NYDEC Begins Emergency Rule-Making for Hydrilla Infestation Treatment
ALBANY, NY (05/09/2012)(readMedia)-- The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation adopted an emergency rule to allow for herbicide treatment to combat hydrilla, an invasive plant species that has plagued parts of the Cayuga Inlet since last summer, the agency announced today. "Immediate action is necessary to stop the spread of hydrilla to preserve native plants and indigenous aquatic ecosystems throughout New York state," said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens. "By amending the regulation to allow the use of fluridone pellets, DEC is helping control the infestation of a destructive species that threatens the Finger Lakes economy and habitat." The emergency regulation allows the use of fluridone pellets in waters less than two feet deep for 90 days. Upon expiration, DEC intends to renew the temporary, emergency regulation until a permanent rule is in place. The rule amends 6 NYCRR 326.2(b)(4)(ii), which prohibits the application of fluridone pellet formulations in waters less than two feet deep. ...
Read the full story at link.
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MN to test dogs against emerald ash borer
Stephanie Hemphill
Minnesota Public Radio
HARDEN HILLS, Minn. — Specially-trained dogs could soon help enforce quarantines against Emerald ash borer in Minnesota. Ramsey, Hennepin, Houston, and Winona counties have quarantines that prohibit the movement of ash materials, and any other hardwood firewood. State officials say it is difficult to distinguish one type of firewood from another. Four dogs will join human workers this summer as they inspect yard waste sites and trucks hauling compost, said Liz Erickson, spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. "Our regulatory crew has a schedule of what sites to visit, so on their regular site visits they'll take the dogs to have a more efficient and effective site visit," Erickson said. The dogs — two Labrador Retrievers (one yellow, one black), a German Shepherd, and a Belgian Malanois — are being trained by the non-profit group Working Dogs for Conservation to detect ash wood and Emerald ash borer larvae. The invasive pests threaten ash trees across the state and across the country. ...
Read the full story at link.
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Goats tackle invasive species
Associated Press
BALTIMORE (AP) Brian Knox's goats are a bit of a novelty in Maryland, munching invasive species that have proven too tough for mowers, weed whackers and herbicides.
On the West Coast, his business model is already so trite it has inspired a tongue-in-cheek Canadian auto insurance commercial saluting "Goat Renter Guy."
Back East, Knox isn't overly worried about others stealing the idea, which involves first fencing off overgrown areas to keep the goats from munching elsewhere.
"One of the things that keeps the competition down is people don't like ticks, they don't like thorns and they don't like to sweat," Knox said. "And if you're running goats, you've got all of that, that and poison ivy. I've always got poison ivy, the goats don't get it, but I'm covered all the time." Knox, a forester by training who runs Sustainable Resource Management, Inc., an Easton-based consulting firm, said his Eco-Goats subsidiary is becoming a bigger part of his operation. ...
Read the full story at link.
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'Rock snot' infects Delaware River
Ben Horowitz/The Star-Ledger
An invasive form of algae has spread aggressively south in the Delaware River, creating dense shag-carpet-like mats that threaten insects and plants, and the fish that feed on them.
There is no way to eradicate or even control the algae, known as didymo — or even less formally as "rock snot." Even more troubling, the microscopic plant can spread easily, according to officials at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
As a result, officials are urging boaters, fishermen and waders to take extra precautions to avoid infecting other areas of the Delaware or other rivers and streams. ...
Read the full story at link.
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New York State wants you (and your smartphone) to help map invasive species
By Lissa Harris
Call it Conservation 2.0: Citizen science is getting more and more digitally connected all the time.
Take iMapInvasives, an ambitious new project for mapping the spread of invasive species. iMapInvasives combines citizen reports from the field with larger databases maintained by state agencies and nonprofits, allowing backyard nature buffs to make real contributions to public scientific knowlege on invasives. The service launched recently in a handful of states, including New York, but it has national ambitions. In New York State, the iMapInvasives project is being run by the New York Natural Heritage Program (NYNHP), a collaboration between the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the nonprofit Nature Conservancy.
On Tuesday, May 8, the iMapInvasives team is seeking volunteers equipped with smartphones to help road-test some new features in the field, and map the spread of invasives in the Esopus Bend Preserve while they're at it. ... Read the full story at link.
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Showing posts with label goats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goats. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Monday, October 12, 2009
Week of October 12, 2009
Updated 10/17. Newest articles are at the bottom of the post.
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Goats help planned rec center take a bite toward progress
Animals clear the weeds for planned recreation, environmental center in city's Druid Hill Park
By Meredith Cohn, BaltimoreSun.com
The decrepit mansion once served as home to the president of the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, but two decades of brush has grown and, along with vandals, has made it uninhabitable.
Cue the goats.
In what's the first step to a $10 million project to transform this piece of Druid Hill Park into an environmental and recreational center for the city, the four-legged weed whackers have cleared a half-acre ring of ivy and other invasive species. The herd of 40 will be brought back to clear the rest of the 9-acre parcel that few have used, legally anyway, for years.
"It's been an eyesore and has all sorts of unsavory activity going on," said Jean DuBose, director of development and promotions for the Parks & People Foundation, a Baltimore nonprofit group that has undertaken the project. "Most people don't even know it's part of the park. But soon it will be a great resource in the city." [...]
To get started, and even get near the mansion, the foundation needed to clear the overgrowth. Human labor might have been too expensive. The fastest and cheapest way to clear brush would have been herbicide, said Brian Knox, the supervising forester for Ec
o-Goats, the Davidsonville-based firm that supplies the herd. [...] The eco-friendly goats cost about $300 for the first half-acre. [...]
Read the full story at link.
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What if tree-killing bugs chomp Adirondack Forest Preserve?
By MIKE LYNCH, Adirondack Daily Enterprise Outdoors Writer
RAY BROOK, NY - State officials are grappling with how to best proceed if tree-killing forest pests reach the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserve, and it appears a constitutional amendment is low on their priority list.
