National Invasive Species Awareness Week
February 26 - March 3, 2012
Washington, DC
A week of activities, briefings, workshops and events focused on strategizing solutions to address invasive species prevention, detection, monitoring, control, and management issues at local, state, tribal, regional, national and international scales.
Here are 10 ways to observe NISA Week.
Learn more at link.
--------------------------------------------------------
Florida considers controversial cure for polluted Lake Apopka: Let hydrilla spread
By Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel
9:17 p.m. EST, January 22, 2012
The sickly Lake Apopka has been healing at a snail's pace despite undergoing some of the more costly environmental rehabilitations in Florida history.
So a state agency is thinking about speeding up the process by encouraging an aggressive, aquatic weed — hydrilla — to take root in the lake.
It's a hotly contested idea that appears to be leaving little room for compromise. Those who want the lake restored to a natural condition say the foreign plant would devastate native varieties if allowed to spread and would destroy any real chances of reviving the polluted lake. Fans of hunting and fishing counter that the fast-growing plant, imported from Asia but now considered a costly nuisance throughout much of the U.S., would work wonders in the lake as habitat for ducks and largemouth bass.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will decide whether hydrilla is a new friend or old foe of Lake Apopka, which covers nearly 50 square miles of Orange and Lake counties. Agency officials will take public comments Tuesday from 6-9 p.m. in Winter Garden's Tanner Hall. ...
Learn more at link.
--------------------------------------------------------
Town of Brookhaven, New York, next to tackle invasive bamboo
By Brittany Wait
Times Beacon Record
Responding to complaints from residents, one Brookhaven Town official hopes to restrict the planting and maintenance of bamboo within the town.
A proposed resolution, sponsored by Councilwoman Kathy Walsh (R-Centereach), restricts the distance that bamboo can be from a property line.
"It does tend to travel," Walsh said in a phone interview. "We won't be able to go into someone's yard and tell them to remove it, but if it encroaches into the neighbor's yard we'll have law on books to tell them they have to remove it to the property line limitation that was adopted." ...
Walsh is hoping to set a public hearing on the bill at the Feb. 7 Town Board meeting.
The councilwoman is currently working with John Turner, who deals with environmental cases in the town's Planning Department, and Beth Riley from the Law Department, on the language of the law. Turner retired from his position at the Planning Department and was brought back as a part-time consultant. ...
Read the full story at link.
-------------------------------------------------------
Using a Wasp to Catch a Beetle: The Quest to Save Ash Trees
By Stone Ng
AudubonMagazine.org
For nearly a decade, a tiny alien menace, a beetle known as the emerald ash borer, has been destroying some of the nation’s most iconic native trees. Now researchers are honing a new method that uses wasps to ferret out these invasive beetles. The technique could help prevent the spreading of the emerald ash borer, as well as benefit other imperiled plants in the future, both in the U.S. and abroad. ...
Learn more at link.
--------------------------------------------------------
14th Annual SE-EPPC Conference and 10th Annual ALIPC Conference
Join in bringing you the Past, Present and Future of Invasive Plants in the Southeast
May 8-10, 2012
Auburn University Hotel and Conference Center
241 South College Street, Auburn, AL 36830
More information is available at http://www.se-eppc.org/2012/ .
--------------------------------------------------------
NEW Blight Ravages Boxwood
A new, aggressive, exotic disease called Boxwood Blight is now affecting all species of boxwood on Long Island and other areas of the US. If you live on Long Island and see bare twigs on your boxwood this winter, send a sample to the LI Horticultural Research & Extension Center at 3059 Sound Ave. Riverhead / 631-727-3595 to ID the pathogen and slow the spread of this serious disease. Non-commercial samples can be brought to CCE-Suffolk Diagnostic Lab at 423 Griffing Ave. Riverhead / 631-727-7850. For more info. click Boxwood Blight Cornell Fact Sheet 2012.
--------------------------------------------------------
Showing posts with label bamboo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bamboo. Show all posts
Monday, January 23, 2012
Friday, December 16, 2011
December 16, 2011
Sag Harbor, New York Withdraws Bamboo Ban
Posted on 16 December 2011
Following both praise and criticism by Sag Harbor residents over a proposed law that would have banned bamboo in the village, on Tuesday night the Sag Harbor Village Board of Trustees voted to withdraw the legislation from consideration.
“I have been talking to different people and I think the best thing to do is to advise people not to plant invasive species,” said trustee Robby Stein, first suggesting the proposed legislation be tabled and then suggesting it be withdrawn completely.
