February 27, 2012

New York drops ballast standards shippers fought

The Associated Press

Traverse City — New York state officials have backed away from tough regulations for ridding ballast water of invasive species that the maritime industry says would bring international shipping in the Great Lakes to a halt.

The rules, which had been scheduled to take effect in August 2013, would order cargo vessels to cleanse ballast water to a level at least 100 times stricter than international standards before releasing it. The shipping industry contends no technology exists to meet the New York requirement, although environmentalists disagree.

Shippers say the policy would prohibit any cargo ship without the required technology from traveling through New York territory on the St. Lawrence River, the gateway to the Great Lakes — effectively shutting down commercial traffic between the lakes and the Atlantic. ...

New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation said this week it was postponing the effective date of its rules until December 2013. Because they are tied to a federal permit that expires then, the state rules essentially are being canceled. ...

Read the full story at link.

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Invasive plant poses threat to the Great Marsh

By David Rattigan
The Boston Globe

Geoff Walker has watched the Phragmites australis grow for years, but a new study has proven what he already knew.

Typically, the invasive species that is also called the “common reed’’ starts on the marsh border and spreads, sometimes to the point where it crowds other plant species out. In recent years, that pattern had changed.

"About four of five years ago we looked out and saw tremendous amounts of emerging small stands of phragmites [spread around the marsh], which is atypical," said Walker, a Newbury selectman whose home abuts the Great Marsh [in Massachusetts]. "That is what that study brings to light, and that certain parts of our marsh are reaching a tipping point. Once that tipping point is reached, we could lose broad swaths of our productive, high marsh."

The study, released on Jan. 31, has confirmed anecdotal observations, and offered both bad and good news regarding the future of the Great Marsh.

The bad news is that the study found the rest of the northern portion of the marsh - in Newbury and Salisbury - was potentially vulnerable to the invasive plant species.

The good news is that it determined that efforts to contain the spread, including spraying, was an effective short-term solution. The suggestion from the report is that spraying and other techniques could be used to manage the species for the time being. ...

Read the full story at link.

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Supreme Court Refuses Request To Stop Invasive Fish From Spreading

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court won't order closure of shipping locks on Chicago-area waterways to prevent Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes.

The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Michigan and other Great Lakes states, who have been trying for immediate shutdown of the locks and a quicker timetable for other steps to halt the carp's northward march from the Mississippi River toward Lake Michigan. ...

Read the full story at link.

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November 156, 2011

The Norway Maple: New York's Ultimate Weed

Peak season for most foliage may be past but now it's time to take notice of this invasive tree, writes environmentalist David Bedell.

November is leaf season in New York state, and we are all understandably busy with the leaves at our feet. With peak foliage long past, this isn't normally time to take stock of the leaves still in the trees. This week in particular, though, is just right for looking up: What you see will illustrate very clearly how much one invasive tree is impacting our community.

The Norway maple is one of New York's ultimate weeds. Imported from Europe, it is a large tree whose leaves are very similar to the native sugar maple. The Norway maple has, unfortunately, a few characteristics which make it invasive -- destroying native ecosystems, causing trouble in yards and gardens, and creating visual blight. The tree's dense canopy shades out virtually all other plants and its roots secrete chemicals that inhibit the growth of competitors. It spreads prolifically to form pure stands that are completely opague. If you have a spot in your lawn where grass will not grow, there is a good chance the Norway maple growing overhead is responsible. The dense canopy blocks views that a native tree's more open canopy would preserve. And most insidious, the diversity and function of our local natural places is replaced with a sterile monotony...

Read the full story at link.

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Maryland investigating invasive Deep Creek Lake aquatic plant

Associated Press

OAKLAND — The Maryland Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday it is taking a closer look at an invasive aquatic plant in Deep Creek Lake that some area residents say could strangle the boating opportunities that make the mountain reservoir a tourist magnet.

Agency officials said at a public meeting that they will assess the distribution of Eurasian water milfoil across the entire lake over the next year and advise property owners on how to limit its effects.

“We realize that there’s been a lot of concern over the last year. People are complaining that it’s exploding over the lake,” said Bruce D. Michael, director of resource assessment.

The weed, called EWM for short, is a green, leafy plant with long, slender stalks. It grows in water up to 20 feet deep and forms dense mats that can entangle swimmers and hinder boats. It first arrived in Wisconsin in the 1960s and has become a nuisance nationwide.

Michael said EWM is found in virtually all Maryland lakes and the Chesapeake Bay but it only becomes a problem when it overruns other types of aquatic vegetation.

When that happens, Michael said, “there is no easy answer. We’re not going to be able to eradicate it.”

Some states have used herbicides to control EWM, and Wisconsin is experimenting with a bug, the milfoil weevil, that eats it...

Michael said a survey of six coves — a relatively small number — showed no expansion of EWM from 2010 to 2011.

Read the full story at link.

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Ballast Regulations Pass U.S. House Vote

By Sarah Kellogg

The U.S. House approved legislation today that would establish a national standard for cleaning ship ballast water to kill aquatic invasive species, but environmentalists say the legislation is too weak to prevent new foreign species from invading the Great Lakes.

The ballast water language was included in a measure that would authorize the U.S. Coast Guard through 2014, providing some $26 billion dollars in funding to keep the service afloat over the next three years. The legislation, which was passed on a voice vote, now moves to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

New Ballast Rule Would Override Stricter Regulations

The ballast water provision would override stricter tribal, state and federal regulations, allowing ships on the lakes to comply with a single national standard rather than having to accommodate a patchwork of more than two dozen tribal and state rules as they move through the Great Lakes waters. Enactment of this legislation would preempt efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard to impose tougher national ballast water rules.

Under the bill, the federal government would adopt the International Maritime Organization's proposed standard, which would require vessel operators to install technology to limit the number of live organisms in their ballast water.

Read the full story at link.

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November 4, 2011

Ballast standard up for vote

BY JOHN FLESHER
AP environmental writer

TRAVERSE CITY --Environmentalists tried to rally opposition Thursday to a proposed national policy for cleansing ship ballast water to kill invasive species, contending it is too weak and would pre-empt stronger state and federal rules.

The U.S. House was expected to vote as early as today on the measure, which comes as the Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to release its own regulations of ship ballast — a leading culprit in the spread of invaders such as zebra and quagga mussels in the Great Lakes and ocean coastal waters.

Sponsored by Rep. Frank LoBiondo, a New Jersey Republican, the bill would adopt a standard proposed by the International Maritime Organization limiting the number of live organisms that would be permitted in ballast water. Vessel operators would have to install technology to meet the standard.

The shipping industry has pushed for a single nationwide policy, saying the current patchwork of more than two dozen state and tribal regulatory systems is unworkable because vessels move constantly from one jurisdiction to another...

Environmental groups said the bill would prevent the EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard, which is also developing ballast rules, from imposing standards tough enough to make sure no more exotic species reach the Great Lakes.

About two-thirds of the 185 invasive species in the lakes are believed to have arrived in ballast water. They've done billions in damages and are implicated in a variety of ecological problems, from runaway algae blooms to a shortage of plankton crucial for the aquatic food web...

Read the full story at link.

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Week of March 7, 2011

Advocates reach invasive species deal with EPA

By JOHN FLESHER
Associated Press

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Environmental groups and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have reached a deal requiring tougher federal regulations for ships that dump ballast water in U.S. harbors, a leading way in which invasive species are spread.

Cargo ships often carry millions of gallons of water and sediments in ballast tanks to help keep vessels upright in rough seas. Ballast water teems with fish, bacteria and other organisms that are released as freight is taken on in port. Many of the foreign species spread rapidly, starve out native competitors and upset the ecological balance. Invaders such as zebra mussels cause billions of dollars each year in damage and economic losses.

EPA issued a 2008 permit requiring shippers to exchange their ballast water at sea or, if the tanks were empty, rinse them with salt water before entering U.S. territory. About a dozen environmental groups sued, contending the requirement was too weak and violated the federal Clean Water Act.

Under the settlement announced Tuesday, EPA will issue a new industry-wide permit limiting the number of live organisms in ballast water — a step that will require shippers to install sterilization equipment. The rule will apply to commercial ships over 79 feet long, exempting recreational and military craft.

