the bill into law this week, which will help researchers test various ways to treat ballast water before it's discharged into the lakes.
For more than 20 years invasive species have hitch hiked their way into the Great Lakes causing a wide range of economic and environmental problems.
From clogging water pipes to interfering with the lake's natural ecology, many environmental agencies have worked hard to slow the spread of these exotic pests.
The new funding will go towards the Great Ships Initiative which aims to do just that.
"The goal of the great ships initiative is to try to find ballast water treatment methods so that the water can be cleaned or sterilized before it is transported between one place to another."
Continued at Link
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Henry Hudson's majestic view altered by invasives
By Michael Risinit, LoHud.com
PHILIPSTOWN, NY - The slice of the Hudson River visible from a bluff on Little Stony Point in Philipstown probably appears much as it did to Henry Hudson and his crew aboard the Half Moon 400 years ago...
...The river was full of fish to levels that are just about unimaginable today," said Fran Dunwell, director of the state's Hudson River Estuary Program. "It was a very rich natural environment."
Dunwell recently wrote "The Hudson America's River." Waterfowl and other birds, she said, darkened the sky where they flew. Oak trees grew 70 feet tall without knots, perfect for shipbuilding. The banks, according to Juet, contained a "great store of goodly Oakes and Wal-nut trees and Chest-nut trees. Ewe trees and trees of sweet wood in great abundance, and great store of slate for houses, and other good stones."
Marshes lined most of the river, not just at Piermont, Iona Island and a few other places as they do today. Chairmaker's rush, horned pondweeds and umbrella sedge are gone, replaced by cattails and phragmites (aka common reed).
But seeds from the original plants are found in sediment cores pulled from the existing marshes, said Dorothy Peteet, a NASA senior researcher and an adjunct scientist with the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in Palisades.
"We can see back in time," Peteet said. "I think it was vastly different. You had this diversity which would have gone up the food chain."
Read the full article at Link
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American chestnut ready to reign again
BY MORGAN SIMMONS SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
After decades of selective breeding and countless hours of fieldwork, researchers believe they have developed an American chestnut tree that is ready to reclaim the Appalachian forests.
The first batch of these blight-resistant chestnut seedlings arrived recently at a greenhouse on the agricultural campus of the University of Tennessee, where workers trimmed the roots and identified each tree with a numbered tag.
The trees -- 1,200 in all -- were planted in three Southern national forests as a groundbreaking experiment to determine if decades of crossbreeding have produced a chestnut tree that is blight-resistant yet retains the superior timber qualities of the American chestnut tree.
"This is the very first planting of the final generation and the culmination of a lot of hard work," said Scott Schlarbaum, forest geneticist with the UT Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries.
The trees were grown in a Georgia nursery in cooperation with the American Chestnut Foundation, an organization dedicated to restoring the American chestnut.
The American chestnut accounted for 25 percent of all the trees in the Appalachian mountains until a blight virtually eliminated them between 1904 and 1950.
Today, the airborne bark fungus still survives and kills virtually all American chestnuts by the time they've reached 20 feet in height.
For more than 30 years, the American Chestnut Foundation has been crossing Chinese chestnuts, which are naturally resistant to the blight, with American chestnuts to produce a super hybrid that can be reintroduced in the wild. Only American chestnuts that demonstrate natural blight resistance qualify for the breeding program, and scientists have been careful to breed trees from local environments.
Of the 1,200-year-old chestnut seedlings brought to the UT greenhouse, 500 were the blight-resistant hybrids. The remaining trees were either pure American chestnut, pure Chinese chestnut or hybrid trees from an intermediate back-cross generation.
Earlier this year, the 4-foot-tall seedlings were planted on national forest lands throughout the Southern Appalachian region. In the coming years, researchers will regularly monitor the trees for blight resistance, mortality and growth characteristics.
Stacy Clark, research forester for the Forest Service's Southern Research Station, said American chestnuts were renowned for their straight-grained wood and rapid growth rate.
"We want these trees to be blight-resistant, but also competitive," Clark said. "They're going out into the forest where they'll have to grow quickly to get above the deer browse, and compete with species like yellow poplar and red maple."
