Week of November 25, 2007

Funding in MA

BOSTON— The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife is accepting grant applications through Dec. 21 from private landowners, sportsmen’s clubs, land trusts and nonprofit organizations interested in enhancing wildlife habitat on their properties. This year’s grant round will give preference to proposed projects to maintain grasslands and create young tree and shrub land habitats. Goals of the Landowner Incentive Program include managing and controlling exotic and invasive plants. Additional information about habitat programs, grant application and criteria is available at the agency’s Web site, http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/habitat/grants/habitat_grants.htm.

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Growers Bid to Revive American Chestnut

The American Chestnut Foundation oversees a tree-breeding program with chapters in 15 Eastern states and is closing in on blight-resistant American chestnuts trees it hopes could revive the species. Unless a new biological invader intervenes, the Bennington, Vt.-based group hopes to begin mass replantings in about a decade in the chestnut's original range from Maine to Mississippi. Full Article

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Invasive Mussel Hurting Great Lakes Fish Population

They are invasive, living in Lake Michigan, and spreading a lot faster than anyone's prepared for, which is causing quite a challenge for fisherman. Some call them the "rabbits of the aquatic world." They are a breed of mussels called Quaggas, swarming many marinas on Lake Michigan. Quaggas are hungrier and more aggressive than their cousin, the zebra mussel, which blanket beaches and clog up pipes all along the Great Lakes. Full Article

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New York State Awards $1.4 Million to Control Invasive Aquatic Species

ALBANY, NY (11/23/2007; 1254)(readMedia)-- More than 30 municipalities and organizations will receive a total of $1.4 million to help wipe out infestations of non-native aquatic species across the state, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis announced today. The Aquatic Invasive Species Eradication grants will be used by recipients to help fight zebra mussels, water chestnuts, round goby, Eurasian watermilfoil, purple loosestrife, and phragmites, and other invasive threats to New York’s ecosystems. Full Article

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Study Shows Horses Disperse Alien Plants Along Recreational Trails in Colorado

Plant invasions are rapidly becoming a threat to wildlands. One of the ways these aliens are dispersed is through large mammals that forage and excrete seeds in new locations. A new study has found horses to be a source of dispersal along recreational trails in Colorado. The study is published in the latest issue of Rangeland Ecology & Management. To read the entire article, click here: http://www.allenpress.com/pdf/rama-60-06-574-577.pdf

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New York to Wipe Out Phrag "Mites"

Here's a short Albany news video report, where the reporter announces that the state is going to wipe out phrag "mites". Video

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New report says global warming will lead to more phragmites along our shoreline

By Jeff Kartjkart@bc-times.com
If the previous warnings about global warming weren't bad enough, a new report says warmer temperatures will allow phragmites to thrive in the Great Lakes region. The invasive, monster weed has already overtaken large swaths of Saginaw Bay and spread along other shorelines and farther inland, showing up in farm fields and ditches. Charley Curtiss says the global warming predictions, from a National Wildlife Federation report to be released today, aren't surprising. Full Article

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USDA Assesses The Scotts Company, LLC $500,000 Civil Penalty

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26, 2007--The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has concluded an investigation into alleged compliance infractions by The Scotts Company, LLC. The investigation related to regulated genetically engineered glyphosate-tolerant creeping bentgrass. Under today's settlement agreement, Scotts has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $500,000 which is the maximum penalty allowed by the Plant Protection Act of 2000. Full Article

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Ballast Water Brings New Invaders As Congress Slowly Moves Toward Stricter Rules

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. Full Article

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‘Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens,’ by Douglas Tallamy, 288 pages, published by Timber Press, $27.95 Full Article

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"Human-Assisted Migration"

Some conservationists have proposed the radical notion of “human-assisted migration”: a species in danger of extinction, they say, should be relocated to a place where it has a better chance of surviving. Earlier this year, the magazine Conservation reported that a group of American eco-vigilantes called the Torreya Guardians were trying to save a species of Floridian yew tree called Torreya taxifolia by spreading its seeds up to 1,000 km north of its current geographic range. Full Article

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Scientists Use Bugs to Battle Florida's Invasive Species

By Kumari Kelly Sentinel Staff Writer

Think of it as a boxing match: In one corner, the predators; in the other, their prey.The predators: armies of beneficial insects. The prey: noxious weeds that clog waterways and choke native plants or destructive bugs that threaten sago palms, bromeliads or citrus.The tactic, increasingly used in Florida's sensitive ecosystems, is known as "biological control." Full Article

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Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers: Five Years Later

Five years ago, through the national leadership of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, under the auspices of the national Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force and in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard and others, the Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers! campaign was launched to elevate the growing threats presented by aquatic invasive species and to empower people who recreate on our nation’s waterways with prevention behaviors to limit the spread of these harmful species through their recreational activities. Full Article

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