The rest of the village board supported Stein unanimously, including Sag Harbor Mayor Brian Gilbride.
The legislation was originally introduced in September after the village board heard the pleas of resident Pat Field this summer. Field said she has done almost everything imaginable in an effort to kill bamboo spreading onto her Madison Street property from a neighbor’s yard. The bamboo, said Field, was threatening her very home.
Originally, the legislation targeted all invasive species of plants, but was quickly scaled back to address only bamboo. According to the last version of the draft law, if adopted residents would not have been allowed to have bamboo “planted, maintained or otherwise permitted to exist within 10-feet of any property line, street, sidewalk or public right of way.”
However, the legislation was criticized by some in the village — including homeowners facing a similar battle as Field — as being too far reaching for the local municipality, and potentially costly for village residents who bought properties that already contained bamboo.
“I think the discussion we have had was a great discussion, but it showed clearly this is a neighbor to neighbor issue and the bigger issue here is there are residents who have bamboo and have done everything right,” said Mayor Gilbride. “It is the encroachment onto neighbor’s properties that really needs to be addressed.”
Read the full story at link.
-------------------------------------------------------
Posted on 16 December 2011
Following both praise and criticism by Sag Harbor residents over a proposed law that would have banned bamboo in the village, on Tuesday night the Sag Harbor Village Board of Trustees voted to withdraw the legislation from consideration.
“I have been talking to different people and I think the best thing to do is to advise people not to plant invasive species,” said trustee Robby Stein, first suggesting the proposed legislation be tabled and then suggesting it be withdrawn completely.
The rest of the village board supported Stein unanimously, including Sag Harbor Mayor Brian Gilbride.
The legislation was originally introduced in September after the village board heard the pleas of resident Pat Field this summer. Field said she has done almost everything imaginable in an effort to kill bamboo spreading onto her Madison Street property from a neighbor’s yard. The bamboo, said Field, was threatening her very home.
Originally, the legislation targeted all invasive species of plants, but was quickly scaled back to address only bamboo. According to the last version of the draft law, if adopted residents would not have been allowed to have bamboo “planted, maintained or otherwise permitted to exist within 10-feet of any property line, street, sidewalk or public right of way.”
However, the legislation was criticized by some in the village — including homeowners facing a similar battle as Field — as being too far reaching for the local municipality, and potentially costly for village residents who bought properties that already contained bamboo.
“I think the discussion we have had was a great discussion, but it showed clearly this is a neighbor to neighbor issue and the bigger issue here is there are residents who have bamboo and have done everything right,” said Mayor Gilbride. “It is the encroachment onto neighbor’s properties that really needs to be addressed.”
Read the full story at link.
-------------------------------------------------------
Monday, December 17, 2007
Week of December 16
Updated December 21
Nassau County, New York, legislature bans the sale and dumping of invasive plants
Legislation was approved on Monday that prohibits the sale and dumping of invasive non-native plant species in Nassau County, New York. The County recently spent more than $1 million cleaning non-native plant species out of Mill Pond on the Wantagh-Merrick border.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Red Palm Mite Infestation Identified in Florida
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles H. Bronson announced today the detection of the red palm mite (Raoiella indica) on a coconut palm at a medical facility in Palm Beach Gardens in Palm Beach County. This is the first confirmed report of this serious plant pest in the United States. Red palm mite is a pest of coconut, areca palm, and date palms in the Middle East and is probably widespread in tropical and subtropical regions throughout the Eastern Hemisphere. The red palm mite was first identified in the Western Hemisphere in 2004 on the eastern Caribbean island of Martinique. By 2006, the mite was reported as established in the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin and Trinidad-Tobago, St. Lucia and Dominica. In 2007 the US Virgin Islands, Granada, Haiti, Jamaica and Venezuela have been added to the list of islands and countries infested with the red palm mite. In all instances, this mite has established itself on various palms, with significant outbreaks on coconut palms. Press Release
------------------------------------------------------------
Not quite eastern USA, but interesting nonetheless: Wisconsin DNR's Draft Invasive Species Identification, Classification and Control Rule
