Invasive species bills stuck in Congress
By ERICA WERNER
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tiny foreign mussels assault drinking water sources in California and Nevada. A deadly fish virus spreads swiftly through the Great Lakes and beyond. Japanese shore crabs make a home for themselves in Long Island Sound, more than 6,000miles away.
These are no exotic seafood delicacies. They're a menace to U.S. drinking water supplies, native plants and animals, and they cost billions to contain.
Yet Congress is moving to address the problem at the pace of a plain old garden snail.
With time for passing laws rapidly diminishing in this election year, two powerful Senate committee chairmen are at loggerheads over legislation to set the first federal clean-up standards for the large oceangoing ships on which aquatic invasive species hitch a ride to U.S. shores.
The dispute is between Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
Boxer is blocking a clean-up bill passed by Inouye's committee over concerns it would pre-empt stronger standards in California and a handful of other states; Inouye believes a single national standard is needed. Boxer also insists the clean-up program be governed in part by the Clean Water Act — which would give environmental groups the right to sue to enforce it — while Inouye's bill keeps the program in the hands of the Coast Guard.
Similar clean-up legislation has already passed the House, but advocates on both sides are pessimistic about breaking the impasse before Congress finishes up work for the year. Article
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Off summer for some invasive species in Massachusetts
By Doug Fraser, CapeCodTimes.com
Cape Cod trees were largely spared the scourges of that voracious triumvirate — the winter moth, forest tent, and gypsy moth caterpillars — this summer.
"There were some localized pockets, but there wasn't any widespread defoliation," said Roberta Clark of the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension. But that doesn't signal an end to the plague. Next year, given favorable weather conditions, the pests could be back in greater numbers.
That could affect orchards, blueberry growers and the average homeowner. After three or four years of complete defoliation by winter moths or gypsy and tent caterpillars, even larger trees can die, Clark said. Stands of dead trees in Sandwich and along Route 3 in Kingston testify to that, she added.
In the case of the gypsy moth and forest tent caterpillars, the humid, cool conditions this past spring helped two strains of the entomophagia fungus attack and decimate their populations. One of those strains is itself an alien species that was introduced in 1989 to attack the gypsy moth. Biological "controls" like the fungus sometimes take a decade or more to establish themselves.
University of Massachusetts entomology professor Joseph Elkinton believes the 1989 fungus is just now taking a major toll on gypsy moths.
For winter moths, it was the hard freeze following Thanksgiving that trapped many of the adult moths in the frozen ground before they could emerge and take their mating flight. Article
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Mapping a menace in Connecticut
By Robert Miller, NewsTimes.com
If you look across Candlewood Lake on a bright day, the sunlight glints and dances on the water.
In his shallow-bottomed boat, Greg Bugbee is now busy slowly criss-crossing Candlewood, wearing sunglasses that help him peer through the surface sheen. The object of his attention -- Eurasian watermilfoil -- lies underwater.
This year, it's hard not to see it.
"Last year, we could stay away from the docks," Bugbee said, pointing out that the plants in 2007 were mostly out in deeper water, away from the shoreline. "This year, it's in closer. That means I have to work between the docks in some places."
Bugbee is a an assistant scientist for the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. For the past four years, he's helped map the thick beds of watermilfoil in Candlewood Lake. For the past two years, working in conjunction with FirstLight Power Resources -- which owns the Housatonic River hydroelectric plants -- he's added Lake Lillinonah and Lake Zoar to the project. Article
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Fish species on the decline in the Hudson River, in part due to invasive species
By Michael Risinit, The Journal News
Where the Hudson River bends around Jones Point in Rockland County, there is a navigational marker labeled P 47 on the charts - the letter signifying nearby Peekskill and the figure its height in feet. Two ospreys one morning perched on the structure, which looks like a small oil derrick.
The black-and-white fish hawks also sit atop the river's web of life. Feet first, they can snatch a meal from a river whose biological productivity has been described as "staggering."
State lawmakers heralded the river's fish life when they created the Hudson River Estuary Management Program in 1987, declaring it to be an estuary of "statewide and national importance." An arm of the sea filled with food and shelter for young fish, the Hudson, the Legislature proclaimed then, "is the only major estuary on the East Coast to still retain strong populations of its historical spawning stocks."
Now, 21 years later, many of the Hudson's signature fish populations are suffering. Numbers of American shad, American eel, smelt and blueback herring are declining, according to state fisheries biologists and others. Alewives and Atlantic sturgeon seem to be holding their own, the latter possibly rebounding from rock-bottom population numbers in the early 1990s.
About 214 species of fish call the river and its tributaries home sometime in their lives. Research and monitoring, though, concentrates mostly on sport fish and commercially important species. Several factors could be blamed for the tumbling numbers: loss of habitat and spawning grounds, contamination from sewage and storm water overflows, riverside power plants sucking in water (along with billions of fish larvae and eggs) to cool their equipment, the unintentional take of some species by ocean trawlers, climate change, and invasive species changing the river's food web. Article
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Don't be seduced by purple loosestrife
Richard Ceponis, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County (New York)
In the middle of July you start to notice her along the riverbank, on the shore of a pond or along the highway. She catches your eye with a flirting bit of color as she pops up here and there. By August, she is everywhere that she could take root, and her seductive beauty is so strong that it makes you want to just pull over and pick some. But beware; she is not the cute and innocent native wildflower that she wants you to believe she is.
Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is not native to North America; it is native to Eurasia. It entered the United States about 1814 by using its enticing beauty to lure European settlers into bringing it over for their flower gardens. It soon escaped cultivation and is now a major threat to the wetlands of the Northeast. It is one of the top 12 invasive exotic plants in upstate New York. The Nature Conservancy considers it a contributing factor to the potential extinction of some of our native wetland plants and animals. Article
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2008 Invasive Plant Atlas of New England Invasives Training
New Hampshire SentinelSource.com
HANCOCK, N.H. — The Harris Center for Conservation Education is offering the “2008 Invasive Plant Atlas of New England Invasives Training” for those interested in learning how to collect and submit data on invasive species.
The Invasive Plant Atlas of New England (IPANE) has created a Web site database of invasive plant species in the region, which is updated with the help of professionals and trained volunteers.
The workshop will provide participants with the know-how to monitor invasive species in their areas, along with a handbook and invasive species field guide.
Part of the workshop will be spent outdoors and will be Tuesday, Aug. 5, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m at the Harris Center, 83 King’s Highway, Hancock, New Hampshire.
Bring field guides, a hand lens magnifier, bug repellent, a hat, sunscreen, lunch, water, a daypack, binoculars and pencils or pens. Wear sturdy footwear.
Information: 508-877-7630 extension 3203 or e-mail telliman@newenglandwild.org.
Article
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Cotton farmers face a formidable foe
By GREG BLUESTEIN, Associated Press
IDEAL, Ga. — It’s only a few months into the cotton growing season, but already the budding rows of cotton are dwarfed by towering weeds that starve them of sunlight, nutrients and water.
This pesky pigweed species, called palmer amaranth, has long been held in check by powerful herbicides.
But three years ago, scientists discovered a far-from-ideal development in this central Georgia farming hamlet: The first species that’s resistant to all but the most aggressive chemical treatments.
Now, this powerful new breed has spread to farms throughout the Southeast and is threatening to move further west, baffling farmers and bringing comparisons to that deadliest scourge of cotton.
In Georgia alone, researchers expect to find it in about 40 counties this year. It’s steadily spread throughout the Southeast, afflicting farms in the Carolinas, Tennessee and Arkansas. With each farm it devastates, it’s brought comparisons to the boll weevil, the beetle that lays eggs in the plant’s boll and ruins them.
...the only proven method to stop the weed is prevention. Article
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State of Connecticut and volunteers make gains against water chestnut
By Candace Page, Free Press staff writer
WEST HAVEN, Ct. — In the battle of humans v. alien invaders on Lake Champlain, the home team has made it on the scoreboard.
Water chestnut, a native of Eurasia, once choked bays as far north as the Crown Point Bridge in Addison. Dense beds of the invasive plant drove fish away from oxygen-depleted waters, tangled boat propellers and made some stretches impossible to navigate.
Today, thanks to 10 years of work, more than $2 million and nearly 13,000 hours of volunteer labor, the worst infestations have been removed from 20 miles of lake between West Addison and Benson Landing.
Thick mats still cover much of South Bay, the lake’s southernmost finger, near Whitehall, N.Y. Yearly patrols by volunteers in canoes remove more scattered plants and keep the chestnut from surging north again.
“This is the closest you get to a real success story when it comes to invasives,” said Tim Hunt, field supervisor of Vermont’s water chestnut control program. Article
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Saratoga Lake's milfoil curbed
By LEIGH HORNBECK, Timesunion.com
STILLWATER, New York -- Eurasian milfoil, an invasive plant that creates a nuisance for boaters and swimmers, is almost under control in Saratoga Lake, according to the Saratoga Lake Protection and Improvement District.
The district, which is supported by 1,400 taxpayers who live around the lake, paid for an application of a herbicide to kill the weeds. Last year the chemicals were used on the south end of the lake and in May the district moved to the east side. The cost of the project is $550,000 so far.
This year the district switched from the Sonar brand of herbicide to Renovate, a chemical that needs only three days of contact with the weed to work, rather than 30 days, said lake administrator Dean Long, the director of Environmental Planning for the LA Group in Saratoga Springs.
"It killed the milfoil on the east side or stressed it to the point its growth was slowed down and it is 80 to 90 percent under control," Long said.
In 2009, the district will complete the application cycle on the west side of the lake.
Milfoil grows in large floating beds that kill off native plants and can become tangled in boat propellers. Herbicide used to control milfoil is used in the early spring so it is absorbed by milfoil rather than the native plants that come up later in the season, Long said.
"We were happy the native weeds were not stressed," said Joe Finn, a representative from the town of Saratoga on the improvement district board.