One of the main methods for getting rid of pests such as the Asian longhorned beetle has been to cut down the trees and chip the wood to small pieces. This method raises legal questions here in the Park because Article XIV of the state Constitution prohibits the cutting of live trees and removal of timber on the Forest Preserve.
Because of the legal complexities, a collection of state officials, scientists and environmental advocates called the Forest Preserve Advisory Committee has been studying the issue.
"There was a consensus among group members that a constitutional amendment would be a last resort," said Rob Davies, director of lands and forests for the state Department of Environmental Conservation. "I think there was a reluctance to the idea of a constitutional amendment, to try to address ahead of time a forest invasion in the Forest Preserve."
Davies was speaking to the state Adirondack Park Agency Thursday during a special presentation on invasive species. He said the Asian longhorned beetle, because of its ability to kill most hardwood trees including maples, could be the most devastating to the Park. This beetle is not new to New York, however; outbreaks of it have been seen in the New York City area since 1996.
The emerald ash borer, on the other hand, is quickly spreading eastward from the Midwest and wiping out ash trees as it goes. Only 2 percent of the Adirondack Park's trees are ash, state officials say, but the ash borer's speed is raising awareness of the danger posed by all invasive tree pests.
Davies said the committee recommended a revision of currently existing guidelines for fighting invasive species and also amending the DEC's incident command system for responding to emergencies should be done first; he expects work will begin on this soon.
Amending the State Land Master Plan is another consideration.
Davies said one reason a constitutional amendment is not considered a good strategy is that it requires two successful votes of the state Legislature and also passage by the people in a statewide general election. A pest could show up in the Forest Preserve well before such an endeavor is undertaken.
"I think there was a recognition that the timing of a constitutional amendment doesn't work," Davies said. "We could have emerald ash borer here next week or next year. You're not going to have a constitutional amendment for years."
Plus, Davies said, the DEC could fight tree-killing pests with the current laws. Davis said there is enough legal precedent to cut trees and take other measures on the Forest Preserve in cases where it is necessary to save the forest.
"The fact that we don't have a constitutional amendment in hand today doesn't stop us from taking action tomorrow," Davies said.
He did say that a constitutional amendment may be considered as part of a long-term strategy.
Another reason from shying away from the constitutional amendment was that the committee members were concerned they could do more harm than good by revising Article XIV.
But APA Commissioner Lani Ulrich, of Old Forge, expressed concern that perhaps the group was limiting their options and suggested "possibly expanding the folks that are around that table and having that conversation again."
"I'm concerned about what kind of Forest Preserve we would have left if we didn't have every (tool) to fight this," Ulrich said.
Steve Sanford, director of the DEC's office of invasive species coordination, defended the decision to not immediately pursue a constitutional amendment. He told the APA he originally favoring such an action but changed his mind.
"I gave heed to the judgment of a lot of veterans in the room who said, 'You're opening Pandora's Box. We could wind up with an Article XIV that is less useful than the one that exists today,'" Sanford said.
Read the story at link.
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Invasives a growing threat to Adirondacks
North Country Public Radio
Adirondack Park Agency commissioners were given a status report yesterday on what’s considered to be the biggest threat to the ecology of the Adirondacks.
Invasive species like milfoil and phragmities are spreading fast throughout the Park, clogging waterways and taking over wetlands.
Hillary Smith is director of the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program. “This threat of invasive species is worsening,” she said. “I saw a real window of opportunity in the Adirondacks and even in my short time here that window is closing. There still are lots of opportunities for us. But the reality is the situation is very much an urgent one and it’s a growing problem.”
Within the last two weeks, an invasive called spiny water flea, which can ruin fisheries, was found in Great Sacandaga Lake and Peck’s Lake, both in the southern Adirondacks. A record number of yellow iris, which invades wetlands, were also found in the Park this year. And milfoil infestations spread to more Adirondack lakes, including Lake Placid.
Smith said their ability to fight back and eradicate invasives is being put to the test. “With every new invasive that makes it through the borders,” she said, “we have an increasing demand for management, increasing demand for spread prevention measures and increasing demand for resources that we all know are very tight at this time.”
Last year the state created an Office of Invasive Species Coordination within the Department of Environmental Conservation.
But the program’s director, Steve Sanford, told agency commissioners that funding for the effort was less than promised. And he said the money was tied up in a battle over the state’s Environmental Protection Fund. “We had planned to be able to spend $5 million, the trouble is there’s only $3 million we can use,” he said. “We had to make some decisions yesterday about what we’re going to go forward with. It’s not where we hoped to be, but at least the faucet’s back on again it was shut off for 11 months.”
Thursday’s meeting also included discussion of the emerald Ash borer and the Asian longhorn beetle, which threaten Adirondack forests. DEC Lands and Forests Director Rob Davies says so far the insects haven’t been found in the Park.
But he said their impact on the region’s ecosystem and economy could be devastating, “As you can imagine, the longer the pest is around, the greater the risk it is going to get out, it is going to impact our maple sugar industry and get into maple sugar stands.”
Removing infected trees could be difficult in the forest preserve if an outbreak occurs, because of environmental rules. Davies said the DEC is working to come up with new rules and guidelines for fighting invasives in the Park.
Read the story and listen to audio at link.
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Announcement and Call for Abstracts
for the 17th International Conference on Aquatic Invasive Species
This is an announcement and call for abstracts of oral presentations and posters for the 17th International Conference on Aquatic Invasive Species that is being hosted by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and held at the Westin San Diego, San Diego, California from August 29 to September 2, 2010. Please note that the abstract submission deadline is Friday, December 11, 2009.
The early registration deadline for the conference is June 25, 2010.