According to Wisconsin DNR, the proposed rules will establish a fairly consistent classification and regulatory system for all listed invasive species. The rules will set specific restrictions on actions such as sales, transporting and planting or releasing certain species to the wild. It will allow DNR to work with local units of government and landowners to quickly contain new infestations of species likely to become problematic. Full Article
-----------------------------------------------------------
NPMA: European Paper Wasps and Formosan Termites Prove to Be the Year's Most Influential Pests
FAIRFAX, VA.--(BUSINESS WIRE) -- According to the National Pest Management Association, invasive pests became a hot topic in 2007 as stink bugs, carpet beetles, and other insects traversed the United States in record numbers. This year, however, the European paper wasp and Formosan termites emerged as the pests that generated the greatest attention from homeowners and entomologists. These invasive pests were often highlighted because of their national prominence and the potential harm each can cause to public health and property. Full Article
Originally from East Asia, the Formosan termite (Coptotermes formosanus) infests over a dozen southern states, costing an estimated $1 billion a year in property damages, repairs, and control measures. Before 1981, the dominulus or European paper wasp (Polistes dominulus) was not recorded in North America. In its native region, P. dominulus is the most abundant paper wasp in those countries around the Mediterranean. It is also found in southern Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East, and eastward into China. It appears that this new introduction has had an adverse impact on the native species of Polistes. Some entomologists worry that the large numbers of P. dominulus will adversely affect species of desirable insects (i.e., butterflies). Fact Sheet
------------------------------------------------------------
Halting the Invasion in the Chesapeake Bay
The Environmental Law Institute announced the publication of "Halting the Invasion in the Chesapeake Bay: Preventing Aquatic Invasive Species Introduction through Regional Cooperation," a report by attorney Read D. Porter that examines coordination on aquatic invasive species (AIS) prevention among the Chesapeake Bay states. The report focuses on prevention-related legal authorities in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania in particular, and recommends actions to improve regional cooperation both within the existing regulatory frameworks and through potential amendments to state laws and regulations to enhance prevention. The report is available free of charge from ELI's website. Website
------------------------------------------------------------
Upper Delaware Scenic Byway awarded national grant, partly to raise Japanese knotweed awareness
Narrowsburg - The Federal Highway Administration has awarded the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, Inc. a $12,400 grant to undertake an Invasive Plant Species Educational Campaign and Interpretive Signage Project. The project will raise awareness of the detrimental effects of Japanese Knotweed on the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway corridor and offer eradication strategies. The grant will cover the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, Inc.’s development and distribution of 20,000 copies of a Japanese Knotweed brochure in cooperation with the Delaware River Foundation, Inc. and the National Park Service’s Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River Resource Management Division. Full Article
-------------------------------------------------------------
Some landscaping species to think twice about planting in Delaware
The University of Delaware Cooperative Extension discusses several landscape tree and shrub species that are often used for screens, windbreaks, or border plantings in Delaware. Each has problems and should be avoided in some or all landscapes. Species to avoid include privet (Ligustrum spp.), autumn olive (Elaeagnus spp.), spreading bamboos (Phyllostachys spp. and others), burning bush (Euonymus alatus), and Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii). Full Article
-------------------------------------------------------------
Paid Internships: Invasive species removal in Virginia
The Fairfax County Park Authority, Virginia, is seeking five highly motivated college students to be part of the stewardship team (more positions may be available) to help rescue our 24,000+ acres of parkland from a host of different invasive, non-native plants such as English ivy and kudzu. The paid internship will last ten (10) weeks, this summer from May through August. Full Article
-------------------------------------------------------------
Migratory Bird Die-off in Great Lakes Region Prompts New York DEC Investigation
More than 100 dead loons and other migratory birds washed up on Great Lakes shores in mid-November, prompting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to suspect another botulism-poisoning episode linked to the spread of invasive species.