The agency will release a draft for public comment by Nov. 30 and a final version within a year from then. It would give the industry an extra year to equip their vessels....

The U.S. Coast Guard also is developing regulations limiting the number of live organisms in ballast water, which are expected to be released by the end of April. At least a dozen states have rules or laws dealing with ballast water....

Read the full story at link.

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Week of February 7, 2011

Ships' ballast tanks getting new rules

Invasive species carried in the tanks have threatened many U.S. ecosystems

The Associated Press

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - After decades of delay, government officials are beginning to crack down on cargo ships that allow foreign invasive species to hitchhike to U.S. waters, where they have turned ecosystems upside down and caused billions of dollars in economic losses.

UC Davis research scientist Marion Wittmann holds a handful of Asian clams removed from the bottom of the lake near South Lake Tahoe, Calif. Government officials are beginning to crack down on cargo ships that allow foreign invasive species to hitchhike to U.S. waters.

Organisms as large as adult fish and as small as bacteria lurk in ship ballast tanks, which hold millions of gallons of water and sediments that keep vessels upright in rough seas. When the soupy mixtures are dumped in harbors as freight is taken on, the stowaways often find hospitable surroundings and no natural predators. They spread rapidly, starving out native species and spreading diseases in aquatic life.

Since arriving in the Great Lakes in the mid-1980s, the zebra mussel and its cousin the quagga mussel have clogged municipal and power plant water intake pipes. They're blamed for a Lake Huron salmon collapse and botulism that has killed thousands of shore birds. In San Francisco Bay, biologists say the Asian clam likely caused a decline of striped bass and other competitors for plankton.

Japanese shore crabs are threatening native clams and mussels from Maine to Chesapeake Bay, which is infested with 150-plus exotic species. Another invader, the spotted jellyfish, became so abundant in the Gulf of Mexico a decade ago they ripped apart fishing nets and caused a temporary halt to commercial shrimping.

"Larvae of almost every major group of invertebrates can be found in ballast water," said Tom Shirley, specialist with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. "Protozoa and bacteria thrive there, too."

Ballast is the biggest means of transport for the aquatic aliens, scientists say. Yet regulators have been slow to demand accountability from the shipping industry, which has long insisted there isn't adequate technology to make ballast tanks invader-free.

Now, agencies are turning up the heat as companies report progress toward developing effective sterilization systems. The Coast Guard says it will release final regulations by April limiting the number of live organisms in ballast water and let shippers decide how to comply.

The Environmental Protection Agency also has begun regulating discharges of ballast and other wastewater from vessels, although shippers and environmentalists sued. EPA is discussing settlements while crafting an updated discharge permit effective in 2013.

At least a dozen states also have ballast policies, leaving shippers increasingly worried about having to navigate a patchwork of requirements.

Industry groups contend a New York measure scheduled to take effect next year could bring traffic to a standstill on some of the nation's busiest waterways.

"You'll see the closure of the St. Lawrence Seaway," said Steve Fisher, executive director of the American Great Lakes Ports Association. "It would shut down about 50 percent of Great Lakes shipping and about all shipping in New York waters, including the Hudson River and the port of New York and New Jersey."

Jim Tierney, an executive in the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, said the agency was considering shippers' pleas for a grace period. Environmental groups want the department to stand its ground, pointing to findings by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that about 75 species are prime candidates to invade the Great Lakes, mostly through ballast water.

"Most clean-water laws assume it's OK to have a little pollution because it will dilute, evaporate, degrade," said Andy Buchsbaum, director of the National Wildlife Federation's office in Ann Arbor. "But invasive species are not like normal pollution. They reproduce and multiply. You have to keep the numbers as low as you possibly can to avoid reaching that critical mass where an entire water body will be colonized."

Since 2004, ships from overseas have been required to dump and replace ballast water, or rinse empty tanks, at least 200 miles from U.S. waters. But studies show that up to 30 percent of organisms remain alive in the tanks, said Andrew Cohen, director of the Center for Research on Aquatic Bioinvasions in Richmond, Calif.

Researchers have spent years developing methods of sanitizing ballast with ultraviolet light, chemicals, filters and even oxygen depletion.

A first draft of the Coast Guard regulations would adopt international limits on numbers of organisms per cubic meter of ballast water.

The ceilings would take effect next year for new vessels and be phased in over several years for existing ones. A second set of limits about 1,000 times stronger in establishing limits per cubic meter of ballast water would be imposed later if studies show that could be accomplished.

Environmentalists are pushing for a quicker timetable, while shippers want it lengthened.

Cmdr. Gary Croot, chief of the Coast Guard's Environmental Standards Division, said the final rules being released this spring will reflect public feedback. "We certainly don't want to establish a standard that no one can comply with," he said.

New York's standard, which takes effect in 2012, would be 100 times more stringent than the proposed Coast Guard limit on organisms. California has adopted even tougher standards, but regulators say enforcement may be delayed.

"There have been ship owners ready and willing to make investments in ballast water treatment technology who have held back because they don't want to spend a million dollars on some system that may have to be ripped out in five years because it doesn't meet the standards," said Jennifer Carpenter, senior vice president of American Waterways Operators.

EPA and the Coast Guard have commissioned studies to determine which standards and technology would work best. The number of live organisms permitted under the Coast Guard's draft policy is the equivalent of one drop of water in 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools, Croot said. Going significantly beyond that would be harder and costlier.

"If you want to make a car perfectly safe, conceivably that could be done, but at what expense?" Croot said.

Read the full story at The Portland Press Herald.

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Week of October 19, 2009

Updated 10/22. The latest news is at the bottom of this post.

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Culls Expand as the Deer Chomp Away

By JOSEPH BERGER, NY Times

TAIT E. JOHANSSON and James F. Nordgren do not hate animals.

In fact, they help run the Bedford Audubon Society, which protects birds and other wildlife in northeastern Westchester and eastern Putnam Counties. Yet, as they gaze across a meadow to a forest behind their headquarters here, their resolve is strengthened to support a measure that the public does not usually associate with conservation groups — deploying bowhunters to kill white-tailed deer.

What the two glimpse beyond the meadow is a four-foot-high void, called a browseline, under the dense stands of hickory, maple and oak trees. The void has been carved out by deer, which have gobbled up all the low-rise shrubs, wildflowers and saplings as efficiently as a hedge trimmer. With no trees younger than 20 years to speak of in those woods, these conservationists worry that in another 50 years there will be no forest left.

“As old trees die and there are no young trees replacing them, we could be looking at a barren landscape,” said Mr. Nordgren, the society’s executive director.

For a decade or so, towns, villages and counties in the New York region, similarly concerned about too many deer, have dispatched bowhunters and sometimes sharpshooters to cull the herds. But now the cull is getting bigger, as one of the largest local jurisdictions — Westchester County — allows culling for the first time in its own parkland, and a few towns and villages within that county are considering similar moves. What’s more, these places, more densely populated than many of the communities that currently authorize such culling, are focusing on bowhunting rather than shooting, for safety reasons. That preference is prompting criticism from animal-rights groups, who see bowhunting as particularly cruel.

Hunting with firearms is permitted throughout much of New York State, except in those counties, like Westchester, and towns that forbid it.

Westchester’s decision to allow bowhunting for culling purposes came after a county task force examined the issue for three years. Specifically, the county in August invited bowhunters to participate in a cull in two large Westchester preserves — Muscoot Farm Park and Lasdon Park. The 65 hunters, chosen from among 280 applicants, will thin the herds from early next month until year’s end. The hunters will not be paid for their work but can get as much venison as they want, with the rest going to food banks.

Westchester elected to allow only bowhunting to thin herds because it deemed that method to be relatively safe. Harming passers-by is less likely, the thinking goes, because a typical arrow has a range of no more than 30 yards, compared to a bullet’s 200 yards or more. And most archers hunt from 10-foot-high tree stands, so their arrows head downward. (The bows are fiberglass or carbon devices that, along with a set of aluminum arrows, can cost more than $1,000.) [...]

Conservationists like Mr. Nordgren bring additional concerns to the list of deer damage — by stripping the low-lying brush, they say, the deer threaten the local survival of species like the wood thrush and the Kentucky warbler, which need low-rise forests for nesting.

But in espousing hunting to thin the herds, these conservationists are running up against animal rights advocates — often their allies on other issues — who feel that killing deer is morally offensive and slaying them with arrows especially misguided. [...]