Long said he expects the herbicide to work for three to five years with occasional spot treatment. Article
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Showing posts with label gypsy moth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gypsy moth. Show all posts
Monday, August 4, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Week of April 13, 2008
Updated April 18
Muskrat population declining significantly in Connecticut
JOHN BURGESON jburgeson@ctpost.com
The tall, feather-like reeds that have been crowding out native plants along the coastline are claiming another victim — the muskrat.
Wildlife biologists throughout the Northeast and eastern Canada say that they have observed significant declines in muskrat populations, and the culprit seems to be phragmites australis, also known as the common reed.
Paul Rego, a wildlife biologist with the state Department of Environment Protection, said that muskrats — an aquatic rodent that resembles a small beaver — have been in steep decline since the 1990s.
"The most widely accepted reason for this has been a change in wetland vegetation," Rego said. "The cattails — their principal source of food — have been replaced by phragmites and also by the purple loose-strife."
Rego said that muskrats have no use for either of these invasive plants. "Cattails are an important source of food for muskrats," he said, noting the muskrat population drop was discovered after analyzing the records of fur trappers. About 400trapping licenses are issued annually in Connecticut.
Muskrats also use cattails to make their nests.
According to the DEP, about 24,000 muskrat pelts were harvested in 1984. In recent years, the number is about 4,000 or less. This decline has corresponded closely with the spread of phragmites, which creates a plant "monoculture" once it invades a marsh, biologists say.
"Phragmites had definitely expanded its range in the last couple of decades," said Todd Mervosh, a weed scientist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station's Windsor office. "It's a very aggressive plant — it's tall — other plants can't get sunlight," Mervosh said. "And it spreads through rhizomes — they look like roots but actually they're underground branches that spread out 20 feet or more."
He said that phragmites can only be effectively controlled with herbicides, and that there are only a few companies in the Northeast with the training and equipment to do this work in the marshes where the weed grows.
Rego said that there are three other hypotheses being considered, none of which have gained much traction in the scientific community.
The first of these includes the so-called "succession" of marshland, in which it gradually changes from an "open marsh," with mostly grass-like plants, to a "closed marsh" with more trees.
Another has to do with an increase in predators, such as owls, hawks and mink. The third involves the gradual improvement of water quality in the last 40 years, which has, paradoxically, led to a reduction in marsh plant life because cleaner water doesn't have as many organic nutrients.
Rego said that the DEP has studied muskrats in the Quinnipiac River Marsh Wildlife Area — bounded by New Haven, Hamden and North Haven — most extensively. But, he said, it's likely that similar declines have taken place in the marsh at the mouth of the Housatonic River — the Charles E. Wheeler Wildlife Area — and other marshy sites between New Haven and Greenwich.
Rego said that phragmites involve two different plants that have a similar appearance. The invasive variety can be traced to a reed that originated in Europe.
"There is actually a domestic version of the plant which isn't nearly as bad," he said.
Mervosh said that the invasive phragmites are quite likely a hybrid of the native and European species. He doesn't see much letup in its advancement, either. "Unfortunately, it doesn't need a marsh — it can spread to upland areas, too." Full Article
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New computer model for gypsy moths
The gypsy moth is an invasive species that destroys over a million acres of forest land every year. A new computer model may help land managers formulate more effective plans of attack against these destructive pests.
The model indicates that the best strategies for managing the moths include eradicating medium-density infestations and reducing high-density infestations, rather than reducing spreading from the main infestation.
"Most managers currently use the same strategy in all situations, but our model suggests that by tailoring their approach to a particular situation, managers can be more effective in slowing the spread of invasive species," said Katriona Shea, a biologist at Pennsylvania State University who helped design the model.
The model will be detailed the April 2008 issue of the journal Ecological Applications.
-- LiveScience Staff Link
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New invasive aquatic plant position available in the Adirondack Park, New York
The Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program, one of NY's eight Partnerships for Regional Invasive Species Management, is thrilled to announce the availability of a new position - Adirondack Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator (AISC). The AISC will join the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) Director and Terrestrial Invasive Species Coordinator and assist the development and implementation of invasive species programs in the Adirondack region.
The AISC's primary role will be to build upon APIPP's early detection and monitoring programs for aquatic invasives and to coordinate partners working on aquatic invasive species issues (a full job description is attached).
APIPP is a partnership program, hosted by the Adirondack Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and recently funded by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, involving more than 30 cooperating organizations and hundreds of volunteers working to protect the Adirondack region from the harmful impacts of non-native invasive species.
This is an excellent opportunity for a motivated individual to work in a creative, team-oriented environment on an important and high profile conservation issue. Please send a letter of interest, resume, and names and contact information for three references by Monday, May 5 to Hilary Oles, PO Box 65, Keene Valley, NY 12943 or mailto:holes@tnc.org. A start date of early to mid June is desired.
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Biologist to seek elusive mollusks in Winsted's Highland Lake
BY JIM MOORE REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
WINSTED, CONNECTICUT — Biologist Ethan Nedeau believes the elusive and nearly endangered Eastern pondmussel lurks in Highland Lake, and he soon will arrive to hunt it down. This state-listed "species of special concern" may complicate efforts to control invasive weeds that threaten water quality in the lake, which in turn supports home values where the greatest concentration of wealth (and tax dollars) are found here.