Elizabeth Muckle-Jeffs
Conference Administrator
The Professional Edge
1027 Pembroke Street East, Suite 200
Pembroke, ON K8A 3M4 Canada
Email: elizabeth[at]theprofessionaledge.com
Web: www.theprofessionaledge.com
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New invasives positions at the Institute for Regional Conservation
For information, contact Keith A. Bradley, bradley[at]REGIONALCONSERVATION.ORG
Institute for Regional Conservation
22601 S.W. 152 Avenue
Miami, Florida 33170
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Great Lakes group seeks action against carp threat
By TINA LAM, FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
A coalition of Great Lakes protection groups called today for emergency action to prevent flooding in the Des Plaines River, where Asian carp have invaded and which sits 100 feet from an electric barrier to keep the carp out of Lake Michigan.
Sandbags or concrete barriers need to be put up along the river to prevent the carp from escaping from the river into the canal above the barrier, the groups said.
"This is a natural disaster waiting to happen,” said Jennifer Nalbone of Great Lakes United. “We need to respond to it like we would respond to a hurricane."
The urgent threat is that heavy rains, such as those the region experienced in September 2008, could flood the river enough that the carp could jump into the canal above an electric barrier, giving them free access to the Great Lakes. The ferocious silver carp grow to 100 pounds, threaten boaters and jet-skiers by leaping out of the water and injuring them, and could destroying the food web in the Great Lakes because they’re voracious eaters. They escaped from southern fish farms decades ago and have made their way to the edge of the Great Lakes. [...]
Read the full story at link.
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Report Documents the Risks of Giant Invasive Snakes in the U.S.
DOI. United States Geological Survey.
Five giant non-native snake species would pose high risks to the health of ecosystems in the United States should they become established here, according to a USGS report released. The report details the risks of nine non-native boa, anaconda and python species that are invasive or potentially invasive in the U.S. Because all nine species share characteristics associated with greater risks, none was found to be a low ecological risk. Two of these species are documented as reproducing in the wild in South Florida, with population estimates for Burmese pythons in the tens of thousands.
Read the full story and the report at link.
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Thirty Groups Join Together to Harvest the Seeds of Change
Effort Underway to Restore Long Island’s Native Grasslands and the Wildlife they Support and Make Plants Commercially Available to Public
Riverhead, NY — October 15, 2009 — The Long Island Native Grassland Initiative (LINGI), an organization of more than 30 non-profit organizations, governmental agencies, and nursery professionals, including The Nature Conservancy, harvested the "seeds of change" today in Riverhead. The group, which has been restoring Long Island’s declining native grasslands for the wildlife species that depend on them, gathered seeds from mature plants which will be used to propagate next year’s crop.
Grasslands and the birds and wildlife that depend on them are the single most threatened habitat on earth due to development and the encroachment of invasive plant species. [...]
“Until now, it’s been difficult, if not impossible to find local native grasses for sale,” said project lead Polly Weigand, Soil District Technician for Suffolk County Soil and Water Conservation District. “Our ultimate goal is to provide a source of native plant material –as an alternative to cultivars and hybrid plants –for use in landscaping, restoration, grassland establishment, roadside plantings, biofuel programs, and nurseries.” [...]
Read the article at link.
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A downloadable resource that may be of interest to some of you
BIOLOGY AND CONTROL OF AQUATIC PLANTS
A Best Management Practices Handbook
Lyn A. Gettys, William T. Haller and Marc Bellaud, editors
Prepared by:
Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Foundation
3272 Sherman Ridge Rd
Marietta, GA 30064
Ann Bove
VTDEC
Aquatic Invasive Species Management
(802) 241-3782
ann.bove[at]state.vt.us
This message is brought to you as a service of the Northeast Aquatic Nuisance Species Panel.
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Update on Maine hydrilla infestation
Here is an update concerning the recent discovery of hydrilla in Damariscotta Lake, Maine.
· DEP divers have installed benthic barriers on patches of hydrilla that have spread to the cove just outside of the infested lagoon. No tubers have been detected on the plants outside of the lagoon.
· DEP is currently placing stone riprap across both entrances to the infested lagoon to create a strong physical barrier between the infestation and the rest of the lake.
· This week, DEP will begin the process of manually removing and disposing of the hydrilla in the infested lagoon.
· Roberta Scruggs has written an excellent article on the hydrilla infestation in the recent issue of the LEA Milfoil Update newsletter. To view the article on line please visit http://www.mainelakes.org/documents/Milfoil%20newsletter%209_09.pdf
· According to Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association’s Alice Phillips, “Volunteers have come out of the woodwork to help survey the lake and help us determine if there are any other infested areas. Roughly 50% of the lake has now been surveyed. We are so appreciative of the help!”
· Forty individuals have answered DLWA’s call for help. Members of the DLWA survey team include trained VLMP Invasive Plant Patrollers and others from the Damariscotta Lake area, plus a cadre of certified Plant Patrollers from ”away.” To date no additional invasive plants have been observed.
· This year’s survey season is swiftly fading, but we may be lucky and get a few more days of prime survey weather. WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR TRAINED PLANT PATROLLERS TO ASSIST WITH THIS SURVEY. If you think you can help, please contact Alice Phillips at DLWA, dlwastaff[at]roadrunner.com.
· There are other ways you can get involved. Is your lake community actively working to prevent the spread of aquatic invaders? Do you have a “well oiled” system in place for detecting aquatic invaders as soon as possible after introduction? If the answer to either of these questions is no, please contact the VLMP at vlmp[at]mainevlmp.org today. We look forward to working with you!
Thanks again!