Supporters of culls point to the density of the deer population — like the herds on Ward Pound Ridge Reservation — and say that thinning such crowded herds is a kindness to the animals, not cruelty. “When there’s 60 per square mile, there is not enough food,” said Mr. Johansson, the naturalist at the Bedford Audubon Society. “We’re all animal rights people and from our point of view the deer are starving. We’re finding mature adults that are just 60 pounds.” [...]

Read the full article at link.

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Citizens mapping invasive species online

CitSci.org is an invasive species mapping program that allows citizens, school groups, and professionals to enter invasive species observations into a global database. The observations are then used for natural resource management, scientific studies, and environmental education. CitSci.org provides an opportunity for students and volunteers to perform field studies that contribute to our collective biological databases. You may submit your observations to our online database using our field tools. Link

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Notice of public meeting on ship ballast water

Standards for Living Organisms in Ships’ Ballast Water Discharged in U.S. Waters

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

SUMMARY: This notice provides the times and locations of two public meetings which will be held by the Coast Guard (USCG) regarding the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) entitled “Standards for Living Organisms in Ships’ Ballast Water Discharged in U.S. Waters” that published in the Federal Register on Friday, August 28, 2009.

DATES: Public meetings will be held in the Oakland, CA (October 27, 2009) and New York, NY (October 29, 2009)areas to provide opportunities for oral comments. The comment period for the NPRM closes on December 4, 2009. All comments and related material submitted after a meeting must either be submitted to our online docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or before December 4, 2009 or reach the Docket Management Facility by that date.

ADDRESSES: The public meetings will be held at the Marriott Oakland City Center, 1001 Broadway, Oakland, CA, 94607, on October 27, 2009, and the Marriott New York Downtown, 85 West Street at Albany Street, New York, NY, 10006, on October 29, 2009. All meetings will be held from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. local time unless otherwise noted. The meetings may conclude before the allotted time if all matters of discussion have been addressed.

You may submit written comments identified by docket number USCG-2001-10486 before or after the meeting using any one of the following methods:

(1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
(2) Fax: 202-493-2251.
(3) Mail: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC
20590-0001.
(4) Hand delivery: Same as mail address above, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329.

Our online docket for this rulemaking is available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov under docket number USCG-2001-10486.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this proposed rulemaking, call or e-mail Mr. John Morris, Project Manager, Environmental Standards Division, U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, telephone 202-372-1433, e-mail: John.C.Morris@uscg.mil.

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Week of June 22, 2009

Updated June 27
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Program on alien plants to be held at Five Rivers Center, NY

A program on the natural history of the common reed, or phragmites, will be conducted Tuesday, July 14, 7 PM, at Five Rivers Center, 56 Game Farm Road, Delmar, NY.

Phragmites is an invasive species that is threatening Five Rivers' wetlands. Join Center naturalists in a "plant posse" as we try to eradicate these plants near our pond by clipping them back. Bring gloves and clippers and dress for the outdoors.

This program is open to the public free of charge. Participants are urged to dress for outdoor activity. Water-friendly footgear is suggested. In the event of inclement weather this program may be canceled. For more information, call the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Five Rivers Environmental Education Center at (518) 475-0291.

Laurel Remus
Director of Public Affairs and Education

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Milfoil discovered in Lake Placid, NY

The Board of Trustees of the Lake Placid Shore Owners' Association (LPSOA) today reported that a strain or strains of milfoil have been discovered at three sites on Lake Placid. Over the past week, two separate samples were removed from Paradox Bay and one from East Lake. Biologists working with the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) have tentatively identified two of the samples as Variable Leaf Milfoil (VLM).

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension describes Variable Leaf Milfoil as "an aggressive aquatic plant that can form dense mats that congest waterways and crowd out native aquatic plants. Thick growth of this plant can impair recreational uses of waterways including boating, swimming and fishing. Dense growth of variable-leaf milfoil degrades the native habitat of fish and other wildlife, and may also provide breeding areas for mosquitoes. The main method of dispersal of this plant appears to be fragmentation. Plant fragments are moved around by people, animals and water currents."

APIPP has not yet listed VLM as an aquatic invasive species, but has placed it on an invasives watch list. Locally, VLM is the dominant milfoil growth on Lake Flower in the Village of Saranac Lake, and is found on Long, and Raquette Lakes among others.

Lake Placid Shore Owners' Association President Mark Wilson released the following statement:

"The discovery of this potentially aggressive plant in our waters marks a significant moment in the natural history of Placid Lake, as well as a turning point for the broader Lake Placid/North Elba community and communities throughout the region. The threat posed by invasive organisms to our environment, and ultimately to the economic livelihood of our region is serious and advancing. The Village of Lake Placid, Town of North Elba, Shore Owner's Association, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and other state and local agencies need to act quickly to contain any existing colonies of VLM and work to prevent any further introduction of aggressive aquatic plants into our lake."

State agencies, local governments and private boat launch owners throughout the northern Adirondacks must take responsibility for preventing the export of invasive or nuisance aquatic organisms by boats and trailers leaving their launch sites."

On Friday, June 26 and Sunday, June 28, APIPP personnel and LPSOA volunteers will be mapping outbreak locations on Paradox Bay and on East Lake in the vicinity of the Lake Placid Marina and the adjacent DEC boat launch site. Boaters operating in these areas are urged to do so with utmost caution and to avoid driving through any aquatic weed patch visible beneath the lake surface.

Posted by Mark Wilson
Adirondack Almanac

Illustration from the
MINNESOTA SHORELAND MANAGEMENT RESOURCE GUIDE

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2009 Southeast Herbicide Applicator Conference

September 22-24, 2009
Edgewater Beach Resort
Panama City Beach, Florida

Registration is now open for the 2009 Southeast Herbicide Applicator Conference.

The registration fee, combined with funds contributed by the generous sponsors, provides each attendee the educational program, course materials, a Book of Presentations, morning, mid-day and afternoon refreshments, the Tuesday evening networking social and Wednesday's welcome reception.

Early Reduced Registration Fee (By July 31, 2009) $225.00

Guest Fee (10 years of age and older) $75.00

Click here to view the agenda.

For additional information and updates on the conference, please bookmark and visit our website http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=sin5i7cab.0.0.7x7uzlcab.0&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.conference.ifas.ufl.edu%2Fsehac&id=preview.

Jhanna Gilbert, Conference Coordinator
University of Florida, IFAS
UF Leadership & Education Foundation, Inc.
Office of Conferences & Institutes

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WEBINAR Announcement – Emerald Ash Borer in New York: The Insect, The Impact, and Your Options

The emerald ash borer (EAB) was detected in western New York on June 14, 2009. Although the insect was anticipated, its presence will result in significant changes in both rural and urban woodlands throughout the state. In other states, infestation by EAB resulted in significant losses among all ash species and unexpected stress on rural and urban owners, communities and businesses.

An Internet webinar will be offered on Thursday June 25 at 10:00 AM (eastern). Participation in the webinar requires a high-speed Internet connection and speakers to listen. The webinar will address the insect, its potential impact in New York, options for management, and identify sources of information. The webinar will be interactive and presented by Mark Whitmore of the Cornell University Department of Natural Resources. The webinar is free, but participants must register through http://www.forestconnect.info/ to receive the URL to connect. More information about webinars is available at the ForestConnect website. The webinar will be recorded and available for subsequent viewing. Webinar technology is made available through Cornell University Cooperative Extension. More information about the emerald ash borer in New York is available at http://nyis.info/.

If you have previously registered for webinars through ForestConnect, you do not need to re-register.

Peter J. Smallidge
NYS Extension Forester and Director, Arnot Teaching and Research Forest
Cornell University
116 Fernow HallIthaca, NY 14853

http://www.forestconnect.info/
http://www.cornellmaple.info/
http://www.arnotforest.info/

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EAB Webinar available online

Great effort by Peter Smallidge, Mark Whitmore, Holly Menninger and others to make available the 06-25 EAB webinar. 06-25-09 Emerald Ash Borer presentation by Mark Whitmore-Cornell is available at http://breeze.cce.cornell.edu/p16366720/

One of many archived resource PPTs from http://www.forestconnect.info/

Re: Monitoring or reporting suspected occurrence: EAB Incident Command System contact is Russ Biss, DEC Region 9 Natural Resources Supervisor. He can be reached at the command post at 716-938-6181. He may refer callers to others, depending on the nature of the call.