A suspicion that the mussel known to scientists as Ligumia nasuta might lurk in the depths delayed a state permit last year to continue four years of annual herbicide application. The Department of Environmental Protection finally agreed in July to allow the $14,950 application of Diquat, a herbicide used to kill invasive milfoil weeds, in exchange for the town's agreement to investigate the mussel population.
Nedeau is expected to arrive in May, don scuba gear and explore the lake bottom to document the population and distribution of Eastern pondmussels. His services are expected to cost up to $2,000, which will come from the town budget for lake water quality maintenance. Article
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Georgia opens invasive species center
By Brad Haire, University of Georgia
University of Georgia experts have opened a new center in Tifton, Ga., to limit the spread of invasive species and understand their impact on native plants. They hope to teach others how to do the same.
The UGA Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health will pool the resources and expertise found in the university’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, said Dave Moorhead, a UGA professor of silviculture and the center’s co-director.
“Our strengths will be creating educational materials, partnering with others on the university level and creating outreach programs,” he said.
The center will be located on the UGA Tifton campus, he said, but its focus will include invasive and ecosystem health threats found around the Southeast, the country and even the world. Center co-director Keith Douce, a CAES entomologist, is in Europe teaching and learning about invasive species that could potentially cause problems here.
“With global trade, now more than ever, the possibility of invasive species being introduced from any part of the world is high,” Moorhead said.
An invasive species is one that is introduced either by accident or on purpose to an area where it hasn’t been in the past. At first, the species may go unnoticed, he said. But if a population is allowed to grow, it can out compete and dominate native species and cause major health problems for the ecosystem. Invasive species cause $100 million in damage annually in the U.S.
Georgia has many unwanted guests like privet and kudzu, a notorious, rapidly spreading vine of Southern legend. But other unwanted guests are now starting to wear out their welcome, too.
Honeysuckle, Japanese climbing fern and the vine Oriental bittersweet are stalking their way through Georgia forests. And cogongrass, an aggressive grass that can choke out native flora, has caused major problems in Florida and Mississippi. It now has a foothold in Georgia.
The Midwest and western states have problems with invasive species, too. Getting land managers on the same page there to control invasive species is a bit easier because a lot of the land is publicly owned, Moorhead said.
It’s different in the eastern U.S., where much of the land is privately owned, he said. “It’s more difficult to get a widespread program and get the word out in this area that invasives are starting to pose problems.”
The center evolved from the Bugwood Network, a UGA Web-based system used to collect, promote and distribute educational materials in entomology, forestry and natural resources. Article
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Invasive Species Task Force seasonal crew needed, Town of Lincoln, MA
2 Seasonal, Full Time Positions
Skill Level: Internship / Volunteer
Project Goals and Background Information: This is a project funded by the Lincoln Community Preservation Committee project for purposes of protecting the ecological integrity of the landscape.
Job Description: Crew members will be involved in conservation restoration projects. Duties will include removal of invasive species from conservation land using hand and power tools, and replanting with native species where appropriate. The invasive species to be focused on include bittersweet, buckthorn, garlic mustard, honeysuckle, phragmites, and black swallow-wort. Crew members will also census hemlock trees to determine the extent of the hemlock woolly adelgid infestation. Duties include taking inventory of various measurements, estimating health, and mapping results. Crew members will assist in the propagation of Galerucella beetles for purple loosestrife control.
Qualifications: Possess New England flora identification skills, ability to recognize various invasive species, ability to use various hand and power tools, ability to perform physically demanding tasks, ability and willingness to work in all New England summer weather conditions and tolerate ticks, poison ivy, mosquitoes, chiggers, hornets, etc., ability to work both independently and in cooperation with others, and possess valid driver's license. GPS/GIS experience beneficial.
Job duration: 10 weeks beginning in May or early June
Salary: $12 - $14 per hour depending upon experience
Contact Information: Tom Gumbart 781-259-2612 (phone) gumbartt@lincolntown.org
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Asian longhorned beetle eradicated in Illinois
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Asian longhorned beetle, a tree-killing pest, has been eradicated in Illinois, U.S., state and local officials said on Thursday.
Illinois is the first state to declare success against the insect. The beetle was discovered in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago in 1998. There have been no signs of the invasive pest in four years.
Between 1998 and 2006, approximately 1,771 trees were removed to destroy the invasive insect in Chicago. Chemical treatments also were used against the beetle.
USDA currently is working with its state and local government partners to eradicate ALB in parts of New York and in central New Jersey.
The Asian longhorned beetle is about 1.5 inches long and shiny black with antenna up to twice the length of their bodies, banded in black and white. It favors maple, birch, elm and poplar trees, among others, as its hosts. Article
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Rutgers Coop Extension hosts invasive plant talk on May 8
NEWTON, NJ — Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Sussex County will present its spring forest management series by hosting Dr. Mark Vodak, forestry specialist at Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, on Thursday, May 8 at 7 p.m. at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Office, 129 Morris Turnpike in Newton.
Vodak will present “Are Invasive Plants a Problem in my Woodlot?” He will describe why invasive plants are of concern in woodlot management, what species are of most concern and what management strategies are recommended for their control.