Roberta Hill
Program Director
Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program's Center for Invasive Aquatic Plants
Below is the previous announcement, dated September 28, 2009:
Dear Maine Lake Monitors:
I am writing to inform you of Maine’s latest confirmed invasive aquatic plant infestation. Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) has now been confirmed in Damariscotta Lake. Hydrilla, often referred to as the “worst of the worst” invasive aquatic plant threatening aquatic ecosystems worldwide, was discovered in a small cove along the western shore of Damariscotta Lake, by Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association (DLWA) member and VLMP Invasive Plant Patroller, Dick Butterfield. There is no way of knowing at present, how widespread this plant may be in the lake, but a preliminary survey of nearby coves uncovered no additional invasive plants, providing hope that Mr. Butterfield may have detected the pioneer colony.
This is the kind of discovery that all Plant Patrollers train and practice for, but dread the thought of ever actually making. On the good side, this discovery provides clear and concrete evidence of the effectiveness and value of citizen based lake monitoring. Maine’s early detection system, largely powered by trained and dedicated volunteers, is saving Maine lakes. Here is a brief summary of how things have unfolded to date:
September 20 – Dick Butterfield gathered his gear, slipped into his kayak and began the task of surveying the shoreline to the north and south of his property on the west side of the lake. At one point, he paddled into a small (0.3 acre) shallow cove, and was instantly alerted to something that “was not right.” A dense carpet of plants filled the cove. According to Dick, the growth was so dense it looked “solid enough to walk on.” Using the identification keys he received with his Invasive Plant Patrol training, Dick soon came to the realization that he may have come upon one of the invasive plants of concern. He carefully bagged a sample and sent it to the VLMP for confirmation.
September 22 - Dick’s plant specimen is received by the VLMP, and its identification is tentatively confirmed.
September 23 - Maine Department of Environmental (DEP) and VLMP staff meet on site with Dick and partners from Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association to conduct a preliminary assessment of the infestation and to collect more samples for a confirmed identification.
September 24 - DEP divers install containment screens across the mouth of the infested cove to prevent hydrilla fragments from migrating into greater Damariscotta Lake. VLMP and DLWA begin to mobilize trained Invasive Plant Patrollers from Damariscotta Lake and elsewhere in the state to begin monitoring nearby coves to determine the scope of hydrilla in the lake.
This is where you come in . . . WE URGENTLY NEED YOUR HELP!! There are not many days left in the season to conduct surveys. Please call VLMP at 783-7733 or vlmp@mainevlmp.org or Alice Phillips at DLWA (549-3836, dlwastaff@roadrunner.com) today to learn how you can get involved.
Only one other water body in the state, Pickerel Pond in Limerick, is infested with hydrilla. In total, 31 out of Maine’s 5,700 ponds and lakes are known to contain an invasive aquatic plant species.
Since the first Invasive Plant Patrol workshop was offered by the VLMP in 2001, Over 2000 individuals have been trained through the program. Trained IPP volunteers are responsible for the majority of all invasive aquatic plant screening surveys being conducted in the State of Maine. The VLMP’s Invasive Plant Patrol Program is funded by boater participation in Maine’s Lake and River Sticker Program and private donations.
Thank you all, for keeping your eyes on the plants.
Roberta Hill
Program Director
Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program's Center for Invasive Aquatic Plants
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Invasive vines assault East Coast beaches
By Oren Dorell, USA TODAY
A fast-growing vine imported from Korea to stop massive erosion of sand dunes — home to sea turtle hatchlings and such shore birds as plovers — is destroying dunes in the Carolinas and threatens to creep into beaches up and down the East Coast.
The beach vitex, a woody plant with waxy leaves and a pretty purple flower, was planted widely along the Carolina coast after Hurricane Hugo ravaged beaches and dunes in 1989.
States wanted to act fast because, aside from being a nesting site for shore birds, dunes help hold back storm waters.
The vine proliferated, but there were unforeseen consequences. The plant's thickness harms nestlings, and its shallow root system fails to hold dunes together.
"They really flubbed it on this one," said Randy Westbrooks, an invasive-species prevention specialist for U.S. Geological Survey.
Beach vitex was promoted by J.C. Raulston, then-director of the North Carolina State University arboretum, because it thrives on nutrient-poor, sandy soils and grows fast. With an average growth rate of 60 feet a year, the vine can completely cover dune systems, said Melanie Doyle, a horticulturist at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher.
Betsy Brabson, an artist and sea turtle advocate in Georgetown, S.C., said beach vitex with all its vines and runners creates such a tight network that sea turtles can't nest.
"I don't want something like beach vitex to cover the dunes for miles and miles and then we have no sea turtles," said Brabson, who heads the South Carolina Beach Vitex Task Force.
And, unlike the native sea oats and other grasses that people are used to seeing on dunes, beach vitex doesn't help dunes grow into a high barrier against storm surges, Doyle said.
This year the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services declared the plant a "noxious weed," banning it from being sold or planted.
Crews have fanned out across coastal North and South Carolina to eradicate it, cutting the plants with machetes and dabbing them with a herbicide.
Indications are that the eradication may be tougher than first thought.
Isolated strands of the vine have been found in Georgia, Florida and Alabama.
Members of the Beach Vitex Task Force thought they were on the road to victory against the invader until a "real bombshell" was discovered in Maryland, said Lee Rosenberg, environmental services manager for Norfolk, Va.
This month, a U.S. Park Service biologist reported beach vitex in the Maryland side of Assateague Island National Seashore, home to about 300 wild ponies. Westbrooks suggests that the plant's seeds are transported by ocean currents.
Rosenberg said he believes migratory birds are behind the propagation.
"That means any area north and south is subject to being colonized by beach vitex just by seeds being brought by birds," Rosenberg said. [...]
Read the full story at link.
Photo by Hyunsoo Leo Kim, The (Norfolk, Va.) Virginian-Pilot, via, AP.
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New U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Invasive Species Policy
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Goats help planned rec center take a bite toward progress
Animals clear the weeds for planned recreation, environmental center in city's Druid Hill Park
By Meredith Cohn, BaltimoreSun.com
The decrepit mansion once served as home to the president of the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, but two decades of brush has grown and, along with vandals, has made it uninhabitable.Cue the goats.