The goal of the American Chestnut Foundation was to breed a blight-resistant tree that is genetically 94 percent American chestnut. The foundation chose the Southern Appalachians as the proving ground for the final generation of seedlings because the region was once a stronghold for the American chestnut.
Clark, who leads the study for the U.S. Forest Service, said she is especially excited about two milestones in the trees' development: the fourth year of growth, which will reveal if the trees have held their own against competing species; and years 10 through 20, when American chestnuts normally succumb to the blight.
"If the trees are blight-resistant, we'll definitely know by that time," Clark said.
The chestnut blight robbed the Eastern forest of its undisputed champion. American chestnuts routinely grew 4 feet across and 120 feet high, and lived for centuries. The nuts were an important food source for a wide range of wildlife, and the rot-resistant wood was a prized building material.
Clark said that if the final generation of crossbred chestnuts survives in the national forests, this will raise great hopes about other species, like hemlocks and ash trees, that are being destroyed by nonnative pests.
"If we can restore this tree to its natural habitat, it will be the greatest success story in natural resource conservation," Clark said. Link
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Local anglers weigh in on aquatic weed control in Tennessee
Daimon Duggar, MarionCountyNews.net
Though many in Marion County are disappointed with last year’s decision by the Tennessee Valley Authority’s to discontinue aquatic weed control in the Nickajack reservoir, there is another segment of the community that couldn’t be happier: Fishermen.
According to a number of local fishermen and those in the fishing industry, TVA’s aquatic weed control program presents a danger to one of the area’s most popular sports and pastimes.
Last Saturday, March 7, dozens of fishermen and fishing enthusiasts gathered at Sullivan’s Landing on Highway 41 for the annual Grassmasters fishing tournament. The name of the competition says it all and reflects the opinion of many regarding the indispensable nature of aquatic growth as it relates to fishing.
“(Aquatic weed control) is really hard on the fish,” said fisherman Darren “Dobie” Kilgore. “It kills grass on humps. If they only did it in channels it wouldn’t be a big deal.”
A common complaint among fishermen is that the weed control program is non-selective. In addition to killing invasive exotic species, many feel, the long standing program also killed native aquatic grasses that allow the reservoirs variety of fish, including large mouth bass, to thrive.
“Grass helps the whole ecosystem. We used to have a good bank but not any more. It has been bad for 10 years,” said Marion County resident and fisherman Roger Kendrick...
...Avid fisherman and stakeholder Jim Henry worries that TVA’s discontinuance of their weed control problem will be more of a detriment to fishing than would unfettered growth however.
“It’s a mess and its going to be a lot worse,” said Henry. “There’s a lot of spots that you won’t be able to get to now. Mullin’s cove, for example. It was already hard to navigate it. This year I think its going to be impossible. This year will absolutely be worse.”
Only time will tell the wisdom of TVA’s new policy. But for fishermen and stakeholders alike, aquatic weed control in the Nickajack Reservoir will continue to be a growing problem.
Read the full article at Link
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South East Exotic Pest Plant Council 11th Annual Symposium
Creating Sustainable Landscapes for the Future
May 13-15, 2009
Quality Inn and Suites
Georgetown, SC
Agenda and Registration available online. Go to http://www.se-eppc.org/2009/ for all conference information.
Deadline to Register and Reserve hotel room: April 13, 2009.
Plenary speaker topics to include:
- Raising funds for your invasive species project
- Innovative approaches to effective invasive programs through partnerships
- Invasive plants from the perspective of the nursery/landscape industry
Other topics addressed through platform presentations and field trips include:
- Current research in invasive plant control and land restoration
- Building communication and consensus among key players
- Building cooperative weed and invasive species management areas
- Early Detection and Rapid Response efforts
- Control of tidal marsh invasives (ie. Chinese tallow, phragmites)
- And more!
Wonderful fieldtrips, workshops, and social events planned!
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'Red Baron' Nabbed In Baltimore
WBAL Radio as reported by Scott Wykoff
A Customs and Border Protection plant seed interception was confirmed on Monday (3/9/09) as the Baltimore area’s first reported discovery of cogon grass weed seed, aka Red Baron grass seed, and just as the legendary Red Baron was a menace to allied fighters during World War I, Red Baron grass has become a despised invasive weed throughout parts of the United States.