Contact Rutgers Cooperative Extension at 973-948-3040 to pre-register. Admission is free.
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Muskrat population declining significantly in Connecticut
JOHN BURGESON jburgeson@ctpost.com
The tall, feather-like reeds that have been crowding out native plants along the coastline are claiming another victim — the muskrat.
Wildlife biologists throughout the Northeast and eastern Canada say that they have observed significant declines in muskrat populations, and the culprit seems to be phragmites australis, also known as the common reed.
Paul Rego, a wildlife biologist with the state Department of Environment Protection, said that muskrats — an aquatic rodent that resembles a small beaver — have been in steep decline since the 1990s.
"The most widely accepted reason for this has been a change in wetland vegetation," Rego said. "The cattails — their principal source of food — have been replaced by phragmites and also by the purple loose-strife."
Rego said that muskrats have no use for either of these invasive plants. "Cattails are an important source of food for muskrats," he said, noting the muskrat population drop was discovered after analyzing the records of fur trappers. About 400trapping licenses are issued annually in Connecticut.
Muskrats also use cattails to make their nests.
According to the DEP, about 24,000 muskrat pelts were harvested in 1984. In recent years, the number is about 4,000 or less. This decline has corresponded closely with the spread of phragmites, which creates a plant "monoculture" once it invades a marsh, biologists say.
"Phragmites had definitely expanded its range in the last couple of decades," said Todd Mervosh, a weed scientist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station's Windsor office. "It's a very aggressive plant — it's tall — other plants can't get sunlight," Mervosh said. "And it spreads through rhizomes — they look like roots but actually they're underground branches that spread out 20 feet or more."
He said that phragmites can only be effectively controlled with herbicides, and that there are only a few companies in the Northeast with the training and equipment to do this work in the marshes where the weed grows.
Rego said that there are three other hypotheses being considered, none of which have gained much traction in the scientific community.
The first of these includes the so-called "succession" of marshland, in which it gradually changes from an "open marsh," with mostly grass-like plants, to a "closed marsh" with more trees.
Another has to do with an increase in predators, such as owls, hawks and mink. The third involves the gradual improvement of water quality in the last 40 years, which has, paradoxically, led to a reduction in marsh plant life because cleaner water doesn't have as many organic nutrients.
Rego said that the DEP has studied muskrats in the Quinnipiac River Marsh Wildlife Area — bounded by New Haven, Hamden and North Haven — most extensively. But, he said, it's likely that similar declines have taken place in the marsh at the mouth of the Housatonic River — the Charles E. Wheeler Wildlife Area — and other marshy sites between New Haven and Greenwich.
Rego said that phragmites involve two different plants that have a similar appearance. The invasive variety can be traced to a reed that originated in Europe.
"There is actually a domestic version of the plant which isn't nearly as bad," he said.
Mervosh said that the invasive phragmites are quite likely a hybrid of the native and European species. He doesn't see much letup in its advancement, either. "Unfortunately, it doesn't need a marsh — it can spread to upland areas, too." Full Article
----------------------------------------------------------
New computer model for gypsy moths
The gypsy moth is an invasive species that destroys over a million acres of forest land every year. A new computer model may help land managers formulate more effective plans of attack against these destructive pests.
The model indicates that the best strategies for managing the moths include eradicating medium-density infestations and reducing high-density infestations, rather than reducing spreading from the main infestation.
"Most managers currently use the same strategy in all situations, but our model suggests that by tailoring their approach to a particular situation, managers can be more effective in slowing the spread of invasive species," said Katriona Shea, a biologist at Pennsylvania State University who helped design the model.
The model will be detailed the April 2008 issue of the journal Ecological Applications.
-- LiveScience Staff Link
--------------------------------------------------------
New invasive aquatic plant position available in the Adirondack Park, New York
The Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program, one of NY's eight Partnerships for Regional Invasive Species Management, is thrilled to announce the availability of a new position - Adirondack Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator (AISC). The AISC will join the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) Director and Terrestrial Invasive Species Coordinator and assist the development and implementation of invasive species programs in the Adirondack region.
The AISC's primary role will be to build upon APIPP's early detection and monitoring programs for aquatic invasives and to coordinate partners working on aquatic invasive species issues (a full job description is attached).
APIPP is a partnership program, hosted by the Adirondack Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and recently funded by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, involving more than 30 cooperating organizations and hundreds of volunteers working to protect the Adirondack region from the harmful impacts of non-native invasive species.
This is an excellent opportunity for a motivated individual to work in a creative, team-oriented environment on an important and high profile conservation issue. Please send a letter of interest, resume, and names and contact information for three references by Monday, May 5 to Hilary Oles, PO Box 65, Keene Valley, NY 12943 or mailto:holes@tnc.org. A start date of early to mid June is desired.
----------------------------------------------------------
Biologist to seek elusive mollusks in Winsted's Highland Lake
BY JIM MOORE REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
WINSTED, CONNECTICUT — Biologist Ethan Nedeau believes the elusive and nearly endangered Eastern pondmussel lurks in Highland Lake, and he soon will arrive to hunt it down. This state-listed "species of special concern" may complicate efforts to control invasive weeds that threaten water quality in the lake, which in turn supports home values where the greatest concentration of wealth (and tax dollars) are found here.