Paul Fuhrmann
ecology and environment, inc.
http://www.ene.com/

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Handling eco-squatters in Kentucky

By JOHN FRIEDLEIN, The News-Enterprise (http://www.thenewsenterprise.com/)

As the saying goes, when a butterfly flaps its wings in China, a hurricane is created somewhere else in the world.

Well, what if a gypsy moth flaps its wings in Kentucky?

All sorts of things we’d probably never guess would happen are happening as invasive species overrun this region.

Those purple traps dangling from more than 100 trees in Hardin County, for instance, are part of a larger battle that may help keep the baseball bat industry from striking out.

Also, the proliferation of non-native species may even lead to more crime, said Songlin Fei, a University of Kentucky professor who has spent a lot of time mapping and monitoring invasives.

He called the situation created by their spread “critical.”

This state could play a crucial role keeping them in check. Because of its unique geographical position, it’s one of the key areas for stopping or slowing the assault, according to UK’s Invasive Species Working Group.

Emerald ash borers – whose spread is monitored by the purple traps – are just one of many invasive species wreaking havoc in the state. Fire ants are marching across the Tennessee border. Gypsy moths — which, like the borers, defoliate trees — are tramping into the northeastern part of Kentucky. Kudzu — well, don’t lie down too long outside. [...]

Read the full story at link

John Friedlein can be reached at (270) 505-1746 or jfriedlein@ thenewsenterprise.com. His Stories from the Heartland column appears Mondays in The News-Enterprise.

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Invasive species impact Pennsylvania's 2009 bass forecast

By Mike Bleech, Pennsylvania Game and Fish

The biggest news in Pennsylvania bass fishing over the past few years has been problems with smallmouth bass recruitment in the Susquehanna River. However, this should not mislead bass anglers into thinking that the outlook for 2009 is anything less than very good. Bad news makes better headlines than good news. There are plenty of good stories to tell.

DISEASE ALERT

However, before the good news there is an important message for Keystone State bass anglers about measures they can take to protect our bass resources. Largemouth bass virus has been documented in Pennsylvania since about 2005, most notably at Francis J. Sayers Lake, a lake in the central part of the commonwealth, which is extremely popular among bass tournament anglers.

More recently another virus, viral hemorrhagic septicemia, was detected in the Great Lakes. Regulations have been adopted in all Great Lakes states to prevent its spread. Guidelines for anglers are about the same as those for preventing the spread of largemouth bass virus, but there are specific regulations governing the movement of fish.

"I think prevention and awareness are important among anglers," said Bob Lorantas, Warmwater Unit leader for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. "It's best not to move bass around because you could potentially be introducing something you really don't want. And certainly if you fish out of state a lot, or fish a lot of different waters, using the sterilization techniques that are effective for zebra mussels would be a good procedure to avoid harming your favorite bass water."

Lorantas said that anglers should check the boat, motor and trailer for hitchhikers including weeds when they remove their boat from the water.

"Wash the boat hull with hot water or a high-pressure spray," he advised. "Drain the livewell, bilge and other compartments, and drain all standing water from the boat. Do not dump leftover bait into the water where you are fishing unless you collected the bait there.

"You may want to refrain from moving fish from Point A to Point B anywhere in the state because you run the risk of transporting harmful creatures that you really don't want to move around: microorganisms, disease organisms in particular, things that may actually do more harm than good," Lorantas said.

Anglers have done great damage to countless fisheries because they introduced nuisance invasive species. Sometimes this has been accidental, but in many cases, it has been intentional.

Often, anglers have introduced fish into waters because they wanted to create new fisheries for their favorite fish. In many cases, the results have been disastrous. A classic case is the carp, which was brought to America centuries ago by colonists. In Europe this species had been, and still is, highly prized, but in America it's still considered a "trash fish" that muddies the water, ruins habitat and devours the eggs of more popular species. [...]

Read the full article at link.

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Microbes may be answer to invasive mussels

Posted By MATTHEW VAN DONGEN, STANDARD STAFF

An eco-friendly bacteria that kills invasive mussels will be tested for the first time in Canada at the Decew Falls hydro plant.

Ontario Power Generation will monitor the specialized microbe's ability to kill zebra and quagga mussels, which threaten power production at the combined 170-megawatt power stations on Twelve Mile Creek in St. Catharines.

Normally, the power producer uses up to 20,000 litres of chlorine every year to control the tiny mussels at its Niagara generators, said Tony Van Oostrom, a senior environmental adviser for OPG.

"If we don't treat it, our cooling systems get plugged and the plant shuts down," Van Oostrom said of the fast-multiplying mussels, which are notorious for plugging water-intake pipes, ruining underwater machinery and coating the underside of boats.

Chlorine kills mussels, but it can also poison fish, plants and other aquatic life.

Van Oostrom said OPG has managed to cut down its total chlorine use from 100,000 litres a year over the last decade. "But if this works, we could stop using it completely," he said.

It has worked incredibly well in smaller-scale tests so far, said Daniel Molloy, a scientist with the New York State Museum who discovered the potential of Pseudomas fluorescens.

"We tested this bacteria in many small-scale trials," Molloy told a crowd at the announcement at Decew Falls Generating Station Tuesday. "It kills zebra and quagga mussels, but even more importantly, no other aquatic organism died. This is extraordinary."

Molloy has teamed up with a California company, Marrone Bio Innovations, to market the bacteria as a product. "This is not only the first Canadian trial for my little bacterium, but the first worldwide trial ... on this scale," he said.

The mashed-up microbes are introduced into the water as a food source for the bacteria-loving mollusks, which won't clam up to protect themselves as they do with chemical killers.

"They eat the stuff, they're happy and then they're dead," said Van Oostrom, who plans to have a full-scale test of the bacteria running by August.

Read the full story at link.

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Maryland: Commissioners consider changes to weed-control ordinance

By HEATHER KEELS, The Herald-Mail

WASHINGTON COUNTY — As they considered potential changes to the county’s weed-control ordinance Tuesday morning, the Washington County Commissioners heard feedback from people with two very different visions for the future of residential subdivisions.

One side values the suburban tradition of neat, weed-free lawns with carpets of 2 1/2-inch grass.

The other, promoted by Washington County Soil Conservation District Manager Elmer Weibley, predicts a future in which tall, native grasses are not only permitted, but could be required in parts of new residential subdivisions as an environmental management strategy. [...]

Read the full story at link.

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Popular or not, Maryland DNR is doing the right thing

Gail Mackiernan, Silver Spring

I want to respond to June 17 letters relative to the Department of Natural Resources' decision to eliminate exotic mute swans from the Chesapeake Bay. I continue to wonder why the writers express so little concern for the plight of the native species directly and indirectly harmed by mute swans.

These range from threatened water birds to blue crabs and other animals that depend on submerged vegetation for survival. (And make no mistake, mute swans eat a lot of Bay grasses, as has been shown in numerous peer-reviewed studies. These data are easy to find but some choose to ignore it.)

It is unfortunate that many are vocal in seeking protection for this voracious and aggressive bird while showing no concern over its impacts on our many beautiful native creatures or on the Bay environment itself.

Have they ever seen our native tundra swans flying in like white ghosts, to land in the autumn Bay after their long journey south from the Arctic? And, have they then seen the larger mute swan attack, drive off and even injure their smaller cousin, leading to continuing declines in their numbers? Those of us who spend time on the Bay can relate numerous instances.

And what about the summer grass beds eaten out by flocks of mute swans? Or the native birds that have been driven off by aggressive nesting mutes? Are these not also worthy of our concern?

Keep 500 mute swans? It only took a flock of 50 molting mutes to completely wipe out the only black skimmer colony in Maryland. In 1989 there were 500 mutes in the Bay; by 1999 these has exploded to almost 4,000! Mute swans can live 30 years and have high reproductive rate; only complete removal of the adults will halt their damage to the Bay's ecosystem.

Obviously humane methods should be used but the state needs to continue with its well-researched control efforts.