During a routine inspection on Friday at the Baltimore seaport, CBP agriculture specialists discovered weed seeds littered among non-compliant wood packing in a container of travertine tile that arrived from Turkey. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture pest identifier database determined the seeds to be Imperata cylindrica, or cogon grass, a Federal Noxious Weed, and confirmed that this is Baltimore’s first Red Baron seed report.
According to the USDA, cogon grass is an invasive weed from Asia that spreads quickly and disrupts ecosystems, reduces wildlife habitat and can decrease tree seedling growth and establishment. Cogon grass is considered one of the 10 worst invasive plant species in the world and is listed as a federal noxious weed. Cogon grass is believed to have invaded more than one million acres in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, and Texas.
“This interception is a significant find for our agriculture specialists, and it further illustrates our continued commitment to protect America’s agriculture industry and our economy from invasive insect pests and plants,” said James Swanson, CBP Port Director for the Port of Baltimore. “Invasive species pose dire consequences on our nation’s economy, potentially more so than even a single terrorist act could have.”
CBP issued an Emergency Action Notification to the importer to immediately re-export the container. Link
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Call for volunteers in Virginia for first Invasive Plant Removal Day on May 2
(Media-Newswire.com) - Volunteers are needed across the Commonwealth to help remove invasive plants that are wreaking havoc on Virginia’s landscape. The Virginia Master Naturalists and the Virginia Native Plant Society are seeking help Saturday, May 2nd at locations throughout Virginia in the first ever Invasive Plant Removal Day.
“From kudzu to English Ivy to tree of heaven, there are dozens of invasive species that are causing both ecological and economical harm,” said Michelle Prysby, Virginia Master Naturalist coordinator. “These invasive plants out-compete native species for the same resources, eventually harming trees, wildlife and water quality.”
The Virginia Native Plant Society and the Virginia Master Naturalists are sponsoring this event. Activities are being coordinated locally, and interested people can learn more about how and where they can help by going to www.virginiamasternaturalist.org/invasives/index.html .
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Feds release invaders to save native plants
BY JIM WAYMER • FLORIDA TODAY
They're using new invaders to devour old ones. And while these weevils gobble, they won't wolf down the plants that belong in Florida.
To give native plants a fighting chance, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this year announced a $16.6 million plan to send at least 14 invasive bug species on seek-and-destroy missions.
Biologists would set the insects free -- some just a few miles from Brevard County -- along 18,000 square miles from south of Orlando to the Florida Reef Tract in an effort to preserve the character of the Everglades.
They say the bugs will spread to the Space Coast and beyond. And they assure their introduction won't trigger further ecological harm.
"You don't let these things go and . . . forget about them," said Donald Strong, an ecologist and "biocontrol" expert at the University of California, Berkeley. "In the large majority of cases, the insects are chosen and put through rigorous tests based on the fact that they don't attack other things."
The invasive insects in coming years would control Florida's massive problem with melaleuca, Brazilian pepper, Old World climbing fern and Australian pine...
...The insects won't completely wipe out the targeted trees, just keep them in check. That could take two decades or longer.
The melaleuca weevil, for example, can eat away about 98 percent of the tree's seed production, said Ted Center, research leader in Davie.
"What we're basically doing is biologically sterilizing the tree. We're not eliminating the plant. We're neutering it," Center said...
...In addition to melaleuca, the Corps proposes to fight three other notorious invasive plants with insects.
Brazilian pepper: Unlike melaleuca, no one's quite sure how it got here. Most credit a doctor in Port Charlotte. Fond of how the tree looked, he raised hundreds of them in the 1920s, passing them to friends. The Corps hopes a sawfly, a thrips and a weevil can undo the doctor's good work.
Old World climbing fern: Two moths, a gall mite and a stem borer will tackle this much more recent invasion. A Delray Beach nursery introduced the fern -- a native of Africa, Asia and Australia -- in the late 1950s.
Australian pine: A seed wasp planned for release in the next few years holds the most promise to battle back the Australian pine, introduced to Florida in the late 1800s.
Although some past "biocontrols" grew into problems themselves, government biologists assure their extreme caution and long, careful study make these insects the best way to restore a more natural state.