A suspicion that the mussel known to scientists as Ligumia nasuta might lurk in the depths delayed a state permit last year to continue four years of annual herbicide application. The Department of Environmental Protection finally agreed in July to allow the $14,950 application of Diquat, a herbicide used to kill invasive milfoil weeds, in exchange for the town's agreement to investigate the mussel population.
Nedeau is expected to arrive in May, don scuba gear and explore the lake bottom to document the population and distribution of Eastern pondmussels. His services are expected to cost up to $2,000, which will come from the town budget for lake water quality maintenance. Article
----------------------------------------------------------
Georgia opens invasive species center
By Brad Haire, University of Georgia
University of Georgia experts have opened a new center in Tifton, Ga., to limit the spread of invasive species and understand their impact on native plants. They hope to teach others how to do the same.
The UGA Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health will pool the resources and expertise found in the university’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, said Dave Moorhead, a UGA professor of silviculture and the center’s co-director.
“Our strengths will be creating educational materials, partnering with others on the university level and creating outreach programs,” he said.
The center will be located on the UGA Tifton campus, he said, but its focus will include invasive and ecosystem health threats found around the Southeast, the country and even the world. Center co-director Keith Douce, a CAES entomologist, is in Europe teaching and learning about invasive species that could potentially cause problems here.
“With global trade, now more than ever, the possibility of invasive species being introduced from any part of the world is high,” Moorhead said.
An invasive species is one that is introduced either by accident or on purpose to an area where it hasn’t been in the past. At first, the species may go unnoticed, he said. But if a population is allowed to grow, it can out compete and dominate native species and cause major health problems for the ecosystem. Invasive species cause $100 million in damage annually in the U.S.
Georgia has many unwanted guests like privet and kudzu, a notorious, rapidly spreading vine of Southern legend. But other unwanted guests are now starting to wear out their welcome, too.
Honeysuckle, Japanese climbing fern and the vine Oriental bittersweet are stalking their way through Georgia forests. And cogongrass, an aggressive grass that can choke out native flora, has caused major problems in Florida and Mississippi. It now has a foothold in Georgia.
The Midwest and western states have problems with invasive species, too. Getting land managers on the same page there to control invasive species is a bit easier because a lot of the land is publicly owned, Moorhead said.
It’s different in the eastern U.S., where much of the land is privately owned, he said. “It’s more difficult to get a widespread program and get the word out in this area that invasives are starting to pose problems.”
The center evolved from the Bugwood Network, a UGA Web-based system used to collect, promote and distribute educational materials in entomology, forestry and natural resources. Article
---------------------------------------------------------
Invasive Species Task Force seasonal crew needed, Town of Lincoln, MA
2 Seasonal, Full Time Positions
Skill Level: Internship / Volunteer
Project Goals and Background Information: This is a project funded by the Lincoln Community Preservation Committee project for purposes of protecting the ecological integrity of the landscape.
Job Description: Crew members will be involved in conservation restoration projects. Duties will include removal of invasive species from conservation land using hand and power tools, and replanting with native species where appropriate. The invasive species to be focused on include bittersweet, buckthorn, garlic mustard, honeysuckle, phragmites, and black swallow-wort. Crew members will also census hemlock trees to determine the extent of the hemlock woolly adelgid infestation. Duties include taking inventory of various measurements, estimating health, and mapping results. Crew members will assist in the propagation of Galerucella beetles for purple loosestrife control.
Qualifications: Possess New England flora identification skills, ability to recognize various invasive species, ability to use various hand and power tools, ability to perform physically demanding tasks, ability and willingness to work in all New England summer weather conditions and tolerate ticks, poison ivy, mosquitoes, chiggers, hornets, etc., ability to work both independently and in cooperation with others, and possess valid driver's license. GPS/GIS experience beneficial.
Job duration: 10 weeks beginning in May or early June
Salary: $12 - $14 per hour depending upon experience
Contact Information: Tom Gumbart 781-259-2612 (phone) gumbartt@lincolntown.org
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Asian longhorned beetle eradicated in Illinois
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Asian longhorned beetle, a tree-killing pest, has been eradicated in Illinois, U.S., state and local officials said on Thursday.
Illinois is the first state to declare success against the insect. The beetle was discovered in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago in 1998. There have been no signs of the invasive pest in four years.
Between 1998 and 2006, approximately 1,771 trees were removed to destroy the invasive insect in Chicago. Chemical treatments also were used against the beetle.
USDA currently is working with its state and local government partners to eradicate ALB in parts of New York and in central New Jersey.
The Asian longhorned beetle is about 1.5 inches long and shiny black with antenna up to twice the length of their bodies, banded in black and white. It favors maple, birch, elm and poplar trees, among others, as its hosts. Article
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Rutgers Coop Extension hosts invasive plant talk on May 8
NEWTON, NJ — Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Sussex County will present its spring forest management series by hosting Dr. Mark Vodak, forestry specialist at Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, on Thursday, May 8 at 7 p.m. at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Office, 129 Morris Turnpike in Newton.