In what's the first step to a $10 million project to transform this piece of Druid Hill Park into an environmental and recreational center for the city, the four-legged weed whackers have cleared a half-acre ring of ivy and other invasive species. The herd of 40 will be brought back to clear the rest of the 9-acre parcel that few have used, legally anyway, for years.
"It's been an eyesore and has all sorts of unsavory activity going on," said Jean DuBose, director of development and promotions for the Parks & People Foundation, a Baltimore nonprofit group that has undertaken the project. "Most people don't even know it's part of the park. But soon it will be a great resource in the city." [...]
To get started, and even get near the mansion, the foundation needed to clear the overgrowth. Human labor might have been too expensive. The fastest and cheapest way to clear brush would have been herbicide, said Brian Knox, the supervising forester for Ec
o-Goats, the Davidsonville-based firm that supplies the herd. [...] The eco-friendly goats cost about $300 for the first half-acre. [...]
Read the full story at link.
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What if tree-killing bugs chomp Adirondack Forest Preserve?
By MIKE LYNCH, Adirondack Daily Enterprise Outdoors Writer
RAY BROOK, NY - State officials are grappling with how to best proceed if tree-killing forest pests reach the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserve, and it appears a constitutional amendment is low on their priority list.
One of the main methods for getting rid of pests such as the Asian longhorned beetle has been to cut down the trees and chip the wood to small pieces. This method raises legal questions here in the Park because Article XIV of the state Constitution prohibits the cutting of live trees and removal of timber on the Forest Preserve.
Because of the legal complexities, a collection of state officials, scientists and environmental advocates called the Forest Preserve Advisory Committee has been studying the issue.
"There was a consensus among group members that a constitutional amendment would be a last resort," said Rob Davies, director of lands and forests for the state Department of Environmental Conservation. "I think there was a reluctance to the idea of a constitutional amendment, to try to address ahead of time a forest invasion in the Forest Preserve."
Davies was speaking to the state Adirondack Park Agency Thursday during a special presentation on invasive species. He said the Asian longhorned beetle, because of its ability to kill most hardwood trees including maples, could be the most devastating to the Park. This beetle is not new to New York, however; outbreaks of it have been seen in the New York City area since 1996.
The emerald ash borer, on the other hand, is quickly spreading eastward from the Midwest and wiping out ash trees as it goes. Only 2 percent of the Adirondack Park's trees are ash, state officials say, but the ash borer's speed is raising awareness of the danger posed by all invasive tree pests.
Davies said the committee recommended a revision of currently existing guidelines for fighting invasive species and also amending the DEC's incident command system for responding to emergencies should be done first; he expects work will begin on this soon.
Amending the State Land Master Plan is another consideration.
Davies said one reason a constitutional amendment is not considered a good strategy is that it requires two successful votes of the state Legislature and also passage by the people in a statewide general election. A pest could show up in the Forest Preserve well before such an endeavor is undertaken.
"I think there was a recognition that the timing of a constitutional amendment doesn't work," Davies said. "We could have emerald ash borer here next week or next year. You're not going to have a constitutional amendment for years."
Plus, Davies said, the DEC could fight tree-killing pests with the current laws. Davis said there is enough legal precedent to cut trees and take other measures on the Forest Preserve in cases where it is necessary to save the forest.
"The fact that we don't have a constitutional amendment in hand today doesn't stop us from taking action tomorrow," Davies said.
He did say that a constitutional amendment may be considered as part of a long-term strategy.
Another reason from shying away from the constitutional amendment was that the committee members were concerned they could do more harm than good by revising Article XIV.
But APA Commissioner Lani Ulrich, of Old Forge, expressed concern that perhaps the group was limiting their options and suggested "possibly expanding the folks that are around that table and having that conversation again."
"I'm concerned about what kind of Forest Preserve we would have left if we didn't have every (tool) to fight this," Ulrich said.
Steve Sanford, director of the DEC's office of invasive species coordination, defended the decision to not immediately pursue a constitutional amendment. He told the APA he originally favoring such an action but changed his mind.
"I gave heed to the judgment of a lot of veterans in the room who said, 'You're opening Pandora's Box. We could wind up with an Article XIV that is less useful than the one that exists today,'" Sanford said.
Read the story at link.
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Invasives a growing threat to Adirondacks
North Country Public Radio
Adirondack Park Agency commissioners were given a status report yesterday on what’s considered to be the biggest threat to the ecology of the Adirondacks.
Invasive species like milfoil and phragmities are spreading fast throughout the Park, clogging waterways and taking over wetlands.
Hillary Smith is director of the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program. “This threat of invasive species is worsening,” she said. “I saw a real window of opportunity in the Adirondacks and even in my short time here that window is closing. There still are lots of opportunities for us. But the reality is the situation is very much an urgent one and it’s a growing problem.”
Within the last two weeks, an invasive called spiny water flea, which can ruin fisheries, was found in Great Sacandaga Lake and Peck’s Lake, both in the southern Adirondacks. A record number of yellow iris, which invades wetlands, were also found in the Park this year. And milfoil infestations spread to more Adirondack lakes, including Lake Placid.
Smith said their ability to fight back and eradicate invasives is being put to the test. “With every new invasive that makes it through the borders,” she said, “we have an increasing demand for management, increasing demand for spread prevention measures and increasing demand for resources that we all know are very tight at this time.”
Last year the state created an Office of Invasive Species Coordination within the Department of Environmental Conservation.
But the program’s director, Steve Sanford, told agency commissioners that funding for the effort was less than promised. And he said the money was tied up in a battle over the state’s Environmental Protection Fund. “We had planned to be able to spend $5 million, the trouble is there’s only $3 million we can use,” he said. “We had to make some decisions yesterday about what we’re going to go forward with. It’s not where we hoped to be, but at least the faucet’s back on again it was shut off for 11 months.”