Read the full article at Link
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U.S. Birds Struggling to Survive
WASHINGTON, DC, March 19, 2009 (ENS) - Nearly one-third of the more than 800 bird species in the United States are endangered, threatened or in decline due to climate change, habitat loss, and invasive species, finds the first comprehensive report ever produced on U.S. bird populations.
At a news conference in Washington today, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar released the report, which was developed by a partnership among the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, state government wildlife agencies and nongovernmental organizations...
"Just as they were when Rachel Carson published "Silent Spring" nearly 50 years ago, birds today are a bellwether of the health of land, water and ecosystems," Salazar said. "From shorebirds in New England to warblers in Michigan to songbirds in Hawaii, we are seeing disturbing downward population trends that should set off environmental alarm bells. We must work together now to ensure we never hear the deafening silence in our forests, fields and backyards that Rachel Carson warned us about."
...Invasive plants and animals are major threats. Domestic and feral cats kill hundreds of millions of birds each year. Island nesting birds, particularly seabirds, are vulnerable since they nest on the ground or in burrows and are preyed upon by rats, foxes, cats, dogs, and mongooses.
Read the full article at Link
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Vitex eradication effort gains traction
Group tallies past year's accomplishments
By Gareth McGrath, StarNewsOnline.com
Fort Fisher, North Carolina - The invasive plant has been discovered in Virginia and in places in North Carolina thought to be vitex-free.
But that's not necessarily a bad thing, since it shows that the educational and outreach efforts of the Carolinas Beach Vitex Task Force about the menace posed by the foreign invader are working.
It also shows, however, that there's a lot of work to do to eradicate the shrub. It is native to the Pacific Rim and was once viewed as the savior of the coast, but it's turned out to be a huge biological menace.
On Friday members of the task force gathered at the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher to celebrate the past year's successes and discuss the remaining challenges facing the multi-state effort to eradicate beach vitex.
Among the 2008 accomplishments included getting North Carolina to declare beach vitex a noxious weed, making it illegal to be sold or possessed by nurseries or individuals, and securing a $128,000 grant for coastal eradication and educational efforts.
But Melanie Doyle, the state's beach vitex task force coordinator and horticulturist at the aquarium, said there's been an even bigger success over the past year.
"What I'm most proud about is nothing's been mandated by anyone," she said, ticking off the local and voluntary support up and down the coast that the task force has received in promoting eradication efforts. "This has all come about because of people who care."
But with greater awareness of the threat posed by vitex has come the reality of how big the problem is in North Carolina.
"We've got vitex in the northern part of the state," said Dale Suiter, a Raleigh-based biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Just a year ago, we didn't know that."
So far there are more than 400 known locations, including worrisome outbreaks along inland waterways that dramatically increases the amount of shoreline to survey. Link
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Fire service's newest toy burns invading grasses on Mullica River, NJ
By LEE PROCIDA, PressofAtlanticCity.com
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, NJ - The thumping sound of helicopter blades preceded the state Forest Fire Service’s Bell 206 JetRanger as it flew south over the Mullica River and turned to survey Hog Island, where it burned 132 acres of reeds Friday morning.
Hanging out the side was Rob Gill, an aerial ignition specialist, who would be operating the service’s new fire-starting device mounted to the helicopter, “The Red Dragon.”
Generically referred to as a plastic-sphere dispenser, the dragon is filled with paintball-like orbs containing potassium permanganate. When turned on, the machine injects the balls with antifreeze and drops them to the ground, where the mixture of chemicals bursts into flames about a minute later.
The group recently cooperated with the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife to spray herbicide over an infestation of phragmites, and is now paying the fire service a few thousand dollars to burn the invasive plants away to make room for native flora and fauna.
“Global warming aside, phragmites is the No. 1 threat to the health of our estuaries,” said Emile DeVito, manager of science for the NJ Conservation Foundation, who was familiar with Friday’s project. “It basically consumes all the habitat and virtually wipes out all the species.”
On the Atlantic County bank of the river, a crowd of trucks and people assembled to watch the blaze. A red fire service truck was parked near an Egg Harbor City police SUV in case the fire jumped the water, and a couple other pickup trucks were around from the locals fishing.