Popular or not, DNR is doing the correct thing — invasive, non-native species are one of the greatest threats to aquatic ecosystems worldwide and they should be eradicated wherever possible. For this reason Bay scientists and environmental groups such as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, National Audubon Society, American Bird Conservancy as well as the Maryland Ornithological Society, all supported the state's 2003 decision to eliminate mute swans from the Chesapeake. The reasons for their support have not changed. [...]

Read the full letter at link.

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War on milfoil resumes in New Hampshire's lakes


By Donna Rhodes, NewHampshireLakesAndMountains.com

LAKES REGION — A growing problem in N.H. is again drawing attention as crews set out to tackle milfoil problems in the lakes.

Spring is an opportune time to begin the task of eradication of this noxious weed as plants have not yet grown to their full potential. The state Department of Environmental Services has targeted areas like Jay's Marina in Tilton to address through a five-year plan of weed eradication.

2-4d, a chemical component known to not just defoliate but spread to the roots of the plant, was sprayed at the marina's dock area earlier this month. It is the first step in attacking the problem when it grows out of control.

"It's a process," said state limnologist Jody Connor. "They sprayed on Friday and will go back and spray again later when they can move some of the boats out of the way to get underneath them, too."

The chemical disperses in the water column quickly, heading into the root system of the milfoil. Although bass have nested in the area, they leave when disturbed by the spraying and return later. Connor assured that the chemical does not affect them as a part of the food chain.

"This chemical (2-4 d) is an herbicide and we use such a low concentration of it in the spraying," Connor said. "It's taken up through the root system of the plant very quickly and kills it, especially the crowns."

Following the spraying, Connor said a crew would most likely be sent in to hand harvest some of the remaining plants.

Read the full story at link.

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Rocky Horror

By Jennifer Forman Orth, Invasive Species Weblog

A guy in New York is celebrating today because his ginormous, so-ugly-its-cute pet snakehead fish, named "Rocky," has been given a reprieve by the NY Department of Environmental Conservation. As long as he applies for a permit (and pays the $500 permit fee), he can keep Rocky in a tank.

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Georgia panel suggests using fish to clear weeds from river

By Rob Pavey, AugustaChronicle.com

If you can't kill the weeds, maybe you can hire fish to eat them.

That was the consensus Monday of an Augusta Port Authority subcommittee working to find a solution for aquatic weeds that have all but closed off portions of the Savannah River.

"The grass carp is what the committee, apparently, wants to pursue," authority Chairman Frank Carl said. "But before we do anything, we need to get more specifics on how many carp, when and where to put them in, and all the details we need to build a budget."

Aquatic weeds in the river include dense mats of Brazilian elodea -- an invasive exotic -- that are choking shallow areas around homes and docks. The weed beds also trap litter and silt, causing the channel to gradually shrink or fill in.

Though control options include investing in a mechanical harvester or herbicides, the use of sterile grass carp that feed voraciously on the unwanted vegetation is probably the best idea, committee member Bill Bricker said.

Read the full story at link.

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New York State DEC: Tangling with new invasive species

By John Hopkins, Niagara Gazette

Another invasive species has arrived in Western New York, and state officials are taking up arms to eradicate the creatures.

Although it doesn’t pose a threat to humans, the emerald ash borer, a type of beetle native to Asia, has the potential to wipe out the ash tree population — on a grander scale than what Dutch elm disease did to urban landscapes in the 1960s and ’70s.

It would also, state officials say, have an impact on the state and national economies. The eastern U.S. produces $25 million in ash timber a year. When you factor in other businesses that benefit from ash wood, the economic losses nationwide could be more than $20 billion.

Officials say it was only a matter of time before the insect arrived in New York state.

“It is not surprising,” said state Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker. “This beetle has been detected on either side of Lake Ontario for several years now and there is little that can be done to stop the natural spread of this devastating pest.”

Since its 2002 detection in the U.S., the beetle has migrated from where it was first found — the Detroit area — to 13 states and at least two Canadian provinces.

[...]

The adult beetle leaves behind a D-shaped hole that is difficult to notice at first.

Signs that a tree is infected by the beetle include the canopy dying off; a yellowing, extensive sprouting from the roots and trunk; and browning of leaves. Infested trees may also exhibit woodpecker damage.

Read the full story at link.

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Lake Zoar, CT to be treated for Eurasian watermilfoil

VoicesNEWS.com

MONROE-NEWTOWN-OXFORD-SOUTHBURY, CT. - Selected areas of Lake Zoar will be chemically treated Wednesday, July 1, with the USEPA/CT registered aquatic herbicide Reward.

This chemical treatment targets control of invasive and non-invasive Eurasian watermilfoil weed.

Approximately 41 acres of this 900 acre lake will be treated. Only specific treatment areas will be closed to all water uses, including swimming, fishing and boating, on the day of treatment only.

A map showing the specific treatment areas will be posted at the State Boat Ramp, at other public access sites to the lake and at the town offices in each of the four communities of Monroe, Newtown, Oxford and Southbury.

Prior to treatment, the lake shoreline in the treatment areas and at public access sites will be posted with printed signs, warning of the temporary water use restrictions.

In addition to the aforementioned restricted water uses, additional restrictions include no use of the lake water for watering livestock for five days (i.e. cattle, horses, etc., which does not apply to pets and wildlife that may drink the lake water); no use for irrigation for five days (watering lawns, shrubs, gardens or plants of any kind); and no use of the treated lake water for drinking for five days.

The Authority has engaged an independent, professional lake consultant who will monitor the effectiveness and results of this treatment. The chemical treatment will be performed by Aquatic Control Technology, Inc., of Sutton, Mass.

Aquatic Control is a leading lake management company that performs chemical treatments on more than 150 ponds/lakes each year in Connecticut alone. It has used this same herbicide previously at Bantam Lake and Lake Lillinonah with good success.

Those seeking additional information about this treatment may call Bernie Litzner at 203-736-6894.

Read the full story at link.

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St. Lawrence Seaway's 50th anniversary soiled by invaders

By Dan Egan of the Journal Sentinel

Fifty years ago Friday, President Dwight Eisenhower and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II walked down a red carpet, climbed aboard a "floating palace" of a yacht named Britannia, and ceremoniously sailed through the St. Lambert lock near Montreal to hail the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

The $470 million system of channels, locks and dams was built to open the Great Lakes to the rest of the world.

And it did, for better and for worse.

The Seaway has turned out to be something of a boutique regional transportation route for two primary commodities, inbound foreign steel and outbound domestic grain.

Yet, opening the once-isolated freshwater lakes to the rest of the world brought more than dollars. The invasive species that arrived with the foreign cargo have wrought ecological and economic chaos.

Zebra and quagga mussels are only two of about 60 foreign species that have arrived as hitchhikers aboard oceangoing vessels since the Seaway opened. And these little mollusks alone have cost us billions of dollars by plugging industrial water intakes, starving fish populations and triggering algae outbreaks that have trashed treasured shorelines.

"The damage invasive species have caused to the Great Lakes is astounding," said Dennis Schornack, former U.S. chair of the International Joint Commission. "But, what's most frustrating is that we still haven't closed this door."

A coalition of 50 organizations is marking Friday's anniversary with a renewed demand for changes in the shipping industry to protect the world's largest freshwater system. It has outlined seven principles it wants the industry to embrace in the coming years.

The principles call on the industry to stop dumping its biological pollution in harbors, drop any designs to expand the Seaway, minimize its ice-breaking activities in sensitive areas, and reduce air emissions, among other things.

Conservationists point to President Barack Obama's plan to pump new dollars into Great Lakes restoration efforts as reason to lean on the shipping industry to do more to protect the lakes.

"If the Obama administration is going to be investing nearly a half-billion dollars into restoration in the next year, then we have to ensure that shipping doesn't undo all that," said Jennifer Nalbone of the conservation group Great Lakes United.

[...]

The lakes are now home to more than 185 non-native species. In the past nine years, a new species has been discovered, on average, about every eight months - among the latest being a tiny red shrimp found in Lake Michigan in late 2006.

Conservationists want federal legislation requiring ship owners to install ballast tank treatment systems to kill freshwater invaders, though Congress has been working unsuccessfully on the issue for years.

Frustrated by the inaction, Great Lakes states have begun taking matters into their own hands. Michigan and New York have passed their own ballast regulations, which have successfully withstood legal action from the shipping industry. [...]

Read the full story at link.