Thursday’s meeting also included discussion of the emerald Ash borer and the Asian longhorn beetle, which threaten Adirondack forests. DEC Lands and Forests Director Rob Davies says so far the insects haven’t been found in the Park.
But he said their impact on the region’s ecosystem and economy could be devastating, “As you can imagine, the longer the pest is around, the greater the risk it is going to get out, it is going to impact our maple sugar industry and get into maple sugar stands.”
Removing infected trees could be difficult in the forest preserve if an outbreak occurs, because of environmental rules. Davies said the DEC is working to come up with new rules and guidelines for fighting invasives in the Park.
Read the story and listen to audio at link.
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Announcement and Call for Abstracts
for the 17th International Conference on Aquatic Invasive Species
This is an announcement and call for abstracts of oral presentations and posters for the 17th International Conference on Aquatic Invasive Species that is being hosted by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and held at the Westin San Diego, San Diego, California from August 29 to September 2, 2010. Please note that the abstract submission deadline is Friday, December 11, 2009.
The early registration deadline for the conference is June 25, 2010.
Elizabeth Muckle-Jeffs
Conference Administrator
The Professional Edge
1027 Pembroke Street East, Suite 200
Pembroke, ON K8A 3M4 Canada
Email: elizabeth[at]theprofessionaledge.com
Web: www.theprofessionaledge.com
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New invasives positions at the Institute for Regional Conservation
For information, contact Keith A. Bradley, bradley[at]REGIONALCONSERVATION.ORG
Institute for Regional Conservation
22601 S.W. 152 Avenue
Miami, Florida 33170
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Great Lakes group seeks action against carp threat
By TINA LAM, FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
A coalition of Great Lakes protection groups called today for emergency action to prevent flooding in the Des Plaines River, where Asian carp have invaded and which sits 100 feet from an electric barrier to keep the carp out of Lake Michigan.
Sandbags or concrete barriers need to be put up along the river to prevent the carp from escaping from the river into the canal above the barrier, the groups said.
"This is a natural disaster waiting to happen,” said Jennifer Nalbone of Great Lakes United. “We need to respond to it like we would respond to a hurricane."
The urgent threat is that heavy rains, such as those the region experienced in September 2008, could flood the river enough that the carp could jump into the canal above an electric barrier, giving them free access to the Great Lakes. The ferocious silver carp grow to 100 pounds, threaten boaters and jet-skiers by leaping out of the water and injuring them, and could destroying the food web in the Great Lakes because they’re voracious eaters. They escaped from southern fish farms decades ago and have made their way to the edge of the Great Lakes. [...]
Read the full story at link.
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Report Documents the Risks of Giant Invasive Snakes in the U.S.
DOI. United States Geological Survey.
Five giant non-native snake species would pose high risks to the health of ecosystems in the United States should they become established here, according to a USGS report released. The report details the risks of nine non-native boa, anaconda and python species that are invasive or potentially invasive in the U.S. Because all nine species share characteristics associated with greater risks, none was found to be a low ecological risk. Two of these species are documented as reproducing in the wild in South Florida, with population estimates for Burmese pythons in the tens of thousands.
Read the full story and the report at link.
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Thirty Groups Join Together to Harvest the Seeds of Change
Effort Underway to Restore Long Island’s Native Grasslands and the Wildlife they Support and Make Plants Commercially Available to Public
Riverhead, NY — October 15, 2009 — The Long Island Native Grassland Initiative (LINGI), an organization of more than 30 non-profit organizations, governmental agencies, and nursery professionals, including The Nature Conservancy, harvested the "seeds of change" today in Riverhead. The group, which has been restoring Long Island’s declining native grasslands for the wildlife species that depend on them, gathered seeds from mature plants which will be used to propagate next year’s crop.
Grasslands and the birds and wildlife that depend on them are the single most threatened habitat on earth due to development and the encroachment of invasive plant species. [...]
“Until now, it’s been difficult, if not impossible to find local native grasses for sale,” said project lead Polly Weigand, Soil District Technician for Suffolk County Soil and Water Conservation District. “Our ultimate goal is to provide a source of native plant material –as an alternative to cultivars and hybrid plants –for use in landscaping, restoration, grassland establishment, roadside plantings, biofuel programs, and nurseries.” [...]
Read the article at link.
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A downloadable resource that may be of interest to some of you
BIOLOGY AND CONTROL OF AQUATIC PLANTS
A Best Management Practices Handbook
Lyn A. Gettys, William T. Haller and Marc Bellaud, editors
Prepared by:
Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Foundation
3272 Sherman Ridge Rd
Marietta, GA 30064
Ann Bove
VTDEC
Aquatic Invasive Species Management
(802) 241-3782
ann.bove[at]state.vt.us
This message is brought to you as a service of the Northeast Aquatic Nuisance Species Panel.
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Update on Maine hydrilla infestation
Here is an update concerning the recent discovery of hydrilla in Damariscotta Lake, Maine.
· DEP divers have installed benthic barriers on patches of hydrilla that have spread to the cove just outside of the infested lagoon. No tubers have been detected on the plants outside of the lagoon.
· DEP is currently placing stone riprap across both entrances to the infested lagoon to create a strong physical barrier between the infestation and the rest of the lake.
· This week, DEP will begin the process of manually removing and disposing of the hydrilla in the infested lagoon.
· Roberta Scruggs has written an excellent article on the hydrilla infestation in the recent issue of the LEA Milfoil Update newsletter. To view the article on line please visit http://www.mainelakes.org/documents/Milfoil%20newsletter%209_09.pdf
· According to Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association’s Alice Phillips, “Volunteers have come out of the woodwork to help survey the lake and help us determine if there are any other infested areas. Roughly 50% of the lake has now been surveyed. We are so appreciative of the help!”