Continued at Link
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Weed removal money sought in Massachusetts
By JOHN APPLETON, The Republican
BRIMFIELD, MA - The Lake Sherman Association is asking the town for financial help while also seeking grants to cover the $10,300 cost of removing invasive weeds which have been dramatically spreading the past few years.
Association president Robert Chevalier said the $10,300 figure is based on a price quote from Lycott Environmental, Inc., of Southbridge, MA for a chemical treatment this spring to wipe out what has been identified as aquatic variegated milfoil.
The 55-member lake association is basing its case for financial assistance from the town in part on the fact that the town has a boat launch at the pond and that people go in swimming from the launch area.
"It's a landmark for the town and for anyone who is close to this town," said David W. McVeigh, a member of the association.
"We are trying to preserve it in any way we can," McVeigh said.
The association has applied to the Norcross Foundation for a grant for the weed eradication work and is considering other grant possibilities.
"We have been working on trying to get funding for three or four years," said Janet L. Hastings, the association vice president. Association members told the selectmen last week that the weeds already interfere with swimming and boating and, if left unchecked, they can spread to the point of choking the lake, which is only 12 feet deep at its deepest point. Link
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Waging war on invasive plants in Connecticut
By Keila Torres, ConnPost.com
Invasive plants are taking over the state's parklands and killing off native species, throwing fragile eco-systems into turmoil as wildlife is starved of its natural food source.
Invasive species -- including Oriental bittersweet and Japanese barberry -- have become a widespread problem around the state, said Todd Mervosh, a weed scientist for the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven.
This year, the state Department of Environmental Protection is offering cities and towns grants to get rid of the annoying, non-native plants that have cropped up and taken root here.
The invasive species "are displacing the native vegetation, the plants that have always been here as part of our ecological system," Mervosh said. "There are a lot of animal species that co-exist with these native species, that depend on them."
Oriental bittersweet, an Asian vine with yellow fruit that entwines itself around other plants, is considered by many the "worst invasive plant in the state," he said.
Richard Tiani, executive director of Groundwork Bridgeport, said a group of Harding High School students working with his agency has also found a lot of Japanese barberry -- a vine that wraps around trees -- during their cleanup efforts in Bridgeport's parks and in surrounding towns.
"Over time it becomes so strong and heavy that it kills trees and pulls them down," Tiani said of the invasive plant.
The Harding "Green Team," working with Groundwork Bridgeport as paid summer interns, is partnering this year with the city of Bridgeport in a project to remove a multiflora rose and garlic mustard infestation in Veterans Memorial Park.
The city is seeking a $49,236 grant from the DEP to clean up a section of the 107-acre park. Another section of the park and wetlands, near the proposed Discovery Magnet School, will be cleaned up as part of the $31 million inter-district school project.
Getting rid of invasive plants is essential to preserving the city's parklands and wildlife, officials say.
Continued at Link
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Congress Approves Funds For Invasive Species Prevention
By KBJR News 1
Congress has granted nearly 1–million dollars to help slow the spread of invasive species into the Great Lakes Chain.
President Obama signed the bill into law this week, which will help researchers test various ways to treat ballast water before it's discharged into the lakes.
For more than 20 years invasive species have hitch hiked their way into the Great Lakes causing a wide range of economic and environmental problems.
From clogging water pipes to interfering with the lake's natural ecology, many environmental agencies have worked hard to slow the spread of these exotic pests.
The new funding will go towards the Great Ships Initiative which aims to do just that.
"The goal of the great ships initiative is to try to find ballast water treatment methods so that the water can be cleaned or sterilized before it is transported between one place to another."
Continued at Link
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Henry Hudson's majestic view altered by invasives
By Michael Risinit, LoHud.com
PHILIPSTOWN, NY - The slice of the Hudson River visible from a bluff on Little Stony Point in Philipstown probably appears much as it did to Henry Hudson and his crew aboard the Half Moon 400 years ago...
...The river was full of fish to levels that are just about unimaginable today," said Fran Dunwell, director of the state's Hudson River Estuary Program. "It was a very rich natural environment."