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Week of December 1, 2008

Invasive Species DVD Targets Hunters and Anglers

America's hunters and anglers are essential stakeholders in managing invasive species that threaten native fish and wildlife populations and their habitats. "Defending Favorite Places," a high-definition DVD featuring invasive species information and testimonies of sportsmen and women across the nation, will be released in December. The DVD will be available for free or may be downloaded from the USDA Forest Service.

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Two wild boars taken in Central New York

By David Figura, The Post-Standard

Two wild boars were taken in the Town of Scott in Cortland County on Nov. 22. Marcus Eriksson, of Onondaga Hill, took his hog, weighing around 300 pounds on the hoof, while hunting from his treestand in the morning. Peter Gianferrara, of Camillus, took his boar mid- afternoon. It weighed about 260 pounds.

This past winter, the DEC, in conjunction with several state, federal and county agencies, resolved to do its best -- by trapping and other means -- to take wild boars off the landscape in Central New York. Officials consider the animal an invasive species capable of substantial crop damage, along with wreaking havoc on other plant life, native animal species and water quality in wetlands and streams.

Wild boards can be hunted and taken year-round by any person who has a small-game license, though doing so tends to scatter them. The DEC asks that hunters and others avoid harassing groups of hogs because it will hinder their eradication efforts. Seen or killed a wild boar lately? Call the DEC at 607-753-3095, extension 296. Link

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Northern Woodland Invasives: Doing Battle with Non-Native Plants

by Tovar Cerulli, Northern Woodlands

A huge mound of vines, 8 feet wide by a dozen yards long, lay baking in the August sun. The effort required to cut all those vines by hand, drag them out of the woods, and pile them up to dry suggested someone with a mission.

Walking past the mound, I left the clearing and turned down a woods trail in search of that someone. A few minutes later, I found David Paganelli at work with a chainsaw. Strewn along the slope were the felled stems and silver-bottomed leaves of another targeted plant, autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellate). Working alongside him – wielding clippers and a yellow mustard squeeze-bottle – was his son Ryan, dragged out here during a visit home from Tufts Medical School. Father and son had spent most of that day cutting olives and applying Roundup to the stumps.

David greeted me with an easy smile and was eager to jump right into the subject at hand – invasive plants. “We’ve got quite a bouquet here,” he began. He estimates that 12 to 15 percent of his 200 woodland acres in Strafford, Vermont, had been dominated by autumn olives. After hundreds of hours of labor, there are still several acres left to clear. Shade-tolerant buckthorns – both common (Rhamnus cathartica) and glossy (Frangula alnus) – are scattered over the entire property, forming a patient and ubiquitous understory. There are also a few barberries on ledge outcrops among the larger trees and 20 to 30 Morrow’s honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii) shrubs to deal with... Link

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Beach redbay trees in jeopardy

By Bo Petersen, The Post and Courier

Among the live oak and palmetto, redbay trees usually don't get much notice. Until now.

"They're dying all up and down here," said Roy Baylor, pointing both ways along Arctic Avenue on Folly Beach (South Carolina).

"These trees saved our house during (Hurricane) Hugo," Kelly King said sadly as she looks up at the browned leaves of the big tree in her front yard a few streets back.

Laurel wilt disease has begun killing the redbays in the Lowcountry, biologists strongly suspect. Actually a laurel plant, the tree is one of the ubiquitous evergreens of the coast, the swaths of winter green beneath the live oaks along the barrier islands and inland. It can live more than 100 years and grow to a tree's girth. It looks like a skinny-leafed magnolia.

The redbay is a vital piece of the coastal ecosystem, providing late-fall fruit for threatened species of migrating birds and butterflies, cover for nesting, scenery, erosion control and seclusion for beach homes. Link

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New York wants tougher invasive species rules

By KAITLYN DMYTERKO, Legislative Gazette Staff Writer

Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis and Gov. David A. Paterson are urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to enforce stricter regulations on ballast water discharges from shipping vessels to stem an invasion of harmful invasive species in New York’s waterways.

Ballast water refers to water held in ships’ cargo holds to keep lighter vessels stable in rough seas, according to the report, Ballast Water Management to Combat Invasive Species, released by Congressional Research Services.

A loophole in the federal 1977 Clean Water Act allows transoceanic ships to dump ballast water in American waterways, often transporting nonindigenous species, such as zebra mussels, with them, according to Grannis. Section 401 of the Clean Water Act gives state water pollution agencies, such as the DEC, jurisdiction to develop stricter regulations for water quality in their individual states.

In 1980, the invasive species, the zebra mussel, was transported with cargo into the Great Lakes. Since then they have plagued the Hudson River ecosystem causing detrimental effects on waterway infrastructures and environments.

Zebra mussels attach themselves to docks, boats and water pipelines and can cause serious damages to infrastructure, including the clogging of pipelines. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, economic damages from zebra mussels is estimated at almost $5 billion a year in the United States.

The DEC is pushing the EPA to enforce ballast water regulations requiring shipping vessels to carry out ballast water exchanges 50 nautical miles away from the shore in water more than 200 meters deep. This water exchange would require vessels to release mucky, sediment-filled water and replace it with fresh ocean water before the ship drifts into state waterways.

The DEC is also calling for the installation of water treatment systems on all cargo vessels. The agency wants the water to meet DEC-recommended guidelines that would require vessels to maintain a salinity level in its ballast water of at least 30 parts per 1,000 before entering New York waters. This mandate would reduce the level of contaminated species the boats are carrying.

According to the DEC, armed forces vessels would be excluded from these standards.

Manna Jo Greene, environmental director for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, said “The ounce of prevention embodied in the DEC’s recommended standards for regulating ballast, bilge and greywater will prevent many pounds of damage, which can be very difficult, if not impossible, to remediate after the fact.” Link

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Week of April 20, 2008

Updated April 25

U.S. House passes ballast water treatment standards

By Jeff Alexander, Muskegon Chronicle

The battle to keep ocean freighters from dumping more foreign species into the Great Lakes made an historic advance Wednesday, when one branch of Congress passed the nation's first ballast water treatment standards.

On a vote of 395-7, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a Coast Guard funding bill (H.R. 2830) that contained language requiring some freighters to disinfect ballast water tanks beginning next year. By 2015, all ships operating in the Great Lakes must have treatment systems on-board that kill all living organisms in ballast tanks, including pathogens.

The bill now goes to the U.S. Senate, which has been debating similar legislation (S. 1892). If approved by the Senate and signed into law by President Bush, the legislation would enact the world's most stringent ballast water treatment standards. Full Article

The full text of the bill can be found at
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-2830

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Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) releases 2007 annual report and 2008 workplan

APIPP is pleased to announce that our 2007 Annual Report and 2008 Workplan are now available online at http://adkinvasives.com/publications.html .

In addition, the Adirondack Aquatic Nuisance Species Committee produced its 2007 summary report and 2008 Workplan, also available on APIPP's website under the heading: Adirondack Park Aquatic Nuisance Species Management Plan, http://adkinvasives.com/Aquatic/Resources/Resources.html .

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Conservationists, biologists, battle unwelcome species to save Delaware plants

The daffodils are blooming along the banks of Hickory Run, a small tributary of Red Clay Creek.

The only trouble is, they don't belong here.

Daffodils -- like the multiflora rose, the seedlings of Japanese stilt grass and the low-growing garlic mustard -- are invaders in this sylvan setting.

"We'll never get rid of 'em," said James G. Subach, natural lands supervisor for the Mount Cuba Center in Greenville.

Besides habitat loss, many private and public land managers in Delaware believe the spread of invasive species -- especially invasive plants -- is one of the state's biggest environmental
challenges.

They often out-compete native varieties.

Barry Rice, an invasive-species scientist for The Nature Conservancy, said they typically share characteristics such as a short period from germination to reproduction, produce many seeds and can reproduce both by seeds or vegetatively. In addition, they typically take root in disturbed habitats such as roadsides. Once established at the edge of a road or forest, they easily spread, either on passing vehicles or in the wind drafts from passing cars and trucks, he said.

The impact from invasive plants spreads throughout an ecosystem, according to Douglas W. Tallamy, professor and chairman of the University of Delaware Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, affecting biodiversity on every level from plant composition to insects to birds that rely on insects to feed their young.

