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species,” said trustee Robby Stein, first suggesting the proposed legislation be tabled and then suggesting it be withdrawn completely.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.

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December 12, 2011

Vermont Noxious Weed Rule Additions Move Forward: Burning bush, Norway maple and others may be added to prohibited list

The long awaited proposed amendments to the Vermont Noxious Weed Rule (Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets Quarantine # 3 – Noxious Weeds) have been filed with the Vermont Secretary of State, and the Agency of Agriculture is inviting public comment on the rule and proposed changes. If adopted as proposed, the amendments will prohibit the sale of the following species:Norway maple (Acer platanoides), Common and Japanese Barberries (Berberis thunbergii and B. vulgaris), Burningbush (Euonymous alatus), Yellow flag iris (Iris pseudocorus), Amur maple (Acer ginnala) and European naiad (Najas minor).

As proposed, the rule prohibits sale of these species as of rule adoption, EXCEPT for those specimens already in wholesale and retail inventories within Vermont at the time of rule adoption. ...

Read the full story at link.

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December 9, 2011

New Florida Invasive Species iPhone app

IveGot1 brings the power of EDDMapS to your iPhone. Now you can submit invasive species observations directly with your iPhone from the field. These reports are uploaded to EDDMapS and e-mailed directly to local and state verifiers for review. IveGot1 was developed by the University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health through a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service, in cooperation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the University of Florida Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants. IveGot1 is more than just an iPhone app, it is an integrated invasive species reporting and outreach campaign for Florida that includes the app, a website with direct access to invasive species reporting and a hotline 1-888-IVEGOT1 for instant reports of live animals.

See the new iPhone app at: link

The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (requires iOS 4.3 or later).

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December 6, 2011

New milfoil colony found on Lake Placid, New York

By CHRIS MORRIS, Adirondack Daily Enterprise

LAKE PLACID - Shore owners have found a new milfoil colony on Lake Placid.

Lake Placid Shore Owners Association President Mark Wilson said two members of his group were out kayaking last month when they discovered a swath of variable-leaf milfoil near "False Outlet," which flows in and out of Brewster Bay.

This new colony is located right around the corner from Paradox Bay, where divers from Aquatic Invasive Management removed an infestation in July 2009.

Wilson said AIM and shore owners have identified seven plants within a 50-square-foot area. AIM's co-owner, Tommy Thomson, told the Enterprise the new infestation was likely caused by a fragment that got loose when his crews were mitigating the Paradox Bay colony.

"It took a couple of years for it to be noticed," he said. "We swam through last year and didn't find anything."...

Wilson said he reached out to North Elba town Supervisor Roby Politi and Lake Placid village Mayor Craig Randall. He said he wants to discuss the next steps for mitigating the new infestation, and keep the town and the village updated on actions taken by the Shore Owners Association...

Read the full story at link.

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