Vodak will present “Are Invasive Plants a Problem in my Woodlot?” He will describe why invasive plants are of concern in woodlot management, what species are of most concern and what management strategies are recommended for their control.
Contact Rutgers Cooperative Extension at 973-948-3040 to pre-register. Admission is free.
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Sunday, November 4, 2007
Week of November 4, 2007
Updated November 9, 2007
Boston, MA: Countdown to Deforestation
BOSTON, MA - The Franklin Park Coalition (FPC) says the park’s tree canopy will be gone in 30 years. The cities’ Parks and Recreation Department isn’t so sure. But both organizations recognize that maintenance of Boston’s largest park is an immediate priority, and they are getting to work.
The FPC predicts in the current draft of its Woodland Management Plan that, “The age and condition of the tree canopy in the park indicate that most of the large trees that define the park’s woodlands will be gone within thirty years.”
Heavy use and the establishment of invasive species have prevented the woodlands, which cover about 200 acres of the over 500-acre park, from fully regenerating themselves over the 125 years since they were originally planted, according to the report. Link
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Maine: Rep. Jayne Crosby Giles honored for supporting invasive plant legislation
AUGUSTA, ME (Nov 2): Rep. Jayne Crosby Giles (R-Belfast) was honored for her support of policies protecting Maine’s environment during the first session of the 123rd Legislature. The first-term lawmaker received a 5 out of 5 score from the Maine League of Conservation Voters in the 2007 Environmental Scorecard for legislators. Five pieces of legislation monitored by MLCV were used in the organization’s rating process, including control and prevention of invasive plant infestations. Link
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New York: Control Invasives to Protect Tourism
LAKE PLACID, NY — What does a lack of uniform cell phone and broadband service, invasive species control, and accessible bicycle paths mean for the tourism industry in New York state? A lot, according to representatives from the state Hospitality and Tourism Association.
Government officials and tourism leaders from across the state gathered in the Adirondack Park to discuss those issues. Needs include controlling invasive species of plants and bacteria that can cause major damage to streams and forests, especially in the 6-million-acre Adirondack Park, which can hinder tourism. Hilary Oles, program coordinator with the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program in Keene Valley, said invasive species are the “visitors we don’t want coming to the Adirondacks.” Link
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Gypsy Moths in Maryland
THURMONT -- If you thought this year's gypsy moth infestation was bad, just wait until next year. Gypsy moths munched their way through more than 15,000 acres of trees in the spring of 2007, and state officials expect the leaf-eating pests to defoliate more than that in 2008. How much more is anybody's guess. The state was caught by surprise in 2007 with many more gypsy moths than expected. At the same time, the federal government cut back the amount of money it provides to states to fight the invasive pest. Link
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Hydrilla: A Benefical Role in the Chesapeake Bay watershed?
By PATRICK LYNCH, DailyPress.com
A recent trip up the Chickahominy River and one of its tributaries, Morris Creek, revealed one of the tidal freshwater spots in the lower Chesapeake Bay watershed where grasses — though already dying back at the onset of fall — seem to be making steady comeback. ...Kenneth Moore, a scientist at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, has been studying the struggling conditions of the Chesapeake's grasses since the 1970s. In some of those cases, the resurgence is led by an Asian species of grass that is not native to the Chesapeake ecosystem. Called hydrilla, it was likely introduced to East Coast waters as an aquarium plant and somehow made it to the wild.The species can become a nuisance and invasive. But it has played a beneficial role, Moore said, and is better equipped to thrive in less than ideal conditions. Native species also seem to grow alongside it in many ecosystems, Moore said, and fish find it suitable as habitat. Link
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Hillary Clinton: Invasive Species Wreak Unnatural Havoc
From a recent speech by Ms. Clinton: "Two years ago as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation, I traveled to Barrow, Alaska. That's the northern most point of the United States. And I also traveled through on my way there the Yukon Territory in Canada. Traveling over those vast coniferous forests that blanket those harsh unforgiving latitudes, I looked down to see dead trees as far as the eye could reach. These trees are part of an ecosystem formed to survive brutal conditions. But the giant spruce trees of the Yukon, some centuries old, are no match for a relative newcomer: a tiny insect known as the bark beetle. The forests, it turns out, were once protected by cold, cold winters. The beetle could not survive. But warmer temperatures have allowed this invasive species to travel into higher latitudes and wreak unnatural havoc. In once pristine forests, there was devastation. Millions of acres infested. Whole swaths of land - once green - now brown." Link
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Eurasian Watermilfoil Plan
2008 Statewide Strategic Plan for Eurasian Watermilfoil in Idaho (Oct 17, 2007; PDF 2.16 MB) Idaho State Department of Agriculture. Prepared by the Idaho Invasive Species Council and the Idaho State Department of Agriculture
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Japanese Knotweed in Vermont
Demo site winding down, mapping project gearing UP! Keep an eye on us: http://www.blackriveractionteam.org/.
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Carp Management and Control Plan
Management and Control Plan for Bighead, Black, Grass, and Silver carps in the United States (Oct 2007; PDF 3.62 MB) Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force.