Dunwell recently wrote "The Hudson America's River." Waterfowl and other birds, she said, darkened the sky where they flew. Oak trees grew 70 feet tall without knots, perfect for shipbuilding. The banks, according to Juet, contained a "great store of goodly Oakes and Wal-nut trees and Chest-nut trees. Ewe trees and trees of sweet wood in great abundance, and great store of slate for houses, and other good stones."
Marshes lined most of the river, not just at Piermont, Iona Island and a few other places as they do today. Chairmaker's rush, horned pondweeds and umbrella sedge are gone, replaced by cattails and phragmites (aka common reed).
But seeds from the original plants are found in sediment cores pulled from the existing marshes, said Dorothy Peteet, a NASA senior researcher and an adjunct scientist with the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in Palisades.
"We can see back in time," Peteet said. "I think it was vastly different. You had this diversity which would have gone up the food chain."
Read the full article at Link
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American chestnut ready to reign again
BY MORGAN SIMMONS SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
After decades of selective breeding and countless hours of fieldwork, researchers believe they have developed an American chestnut tree that is ready to reclaim the Appalachian forests.
The first batch of these blight-resistant chestnut seedlings arrived recently at a greenhouse on the agricultural campus of the University of Tennessee, where workers trimmed the roots and identified each tree with a numbered tag.
The trees -- 1,200 in all -- were planted in three Southern national forests as a groundbreaking experiment to determine if decades of crossbreeding have produced a chestnut tree that is blight-resistant yet retains the superior timber qualities of the American chestnut tree.
"This is the very first planting of the final generation and the culmination of a lot of hard work," said Scott Schlarbaum, forest geneticist with the UT Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries.
The trees were grown in a Georgia nursery in cooperation with the American Chestnut Foundation, an organization dedicated to restoring the American chestnut.
The American chestnut accounted for 25 percent of all the trees in the Appalachian mountains until a blight virtually eliminated them between 1904 and 1950.
Today, the airborne bark fungus still survives and kills virtually all American chestnuts by the time they've reached 20 feet in height.
For more than 30 years, the American Chestnut Foundation has been crossing Chinese chestnuts, which are naturally resistant to the blight, with American chestnuts to produce a super hybrid that can be reintroduced in the wild. Only American chestnuts that demonstrate natural blight resistance qualify for the breeding program, and scientists have been careful to breed trees from local environments.
Of the 1,200-year-old chestnut seedlings brought to the UT greenhouse, 500 were the blight-resistant hybrids. The remaining trees were either pure American chestnut, pure Chinese chestnut or hybrid trees from an intermediate back-cross generation.
Earlier this year, the 4-foot-tall seedlings were planted on national forest lands throughout the Southern Appalachian region. In the coming years, researchers will regularly monitor the trees for blight resistance, mortality and growth characteristics.
Stacy Clark, research forester for the Forest Service's Southern Research Station, said American chestnuts were renowned for their straight-grained wood and rapid growth rate.
"We want these trees to be blight-resistant, but also competitive," Clark said. "They're going out into the forest where they'll have to grow quickly to get above the deer browse, and compete with species like yellow poplar and red maple."
The goal of the American Chestnut Foundation was to breed a blight-resistant tree that is genetically 94 percent American chestnut. The foundation chose the Southern Appalachians as the proving ground for the final generation of seedlings because the region was once a stronghold for the American chestnut.
Clark, who leads the study for the U.S. Forest Service, said she is especially excited about two milestones in the trees' development: the fourth year of growth, which will reveal if the trees have held their own against competing species; and years 10 through 20, when American chestnuts normally succumb to the blight.
"If the trees are blight-resistant, we'll definitely know by that time," Clark said.
The chestnut blight robbed the Eastern forest of its undisputed champion. American chestnuts routinely grew 4 feet across and 120 feet high, and lived for centuries. The nuts were an important food source for a wide range of wildlife, and the rot-resistant wood was a prized building material.
Clark said that if the final generation of crossbred chestnuts survives in the national forests, this will raise great hopes about other species, like hemlocks and ash trees, that are being destroyed by nonnative pests.
"If we can restore this tree to its natural habitat, it will be the greatest success story in natural resource conservation," Clark said. Link
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Local anglers weigh in on aquatic weed control in Tennessee
Daimon Duggar, MarionCountyNews.net
Though many in Marion County are disappointed with last year’s decision by the Tennessee Valley Authority’s to discontinue aquatic weed control in the Nickajack reservoir, there is another segment of the community that couldn’t be happier: Fishermen.