DEC is investigating the die-off and, although results are not complete, preliminary evidence closely matches die-offs related to type E botulism that have occurred during fall migration every year since 2000 on Lake Erie, and since 2002 on Lake Ontario, according to state Wildlife Pathologist Ward Stone. The die-offs are tied to two invasive species consumed by birds during migration stopovers: quagga mussels and a fish called round goby. Loons especially feed on round goby. Full Article
--------------------------------------------------------------
Research Project: Effects of Elevated Atmospheric CO2 on Invasive Weed Species
Summary: "A neglected aspect of global environmental change is how invasive plants might react to the rise in atmospheric CO2 level. Invasive plants can disrupt farm and forest systems and this threat is great for the southeastern U.S., with its numerous ports of entry and mild climate. We studied the response of several invasive plants by growing them under two levels of atmospheric CO2 (ambient or elevated). While most plants grew larger under high CO2, grasses showed a smaller growth response to CO2. We also found a delay or reduction in flowering under high CO2. Our findings suggest that although these invasive plants may grow bigger in a high CO2 world, their ability to spread might be reduced." Full Article
-------------------------------------------------------------
Pretty, but pushy
By Karen Nugent TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF - Peter C. Alden watched as the well-dressed older woman bought a wreath decorated with Oriental bittersweet, a nonnative vine that he says is rapidly killing off forests, fields and wetlands — and probably trees and shrubs in the woman’s own backyard. Mr. Alden, a naturalist author, illustrator and lecturer, followed the woman to her car, and explained the environmental dangers of the aggressive vine with the bright orange-red berries. “She listened, she nodded. And then she said, ‘But it looks pretty’ and got into her car and left,” he said. Mr. Alden, who lives in Concord, Massachusetts, was not surprised. Despite warnings from horticultural societies, conservationists and state agencies — including a state ban with fines for violators — Oriental bittersweet, along with multiflora rose, a thorny shrub that produces bright red fruits called “hips” — are wildly popular in holiday wreaths, garlands and fall dried flower arrangements. Full Story
Nassau County, New York, legislature bans the sale and dumping of invasive plants
Legislation was approved on Monday that prohibits the sale and dumping of invasive non-native plant species in Nassau County, New York. The County recently spent more than $1 million cleaning non-native plant species out of Mill Pond on the Wantagh-Merrick border.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Red Palm Mite Infestation Identified in Florida
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles H. Bronson announced today the detection of the red palm mite (Raoiella indica) on a coconut palm at a medical facility in Palm Beach Gardens in Palm Beach County. This is the first confirmed report of this serious plant pest in the United States. Red palm mite is a pest of coconut, areca palm, and date palms in the Middle East and is probably widespread in tropical and subtropical regions throughout the Eastern Hemisphere. The red palm mite was first identified in the Western Hemisphere in 2004 on the eastern Caribbean island of Martinique. By 2006, the mite was reported as established in the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin and Trinidad-Tobago, St. Lucia and Dominica. In 2007 the US Virgin Islands, Granada, Haiti, Jamaica and Venezuela have been added to the list of islands and countries infested with the red palm mite. In all instances, this mite has established itself on various palms, with significant outbreaks on coconut palms. Press Release
------------------------------------------------------------
Not quite eastern USA, but interesting nonetheless: Wisconsin DNR's Draft Invasive Species Identification, Classification and Control Rule
According to Wisconsin DNR, the proposed rules will establish a fairly consistent classification and regulatory system for all listed invasive species. The rules will set specific restrictions on actions such as sales, transporting and planting or releasing certain species to the wild. It will allow DNR to work with local units of government and landowners to quickly contain new infestations of species likely to become problematic. Full Article
-----------------------------------------------------------
NPMA: European Paper Wasps and Formosan Termites Prove to Be the Year's Most Influential Pests
FAIRFAX, VA.--(BUSINESS WIRE) -- According to the National Pest Management Association, invasive pests became a hot topic in 2007 as stink bugs, carpet beetles, and other insects traversed the United States in record numbers. This year, however, the European paper wasp and Formosan termites emerged as the pests that generated the greatest attention from homeowners and entomologists. These invasive pests were often highlighted because of their national prominence and the potential harm each can cause to public health and property. Full Article
Originally from East Asia, the Formosan termite (Coptotermes formosanus) infests over a dozen southern states, costing an estimated $1 billion a year in property damages, repairs, and control measures. Before 1981, the dominulus or European paper wasp (Polistes dominulus) was not recorded in North America. In its native region, P. dominulus is the most abundant paper wasp in those countries around the Mediterranean. It is also found in southern Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East, and eastward into China. It appears that this new introduction has had an adverse impact on the native species of Polistes. Some entomologists worry that the large numbers of P. dominulus will adversely affect species of desirable insects (i.e., butterflies). Fact Sheet
------------------------------------------------------------
Halting the Invasion in the Chesapeake Bay