While it is a challenge, Tallamy said, it is also an area where individual Delawareans can make a difference.

Big environmental issues like global warming often leave people thinking "whatever we personally do isn't going to make a measurable difference," he said. But with invasive plants, people can make a difference one plant at a time and one backyard at a time.

In a state like Delaware, with less and less undeveloped habitat and with fragments of forest, Tallamy believes there is an alternative: "What we need to do is redesign suburbia."

Because non-native plants often are sold in garden centers, homeowners may plant them without realizing the impact.

In his new book, "Bringing Nature Home," Tallamy wrote that habitat loss and fragmentation from farming and development have taken a toll on native plant and animal communities. Ultimately, he said, there will be no habitat left except for the landscapes and gardens we create.

By getting rid of non-natives in yards throughout suburbia, replacing them with native plants and getting neighbor after neighbor to do the same, you end up with a connected area for wildlife and better biodiversity.

Tallamy knows firsthand what a difference native plants can make. In 2000, he and his wife bought 10 acres in southeastern Pennsylvania. Over time, they removed non-natives and replaced them with native species.

Every year, he said, they can see a difference in the native insects and birds they attract.

Susan Barton, a cooperative extension agent at the Univesity of Delaware and co-author of two booklets on plants for a Livable Delaware, said a transportation department that can remove all the invasive plants along highway rights of way may seem impossible.

"But removing multiflora rose from each person's property isn't incomprehensible," she said. Then, "we'd have habitat in suburbia."

Controlling invasives can be complicated. Subach said it often is most important to understand the life cycle of individual plant species to best time control efforts.

Along Delaware's coastal marshes, where an invasive, giant reed species called Phragmites australis is a concern, control efforts can take years. First, specialized weed killers that can be used near environmentally sensitive waterways are sprayed on the vast stands of weeds. Spray is typically applied over two seasons. The spray is followed by a controlled burn of the reeds.

On Wednesday, firefighters in Lewes did a controlled burn on invasive phragmites at Lewes Beach. Besides being a fire hazard, the invasive species of the reed provides little habitat value in North America.

In 2002, a team of researchers found that Phragmites australis supported 170 species in its native habitat. It is found in Europe, Asia and Africa and researchers here believe there are two varieties in our salt marshes -- one that was introduced more than 300 years ago and is especially invasive and a second variety that is native to North America. The introduced variety provides habitat for five species.

In 2002, state environmental officials estimated the total cost of a state-landowner cost-share program to control phragmites at $168,700. A total of 2,410 acres were sprayed -- a small part of the affected area throughout the state. Nationally, federal officials estimate the cost of controlling all invasive species at $138 billion a year. Full Article

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Bullhog vs. Honeysuckle

By Steve Bennish, Dayton Daily News

Montgomery County, Ohio — Honeysuckle, meet thy doom.

Your killer is a 6-ton Bullhog forestry mulching machine its friends at Five Rivers MetroParks fondly call a "Bobcat on steroids."

The last thing you will see, honeysuckle, on your way to being ground into mulch, are six rows of steel teeth whirling around at 2,400 rpm on the front of a machine that travels on steel tracks.
This well-deserved fate has been long in coming for honeysuckle, the green Godzilla of the southwestern Ohio woods.

It's a nonnative invasive plant that overwhelms and destroys native plant life, from valuable oak trees to expensive exported herbs such as ginseng. Conservationists, for good reason, despise honeysuckle, which has taken over park lands and private woodlots. Some would like to ban its sale in Ohio.

Honeysuckle has been difficult to destroy — until now.

At Possum Creek MetroParks this week, conservation biologist apprentice Bryan Dorsey made quick work of several acres along Frytown Road, easily grinding plants up to 20 inches in diameter. This stuff has been growing since the 1960s and it is well established.

The new machine, purchased for $93,000 by MetroParks from FECON Inc. in Lebanon, arrived for service March 28.

It is the only one in possession of a parks organization in these parts.

The Bullhog takes out an acre of honeysuckle in six hours — three times faster than a human crew using chain saws. It's cost-effective and sparing of other plant life, MetroParks officials said.
The Bullhog also works on buckthorn, autumn olive and ailanthus. MetroParks plans to use the machine on honeysuckle from November through April, stopping for bird nesting season.

Between honeysuckle session, the machine will be used for other purposes.

After the honeysuckle is shredded, stumps are sprayed with a herbicide, Dorsey said, in a routine that will have to be repeated because honeysuckle requires regular suppression and FiveRivers has hundreds of acres that need attention.

FECON sells many of its locally assembled machines for maintenance along highways and land clearing, product manager Anthony Nikodym said.

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Pesticide ban has parks department eyeing options

By Meredith Blake

Greenwich, Connecticut - The Department of Parks and Recreation is scrambling to come up with a plan to properly treat the town's athletic fields following a ban on pesticides instituted last week.

The department had anticipated the ban, but did not expect it until June 2009, when a state law banning the use of pesticides on all elementary and middle school grounds was set to go into effect. Not only did the town mandate go into effect a year earlier, but it also included all town, school and park athletic fields.

The department did not allocate funds to treat the fields organically, nor does it have the equipment and personnel for the job, according to Tim Coughlin, turf operation manager for the parks department. "This is a major logistical change," he said.

In the past, the department has applied one application of pesticide to prevent crabgrass, an invasive weed that, if not controlled, can smother regular grass and destroy the fields.

Now it needs to use equipment to overseed, fertilize, irrigate the fields, and get people out to attack the weeds. And it must be done now, Coughlin said, before the grass really starts to grow in May and the fields are used daily for baseball and other sports games.

"We can't wait too long. Things need to be done in April," said Bruce Spaman, town tree warden.
Spaman, a member of the Environmental Action Task Force, the newly formed group that proposed the ban, said they pushed for its quick implementation, seeing it as an opportunity

"Basically, the program was heading in that direction, but this was the push we needed to go with the organic program," Spaman said. Additional money will be needed, but it is an investment, he said.

If residents look to the successful field at North Street School, which is a model for the rest of the town, they will see what the fields will become. They won't look like Yankee Stadium just yet, he said.

Right now they are going to have to work harder to monitor and treat the fields and that will cost money, he added.

"We know how to do it, but the question is where does the money come from," Coughlin said. Coughlin will be meeting next week with Joseph Siciliano, director of parks and recreation, to come up with a plan. Full Article

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Spread of cogon grass heightens risk of major fire in South Carolina

By KATRINA A. GOGGINS, The Associated Press

COLUMBIA - An invasive weed that already has infested more than 1 million acres nationwide continues to spread across the parched Southeast, and experts say the regions drought makes the highly flammable intruder more threatening than ever.

Cogon grass, known for its fluffy, silvery white seed heads, has coaxed its way into gardens, forests and highway medians across the region, where control and eradication programs have kicked into high gear.

Dont buy it, dont dig it up, dont plant it and just let somebody know if you see it, said Laurie Reid, forest health specialist for the South Carolina Forestry Commission. We are definitely on the lookout for it because if it happens to come into a forested situation, then thats when the danger really comes for either wildfire or a prescribed burn.

Now in its flowering stage, cogon grass can burn all year and when it catches fire, experts say it burns higher and hotter than regular grass during wildfires. Its most flammable in colder months when it appears as a tall, thick mass of brown-colored grass. But drought conditions in the Southeast have kept the weed dry and increased its risk as a fire hazard this spring, experts say.

They are unusually hot-burning fires that consume at higher heights -- up to 10 to 15feet, said Jim Miller, a regional invasive plant scientist with federal Agriculture Department. "I dont think theres anything more flammable in our environments landscape. I dont know anything that burns as hot in our ecosystem as cogon grass."

Once used as packing material that arrived in Mobile, Ala. on ships in 1912, cogon grass can seem harmless even beautiful but forestry experts in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama warn its a killer.

A native of southeastern Asia, cogon grass chokes all competing vegetation it kills off pine seedlings in forests and overtakes grazing land where most animals wont give it a second look because of its saw-toothed leaves. Experts believe the aggressive weed could turn the region into a grassy savannah devoid of all native species if given enough time. Ironically, forestry experts said, the grass has spread in part because its hitched rides on equipment used to fight forest fires.