· Forty individuals have answered DLWA’s call for help. Members of the DLWA survey team include trained VLMP Invasive Plant Patrollers and others from the Damariscotta Lake area, plus a cadre of certified Plant Patrollers from ”away.” To date no additional invasive plants have been observed.
· This year’s survey season is swiftly fading, but we may be lucky and get a few more days of prime survey weather. WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR TRAINED PLANT PATROLLERS TO ASSIST WITH THIS SURVEY. If you think you can help, please contact Alice Phillips at DLWA, dlwastaff[at]roadrunner.com.
· There are other ways you can get involved. Is your lake community actively working to prevent the spread of aquatic invaders? Do you have a “well oiled” system in place for detecting aquatic invaders as soon as possible after introduction? If the answer to either of these questions is no, please contact the VLMP at vlmp[at]mainevlmp.org today. We look forward to working with you!
Thanks again!
Roberta Hill
Program Director
Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program's Center for Invasive Aquatic Plants
Below is the previous announcement, dated September 28, 2009:
Dear Maine Lake Monitors:
I am writing to inform you of Maine’s latest confirmed invasive aquatic plant infestation. Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) has now been confirmed in Damariscotta Lake. Hydrilla, often referred to as the “worst of the worst” invasive aquatic plant threatening aquatic ecosystems worldwide, was discovered in a small cove along the western shore of Damariscotta Lake, by Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association (DLWA) member and VLMP Invasive Plant Patroller, Dick Butterfield. There is no way of knowing at present, how widespread this plant may be in the lake, but a preliminary survey of nearby coves uncovered no additional invasive plants, providing hope that Mr. Butterfield may have detected the pioneer colony.
This is the kind of discovery that all Plant Patrollers train and practice for, but dread the thought of ever actually making. On the good side, this discovery provides clear and concrete evidence of the effectiveness and value of citizen based lake monitoring. Maine’s early detection system, largely powered by trained and dedicated volunteers, is saving Maine lakes. Here is a brief summary of how things have unfolded to date:
September 20 – Dick Butterfield gathered his gear, slipped into his kayak and began the task of surveying the shoreline to the north and south of his property on the west side of the lake. At one point, he paddled into a small (0.3 acre) shallow cove, and was instantly alerted to something that “was not right.” A dense carpet of plants filled the cove. According to Dick, the growth was so dense it looked “solid enough to walk on.” Using the identification keys he received with his Invasive Plant Patrol training, Dick soon came to the realization that he may have come upon one of the invasive plants of concern. He carefully bagged a sample and sent it to the VLMP for confirmation.
September 22 - Dick’s plant specimen is received by the VLMP, and its identification is tentatively confirmed.
September 23 - Maine Department of Environmental (DEP) and VLMP staff meet on site with Dick and partners from Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association to conduct a preliminary assessment of the infestation and to collect more samples for a confirmed identification.
September 24 - DEP divers install containment screens across the mouth of the infested cove to prevent hydrilla fragments from migrating into greater Damariscotta Lake. VLMP and DLWA begin to mobilize trained Invasive Plant Patrollers from Damariscotta Lake and elsewhere in the state to begin monitoring nearby coves to determine the scope of hydrilla in the lake.
This is where you come in . . . WE URGENTLY NEED YOUR HELP!! There are not many days left in the season to conduct surveys. Please call VLMP at 783-7733 or vlmp@mainevlmp.org or Alice Phillips at DLWA (549-3836, dlwastaff@roadrunner.com) today to learn how you can get involved.
Only one other water body in the state, Pickerel Pond in Limerick, is infested with hydrilla. In total, 31 out of Maine’s 5,700 ponds and lakes are known to contain an invasive aquatic plant species.
Since the first Invasive Plant Patrol workshop was offered by the VLMP in 2001, Over 2000 individuals have been trained through the program. Trained IPP volunteers are responsible for the majority of all invasive aquatic plant screening surveys being conducted in the State of Maine. The VLMP’s Invasive Plant Patrol Program is funded by boater participation in Maine’s Lake and River Sticker Program and private donations.
Thank you all, for keeping your eyes on the plants.
Roberta Hill
Program Director
Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program's Center for Invasive Aquatic Plants
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Invasive vines assault East Coast beaches
By Oren Dorell, USA TODAY
A fast-growing vine imported from Korea to stop massive erosion of sand dunes — home to sea turtle hatchlings and such shore birds as plovers — is destroying dunes in the Carolinas and threatens to creep into beaches up and down the East Coast.The beach vitex, a woody plant with waxy leaves and a pretty purple flower, was planted widely along the Carolina coast after Hurricane Hugo ravaged beaches and dunes in 1989.
States wanted to act fast because, aside from being a nesting site for shore birds, dunes help hold back storm waters.
The vine proliferated, but there were unforeseen consequences. The plant's thickness harms nestlings, and its shallow root system fails to hold dunes together.
"They really flubbed it on this one," said Randy Westbrooks, an invasive-species prevention specialist for U.S. Geological Survey.
Beach vitex was promoted by J.C. Raulston, then-director of the North Carolina State University arboretum, because it thrives on nutrient-poor, sandy soils and grows fast. With an average growth rate of 60 feet a year, the vine can completely cover dune systems, said Melanie Doyle, a horticulturist at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher.
Betsy Brabson, an artist and sea turtle advocate in Georgetown, S.C., said beach vitex with all its vines and runners creates such a tight network that sea turtles can't nest.
"I don't want something like beach vitex to cover the dunes for miles and miles and then we have no sea turtles," said Brabson, who heads the South Carolina Beach Vitex Task Force.
And, unlike the native sea oats and other grasses that people are used to seeing on dunes, beach vitex doesn't help dunes grow into a high barrier against storm surges, Doyle said.
This year the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services declared the plant a "noxious weed," banning it from being sold or planted.
Crews have fanned out across coastal North and South Carolina to eradicate it, cutting the plants with machetes and dabbing them with a herbicide.