According to a number of local fishermen and those in the fishing industry, TVA’s aquatic weed control program presents a danger to one of the area’s most popular sports and pastimes.
Last Saturday, March 7, dozens of fishermen and fishing enthusiasts gathered at Sullivan’s Landing on Highway 41 for the annual Grassmasters fishing tournament. The name of the competition says it all and reflects the opinion of many regarding the indispensable nature of aquatic growth as it relates to fishing.
“(Aquatic weed control) is really hard on the fish,” said fisherman Darren “Dobie” Kilgore. “It kills grass on humps. If they only did it in channels it wouldn’t be a big deal.”
A common complaint among fishermen is that the weed control program is non-selective. In addition to killing invasive exotic species, many feel, the long standing program also killed native aquatic grasses that allow the reservoirs variety of fish, including large mouth bass, to thrive.
“Grass helps the whole ecosystem. We used to have a good bank but not any more. It has been bad for 10 years,” said Marion County resident and fisherman Roger Kendrick...
...Avid fisherman and stakeholder Jim Henry worries that TVA’s discontinuance of their weed control problem will be more of a detriment to fishing than would unfettered growth however.
“It’s a mess and its going to be a lot worse,” said Henry. “There’s a lot of spots that you won’t be able to get to now. Mullin’s cove, for example. It was already hard to navigate it. This year I think its going to be impossible. This year will absolutely be worse.”
Only time will tell the wisdom of TVA’s new policy. But for fishermen and stakeholders alike, aquatic weed control in the Nickajack Reservoir will continue to be a growing problem.
Read the full article at Link
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South East Exotic Pest Plant Council 11th Annual Symposium
Creating Sustainable Landscapes for the Future
May 13-15, 2009
Quality Inn and Suites
Georgetown, SC
Agenda and Registration available online. Go to http://www.se-eppc.org/2009/ for all conference information.
Deadline to Register and Reserve hotel room: April 13, 2009.
Plenary speaker topics to include:
- Raising funds for your invasive species project
- Innovative approaches to effective invasive programs through partnerships
- Invasive plants from the perspective of the nursery/landscape industry
Other topics addressed through platform presentations and field trips include:
- Current research in invasive plant control and land restoration
- Building communication and consensus among key players
- Building cooperative weed and invasive species management areas
- Early Detection and Rapid Response efforts
- Control of tidal marsh invasives (ie. Chinese tallow, phragmites)
- And more!
Wonderful fieldtrips, workshops, and social events planned!
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'Red Baron' Nabbed In Baltimore
WBAL Radio as reported by Scott Wykoff
A Customs and Border Protection plant seed interception was confirmed on Monday (3/9/09) as the Baltimore area’s first reported discovery of cogon grass weed seed, aka Red Baron grass seed, and just as the legendary Red Baron was a menace to allied fighters during World War I, Red Baron grass has become a despised invasive weed throughout parts of the United States.
During a routine inspection on Friday at the Baltimore seaport, CBP agriculture specialists discovered weed seeds littered among non-compliant wood packing in a container of travertine tile that arrived from Turkey. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture pest identifier database determined the seeds to be Imperata cylindrica, or cogon grass, a Federal Noxious Weed, and confirmed that this is Baltimore’s first Red Baron seed report.
According to the USDA, cogon grass is an invasive weed from Asia that spreads quickly and disrupts ecosystems, reduces wildlife habitat and can decrease tree seedling growth and establishment. Cogon grass is considered one of the 10 worst invasive plant species in the world and is listed as a federal noxious weed. Cogon grass is believed to have invaded more than one million acres in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, and Texas.
“This interception is a significant find for our agriculture specialists, and it further illustrates our continued commitment to protect America’s agriculture industry and our economy from invasive insect pests and plants,” said James Swanson, CBP Port Director for the Port of Baltimore. “Invasive species pose dire consequences on our nation’s economy, potentially more so than even a single terrorist act could have.”