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Hemlock Woolly Adelgid: Maine Towns Combat Invasive Species With Beetles
By CHARLES McMAHON, Democrat Staff Writer
KITTERY, Maine — Agents from the state Forest Service have released 900 beetles in Kittery and York to combat another invasive species of bug, the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. Link
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Funding
The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) is pleased to announce the second annual Request for Proposals (RFPs) in its Wildlife Habitat Policy Research Program (WHPRP). Project descriptions and detailed directions for submitting Letters of Intent (LOIs) are now available. Please click here .
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Asian Earthworms: Hooked on Destruction
By Lee Shearer, OnlineAthens
They're big, they're bad, and they may be wriggling soon to a patch of dirt near you. They're Asian earthworms (Amynthas agrestis). Fishermen love them, because they're good bait. They're sometimes called "Alabama jumpers," because they actually can flip themselves out of a bait cup, said Mac Callaham, an ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service's Forestry Science Laboratory in Athens. Full article
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Educating Rhode Islanders About Invasive Plants
By Dotti Farrington, The Jamestown Press
Jamestown Conservation Commissioners last month decided to develop a brochure for homeowners to be able to identify and to remove invasive plants from their properties. The educational pamphlet will supplement the commission's effort to identify and control invasive plants on town properties and along island roadsides. Full Article
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Sea Lamprey: Vermont and New York Lampricide Debate
Vermont and New York tried to resume a program Wednesday to poison Sea Lamprey. For several years, anglers have been lobbying Vermont officials to crack down on the parasites by kick-starting the program that first began almost twenty years ago. Lamprey attack and kill sport fish like trout and salmon. But environmentalists have tried to put the brakes on the program. Full Article
------------------------------------------------------------JOB: Director, Center for Invasive Plant Management, Montana State University. Seeking talented and enthusiastic individual to promote ecologically sound invasive plant management. Complete announcement and application instructions: http://www.montana.
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CASE STUDY: The long-term control of Giant Hogweed and Japanese Knotweed (Scotland, UK)
By ADAM DRUMMOND, The Berwick Advertiser
TWEED Forum launched their best practice booklet on the control of invasive plant species this week at Paxton House. The Scottish Government sponsored Tweed Forum to produce the best practice booklet due to the Forum's success in tackling invasive plants. The booklet will show others how to approach a similar problem. Michael Russell, Minister for Environment, who launched the booklet on Monday said: "The approach taken by Tweed Forum has shown what can be done through close coordination and involvement of everyone who lives and works on the river." For the last five years Tweed Forum has been carrying out the control of invasive, non native plant species on the Tweed. As a result of this catchment based and highly coordinated approach this has quickly become one of the most successful projects of its type in the UK. Luke Comins, manager of Tweed Forum said: "Five years ago the lower part of the Tweed was infested with Giant Hogweed; taking over the riverbanks to the detriment of our native flora and fauna. We have carried out control of Hogweed on over 300 miles of river. Where there were huge stands of 12 foot high flowering Hogweed there are now virtually no flowering plants to be found anywhere in the catchment." The Tweed Invasives Project aims to control Giant Hogweed and Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam on the Till, throughout the Tweed catchment, an area of over 3000 sq miles. Over the last five years, over £500,000 ($1,050,000) has been spent on tackling the problem, with the main course of action being spraying with glyphosphate; the only herbicide approved for use next to watercourses. Case Study Link
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Cornell Researchers Discover Natural Herbicide Released by Grass
By Krishna Ramanujan, Cornell Chronicle Online
Certain varieties of common fescue lawn grass come equipped with their own natural broad-spectrum herbicide that inhibits the growth of weeds and other plants around them. Cornell researchers have identified the herbicide as an amino acid called meta-tyrosine, or m-tyrosine, that these lawn grasses exude from their roots in large amounts. This amino acid is a close relative of para-tyrosine (p-tyrosine), one of the 20 common amino acids that form proteins. Reporting on the discovery in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, Frank Schroeder, the paper's senior author and an assistant scientist at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research on Cornell's campus, said, "We at first didn't believe m-tyrosine had anything to do with the observed herbicidal activity, but then we tested it and found it to be extremely toxic to plants but not toxic to fungi, mammals or bacteria." Article Link
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Cornell Researchers Discover Natural Herbicide Released by Grass
By Krishna Ramanujan, Cornell Chronicle Online
Certain varieties of common fescue lawn grass come equipped with their own natural broad-spectrum herbicide that inhibits the growth of weeds and other plants around them. Cornell researchers have identified the herbicide as an amino acid called meta-tyrosine, or m-tyrosine, that these lawn grasses exude from their roots in large amounts. This amino acid is a close relative of para-tyrosine (p-tyrosine), one of the 20 common amino acids that form proteins. Reporting on the discovery in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, Frank Schroeder, the paper's senior author and an assistant scientist at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research on Cornell's campus, said, "We at first didn't believe m-tyrosine had anything to do with the observed herbicidal activity, but then we tested it and found it to be extremely toxic to plants but not toxic to fungi, mammals or bacteria." Article Link
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