Its actually got to epidemic proportions, said Ed Brown, a spokesman for the Mississippi Forestry Commission. I call it a super weed. I have seen it grow on some of the driest sites that wouldnt hardly grow anything and Ive seen it growing down the edge of water. Ive actually seen it taking over a patch of kudzu.

Cogon grass, sometimes spelled cogongrass, is on every continent except Antarctica and inhabits around 1.2 billion acres worldwide. Asia has lost about 500 million acres to the weed, and it continues to spread to an additional 370,000 acres each year, experts say.

Its definitely a worldwide problem and now we are a part of that worldwide problem in the Southeast because we have failed to confront it, Miller said. Florida now has over 1 million acres and Miller said hes heard reports of cogon grass causing intense home fires there. Alabama has 60,000 acres of it; South Carolina only 10, so far, according to estimates done by the USDA and Clemson University.

States, with the help of a federal grant awarded last year, are starting to coordinate efforts to study, survey and control the spread of cogon grass. Clemson University scientists plan to survey more than half of South Carolina next month. Full Article

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Invasive plant in creek hinders manatees

Zac Anderson, HeraldTribune.com

NORTH PORT, Florida — A popular winter home for West Indian Manatees in Sarasota County has become so choked with debris that the endangered animals are struggling to access the creek.

The problem should be remedied soon though, thanks to a $32,000 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department.

Sarasota County plans to use the money to remove invasive Brazilian pepper trees, which shed their limbs so rapidly that they dam up the Salt Creek in North Port.

The creek, a tributary of the Myakka River, annually hosts up to 70 manatees, which move from the Gulf of Mexico to warm inland waters during the winter.

"This is a critical habitat for the Manatees and the vegetative dams limit their ability to move," said Michael Elswick, an environmental specialist with the county.

Brazilian Pepper trees grow much faster, and shed their leaves and branches more quickly, than native mangroves and pine trees, Elswick said.

"The trees generate a lot of biomass that has heavily impaired the area," Elswick said.

The county plans to replace invasive trees with native plants along a section of the creek popular with manatees. Work with begin on May 31 and last throughout the summer. Article

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Week of December 2, 2007

Updated December 6

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Birds Pushed to Extinction by Invasive Species

Relentless sprawl, invasive species and global warming are threatening an increasing number of bird species in the United States, pushing a quarter of them — including dozens in New York and New Jersey — toward extinction, according to a new study by the National Audubon Society and the American Bird Conservancy.

The study, called WatchList 2007, categorized 178 species in the United States as being threatened, an increase of about 10 percent from 2002, when Audubon’s last study was conducted. Of the 178 species on the list, about 45 spend at least part of the year in this region. Full Article

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Kudzu: A pollution problem?

By Brian McNeill / bmcneill@dailyprogress.com

Kudzu - the ubiquitous vine that covers shrubbery, trees, telephone poles and anything else in its path - may be pumping significant levels of pollution into the region’s air. University of Virginia researcher Manuel Lerdau and State University of New York scientist Jonathan Hickman believe that kudzu is emitting sizable amounts of ground-level ozone - potentially increasing smog, aggravating respiratory ailments and quickening the pace of global climate change. Full Article

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U.S. House must plug leaks in ballast water rules

By Corry Westbrook, National Wildlife Federation

In less than two years, scientists found 13 new, potentially invasive species in the ballast water tanks of just 41 vessels entering the Great Lakes. None of the 13 had previously been found in those waters. The report, by David M. Lodge and John M. Drake with the University of Notre Dame, also confirms what many already knew: Ballast water is the most important source of new introductions into the Great Lakes, accounting for more than 64% of nonnative species. Once a species settles into the Great Lakes, it is often only a matter of time before it moves across the country. The evidence is clear that current ballast water regulations are not adequate in protecting U.S. waters from aquatic invaders. In the next few weeks, the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure will have the opportunity to do something about that, as it prepares to vote on legislation that would set national standards for ballast water. Full Article

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Invasive Plants Coming to America - Overview of the U.S. National Early Detection and Rapid Response System for Invasive Plants

By Randy G. Westbrooks and Leslie J. Mehrhoff

Throughout history, as people colonized the Earth, they brought cultivated plants and domesticated animals along with them. Since European colonization of North America began in the 1500s, about 50,000 taxa of plants and animals (species, varieties, and hybrids) have been introduced to the U.S. While most of these species are well behaved and provide immense benefits to human society, a small percentage of them have escaped from cultivation and are a serious threat to food and fiber production and/or natural ecosystems. To date, about 4,200 species of introduced plants, or about 8.4% of total introductions, have escaped from cultivation and established free-living populations with the country. Recently, scientists at Cornell University estimated that losses to the American economy due to introduced invasive species are about $138 billion per year. Of this total, costs and losses due to invasive plants are now estimated to be over $50 billion per year. Full Article

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N.J. researchers breed bugs to tackle pests

EWING, N.J. (AP) - A laboratory full of bugs might make some people nervous. But for Tom Dorsey, it's just another day on the job. "Nothing here bites, scratches or claws," Dorsey recently said at the 21,000-square-foot Phillip Alampi Beneficial Insect Rearing Laboratory he runs in Ewing. The state Agriculture Department lab, funded annually with about $1 million in state and federal funds, breeds beneficial bugs to fight invasive plant species and pesky insects that threaten the state's open spaces and agricultural crops. Full Article

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Alternatives to Norway Maple

By Dr. Leonard Perry, Extension Professor, UVM

Norway maple is an invasive plant you should not put in landscapes, and for which there are several good alternatives. This maple tolerates heavy shade, so establishes well in woodlands where birds drop their seeds. There, with their own heavy canopies, they shade out native wildflowers. Their shallow roots compete in forests with other less vigorous native vegetation.

Norway maple is an invasive plant you should not put in landscapes, and for which there are several good alternatives. This maple tolerates heavy shade, so establishes well in woodlands where birds drop their seeds. There, with their own heavy canopies, they shade out native wildflowers. Their shallow roots compete in forests with other less vigorous native vegetation. Full Article

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New York State Declares Nassau County Free of Sudden Oak Death

New York State Acting Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker today announced that Sudden Oak Death (Phytophthora ramorum), a disease that has killed oaks in the western coastal region of the U.S., is known to not occur in Nassau County. A bark sample from a red oak tree in the Tiffany Creek Preserve in Oyster Bay (Nassau County) was reported as positive for Sudden Oak Death in June 2004, however subsequent sampling and testing has proven negative.
"Although Sudden Oak Death has primarily been found in California and Oregon in the U.S., it is a great concern to our nursery and ornamental industries and forest health managers, because of the number of ornamental plant species associated with the spread of this disease," Hooker said. "I am relieved to know that this disease does not occur in Nassau County, however, we will continue to be vigilant in surveying for exotic plant pests to ensure a healthy green industry in New York State." Full Article

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New York State Promotes Live Local Christmas Trees to Help Prevent Spread of Invasives

From an invasive species standpoint, real New York Christmas trees are an excellent way to prevent the introduction of invasive plant pests. New York trees take 7 to 10 years to grow and must be maintained in excellent health because they must be aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Trees grown under such conditions are naturally resistant to insects and diseases, and because real trees are grown here in New York, there is little chance of spreading pests from one area to another. Full Article

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A Death in the Forest

This week’s issue of The New Yorker magazine features an article by Richard Preston titled “A Death in the Forest,” about the hemlock woolly adelgid’s (Adelges tsugae) spread through the Southern mountains and its implication for the forest ecosystem.

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Invasive Rodent Spotted in New Jersey

Newark (AP) -- It's not the Jersey Devil, but its reputation is just as bad. A 20-pound rodent that scientists say is one of the world's worst invasive species has been spotted in New Jersey. State Fish and Wildlife biologist Andrew Burnett tells The Star-Ledger of Newark he saw one nutria (Myocastor coypus) swimming in Salem County's Lower Alloways Creek Township in late October. The critters are native to Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. But they've been showing up in North America. Burnett says nutria eat vegetation, causing animals and fish to lose their habitats. State wildlife officials are asking people who spot nutrias to report them so they can determine whether they're colonizing in the state.
Article
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Emerald Ash Borer in Dozens of Toronto Trees

TORONTO (AP) — The invasive emerald ash borer beetle, which has already destroyed ash trees in southwestern Ontario, has now been found in Toronto. Full Article

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