CBP issued an Emergency Action Notification to the importer to immediately re-export the container. Link
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Call for volunteers in Virginia for first Invasive Plant Removal Day on May 2
(Media-Newswire.com) - Volunteers are needed across the Commonwealth to help remove invasive plants that are wreaking havoc on Virginia’s landscape. The Virginia Master Naturalists and the Virginia Native Plant Society are seeking help Saturday, May 2nd at locations throughout Virginia in the first ever Invasive Plant Removal Day.
“From kudzu to English Ivy to tree of heaven, there are dozens of invasive species that are causing both ecological and economical harm,” said Michelle Prysby, Virginia Master Naturalist coordinator. “These invasive plants out-compete native species for the same resources, eventually harming trees, wildlife and water quality.”
The Virginia Native Plant Society and the Virginia Master Naturalists are sponsoring this event. Activities are being coordinated locally, and interested people can learn more about how and where they can help by going to www.virginiamasternaturalist.org/invasives/index.html .
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Feds release invaders to save native plants
BY JIM WAYMER • FLORIDA TODAY
They're using new invaders to devour old ones. And while these weevils gobble, they won't wolf down the plants that belong in Florida.
To give native plants a fighting chance, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this year announced a $16.6 million plan to send at least 14 invasive bug species on seek-and-destroy missions.
Biologists would set the insects free -- some just a few miles from Brevard County -- along 18,000 square miles from south of Orlando to the Florida Reef Tract in an effort to preserve the character of the Everglades.
They say the bugs will spread to the Space Coast and beyond. And they assure their introduction won't trigger further ecological harm.
"You don't let these things go and . . . forget about them," said Donald Strong, an ecologist and "biocontrol" expert at the University of California, Berkeley. "In the large majority of cases, the insects are chosen and put through rigorous tests based on the fact that they don't attack other things."
The invasive insects in coming years would control Florida's massive problem with melaleuca, Brazilian pepper, Old World climbing fern and Australian pine...
...The insects won't completely wipe out the targeted trees, just keep them in check. That could take two decades or longer.
The melaleuca weevil, for example, can eat away about 98 percent of the tree's seed production, said Ted Center, research leader in Davie.
"What we're basically doing is biologically sterilizing the tree. We're not eliminating the plant. We're neutering it," Center said...
...In addition to melaleuca, the Corps proposes to fight three other notorious invasive plants with insects.
Brazilian pepper: Unlike melaleuca, no one's quite sure how it got here. Most credit a doctor in Port Charlotte. Fond of how the tree looked, he raised hundreds of them in the 1920s, passing them to friends. The Corps hopes a sawfly, a thrips and a weevil can undo the doctor's good work.
Old World climbing fern: Two moths, a gall mite and a stem borer will tackle this much more recent invasion. A Delray Beach nursery introduced the fern -- a native of Africa, Asia and Australia -- in the late 1950s.
Australian pine: A seed wasp planned for release in the next few years holds the most promise to battle back the Australian pine, introduced to Florida in the late 1800s.
Although some past "biocontrols" grew into problems themselves, government biologists assure their extreme caution and long, careful study make these insects the best way to restore a more natural state.
Read the full article at Link
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U.S. Birds Struggling to Survive
WASHINGTON, DC, March 19, 2009 (ENS) - Nearly one-third of the more than 800 bird species in the United States are endangered, threatened or in decline due to climate change, habitat loss, and invasive species, finds the first comprehensive report ever produced on U.S. bird populations.
At a news conference in Washington today, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar released the report, which was developed by a partnership among the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, state government wildlife agencies and nongovernmental organizations...
"Just as they were when Rachel Carson published "Silent Spring" nearly 50 years ago, birds today are a bellwether of the health of land, water and ecosystems," Salazar said. "From shorebirds in New England to warblers in Michigan to songbirds in Hawaii, we are seeing disturbing downward population trends that should set off environmental alarm bells. We must work together now to ensure we never hear the deafening silence in our forests, fields and backyards that Rachel Carson warned us about."
...Invasive plants and animals are major threats. Domestic and feral cats kill hundreds of millions of birds each year. Island nesting birds, particularly seabirds, are vulnerable since they nest on the ground or in burrows and are preyed upon by rats, foxes, cats, dogs, and mongooses.
Read the full article at Link
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