The Environmental Law Institute announced the publication of "Halting the Invasion in the Chesapeake Bay: Preventing Aquatic Invasive Species Introduction through Regional Cooperation," a report by attorney Read D. Porter that examines coordination on aquatic invasive species (AIS) prevention among the Chesapeake Bay states. The report focuses on prevention-related legal authorities in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania in particular, and recommends actions to improve regional cooperation both within the existing regulatory frameworks and through potential amendments to state laws and regulations to enhance prevention. The report is available free of charge from ELI's website. Website
------------------------------------------------------------
Upper Delaware Scenic Byway awarded national grant, partly to raise Japanese knotweed awareness
Narrowsburg - The Federal Highway Administration has awarded the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, Inc. a $12,400 grant to undertake an Invasive Plant Species Educational Campaign and Interpretive Signage Project. The project will raise awareness of the detrimental effects of Japanese Knotweed on the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway corridor and offer eradication strategies. The grant will cover the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, Inc.’s development and distribution of 20,000 copies of a Japanese Knotweed brochure in cooperation with the Delaware River Foundation, Inc. and the National Park Service’s Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River Resource Management Division. Full Article
-------------------------------------------------------------
Some landscaping species to think twice about planting in Delaware
The University of Delaware Cooperative Extension discusses several landscape tree and shrub species that are often used for screens, windbreaks, or border plantings in Delaware. Each has problems and should be avoided in some or all landscapes. Species to avoid include privet (Ligustrum spp.), autumn olive (Elaeagnus spp.), spreading bamboos (Phyllostachys spp. and others), burning bush (Euonymus alatus), and Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii). Full Article
-------------------------------------------------------------
Paid Internships: Invasive species removal in Virginia
The Fairfax County Park Authority, Virginia, is seeking five highly motivated college students to be part of the stewardship team (more positions may be available) to help rescue our 24,000+ acres of parkland from a host of different invasive, non-native plants such as English ivy and kudzu. The paid internship will last ten (10) weeks, this summer from May through August. Full Article
-------------------------------------------------------------
Migratory Bird Die-off in Great Lakes Region Prompts New York DEC Investigation
More than 100 dead loons and other migratory birds washed up on Great Lakes shores in mid-November, prompting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to suspect another botulism-poisoning episode linked to the spread of invasive species.
DEC is investigating the die-off and, although results are not complete, preliminary evidence closely matches die-offs related to type E botulism that have occurred during fall migration every year since 2000 on Lake Erie, and since 2002 on Lake Ontario, according to state Wildlife Pathologist Ward Stone. The die-offs are tied to two invasive species consumed by birds during migration stopovers: quagga mussels and a fish called round goby. Loons especially feed on round goby. Full Article
--------------------------------------------------------------
Research Project: Effects of Elevated Atmospheric CO2 on Invasive Weed Species
Summary: "A neglected aspect of global environmental change is how invasive plants might react to the rise in atmospheric CO2 level. Invasive plants can disrupt farm and forest systems and this threat is great for the southeastern U.S., with its numerous ports of entry and mild climate. We studied the response of several invasive plants by growing them under two levels of atmospheric CO2 (ambient or elevated). While most plants grew larger under high CO2, grasses showed a smaller growth response to CO2. We also found a delay or reduction in flowering under high CO2. Our findings suggest that although these invasive plants may grow bigger in a high CO2 world, their ability to spread might be reduced." Full Article
-------------------------------------------------------------
Pretty, but pushy
By Karen Nugent TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF - Peter C. Alden watched as the well-dressed older woman bought a wreath decorated with Oriental bittersweet, a nonnative vine that he says is rapidly killing off forests, fields and wetlands — and probably trees and shrubs in the woman’s own backyard. Mr. Alden, a naturalist author, illustrator and lecturer, followed the woman to her car, and explained the environmental dangers of the aggressive vine with the bright orange-red berries. “She listened, she nodded. And then she said, ‘But it looks pretty’ and got into her car and left,” he said. Mr. Alden, who lives in Concord, Massachusetts, was not surprised. Despite warnings from horticultural societies, conservationists and state agencies — including a state ban with fines for violators — Oriental bittersweet, along with multiflora rose, a thorny shrub that produces bright red fruits called “hips” — are wildly popular in holiday wreaths, garlands and fall dried flower arrangements. Full Story
------------------------------------------------------------
New York State Parks’ natural resources are threatened by pollution, invasive species, soil erosion and global warming
The New York State Council of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation today released its 2007 Annual Report to Governor Eliot Spitzer highlighting achievements over the past year and setting forth recommendations for improving the (1) infrastructure and management and (2) stewardship of New York’s 213 State Parks and Historic Sites. The report details the growing backlog of urgent capital needs at state parks and historic sites and identifies priorities of the State Council for 2008. Capital needs include remediation of existing facilities (65% of capital need), health and safety (15% of capital need), new facilities development (15% of capital need), and natural resources (5% of capital need) including invasive species management to restore habitats and ecosystems. Full Article
------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