Indications are that the eradication may be tougher than first thought.
Isolated strands of the vine have been found in Georgia, Florida and Alabama.
Members of the Beach Vitex Task Force thought they were on the road to victory against the invader until a "real bombshell" was discovered in Maryland, said Lee Rosenberg, environmental services manager for Norfolk, Va.
This month, a U.S. Park Service biologist reported beach vitex in the Maryland side of Assateague Island National Seashore, home to about 300 wild ponies. Westbrooks suggests that the plant's seeds are transported by ocean currents.
Rosenberg said he believes migratory birds are behind the propagation.
"That means any area north and south is subject to being colonized by beach vitex just by seeds being brought by birds," Rosenberg said. [...]
Read the full story at link.
Photo by Hyunsoo Leo Kim, The (Norfolk, Va.) Virginian-Pilot, via, AP.
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New U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Invasive Species Policy
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Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Week of September 28, 2009
ALERT: New York Flora Atlas reports new invader
Slender falsebrome (Brachypodium sylvaticum) has been found in two New York counties.
According to the New York Flora Atlas, slender falsebrome is a perennial, herbaceous monocot that often forms dense patches and sometimes occurs as scattered individuals, primarily in forest understories but also growing in full sun.
A native of Eurasia and north Africa, this species is sometimes sold as an ornamental grass. It has the potential to become highly invasive and therefore should not be planted. A large infestation discovered by Steven Daniel in 2009 in Genesee County is the first report from New York. Bergen Swamp stewards observed this plant at this location since at least the late 1990s, but did not know what it was or that it was a potentially new invasive plant for the region. A second population was discovered in Tompkins County (approximately 85 miles from the Genesee County population) also in 2009. Therefore, this invasive species is probably widespread in at least western and central New York and has likely been overlooked.
In Washington state, the plant generally stays green throughout the year.
For more information, including photographs, visit the New York Flora Atlas.
For additional information about this species, including how to identify it, visit the King County, Washington website.
Photo by Glenn Miller, Courtesy of King County, Washington.
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Another invasive grass to watch out for
New York Flora Association Blog
The New York Flora Association Blog recently posted an alert for false brome grass. Marilyn Jordan from The Nature Conservancy on Long Island is also concerned about wavy leaf basketgrass showing up in New York.
Oplismenus hirtellus (L.) P. Beauv. ssp. undulatifolius (Ard.) U. Scholz
This was reported through the Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council listserve. According to USDA plants the subspecies is only found in MD, but postings to the ma-eppc listserv indicate it is also in VA and FL.
There may be taxonomic confusion with the species Oplismenus hirtellus. Wavy leaf basketgrass is more competitive than Japanese stilt grass, and “An ornamental variegated pink, green and white form, sold as O. hirtellus ‘Variegatus’ for hanging baskets, has spontaneously reverted to an all-green, wavy-leafed, very aggressive form under greenhouse conditions.”
The species has been sold in CT according to LIISMA SRC member J. Lehrer.
Information and photos of the species are available at:
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/download/wlbg_poster011108.pdf and
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/WLBG/wl_basketgrass_ID.asp
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NOAA, EEA, and partners complete restoration project at Hempstead Harbor
Today, NOAA and its partners, including EEA Inc., celebrated the successful completion of a multi-year project to compensate the public for hazardous waste released into Hempstead Harbor, N.Y. The project restored salt marsh and coastal shoreline, and created important habitats for spawning, nursing and foraging fish and other wildlife.
"Coastal wetlands like this one provide important environmental and economic services," said Robert Haddad, Assessment and Restoration Division chief of NOAA's Office of Response & Restoration. "The completion of this habitat cleanup and restoration project will benefit fisheries and the wildlife and coastal communities that depend upon them."
The Applied Environmental Services property, designated as a Superfund site in 1986, was used as a petroleum and hazardous waste storage area from the 1930s to the 1970s. Improper handling and storage of these hazardous substances led to the contamination of groundwater, surface water, soils, sediments, and air.
Restoration took place across the harbor in Bar Beach Lagoon. NOAA partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New York State agencies, the Town of North Hempstead, and EEA Inc. on activities that included the removal of invasive plant species and 3,000 cubic yards of soil and solid waste debris. Each of the excavated areas was backfilled with clean soils provided by the Town of North Hempstead. Volunteers helped plant more than 8,000 native marsh wetland plants and coastal grasses, shrubs and trees.
"This restoration project also will improve the quality of life for communities in the vicinity of Hempstead Harbor," said Jon Kaiman, the Town of North Hempstead Supervisor. "The town is proud to have played a key role in the turnaround of this critical wildlife habitat."
This project was the first in the nation to be funded by a Superfund natural resource damage settlement that included money for performance monitoring. Efforts have succeeded in establishing a diverse population of salt marsh and coastal plant and animal species, including marsh vegetation, invertebrates, fish and birds.
NOAA's Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program restores habitats and communities that have been harmed by oil spills, hazardous substance releases, and ship groundings. Since the 1980s, this program has worked with other agencies, industry and communities to successfully protect natural resources at more than 500 waste sites and settled almost 200 natural resource damage assessment cases, generating almost $450 million for restoration projects nationwide.
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.
Photo Credit: NOAA
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Northeastern Weed Science Society Conference
Dear NEWSS Members and Members to Be:
The Annual NEWSS Conference is fast approaching. The title and author(s) submission site is now active for the 64th Annual Meeting to be held at the Marriott Boston Cambridge, Two Cambridge Center, 50 Broadway, Cambridge, MA January 4‐10th, 2010.
Go to http://wssaabstracts.com (or use the sign‐in link at www.newss.org) and sign in under new user to create your own password for the site.
To submit your title, click on new presentation. Simply follow the site’s step by step process for submission. Add your title, then choose topic type and section by using the pull‐down menus. Be sure to indicate if you are competing in the graduate student contest via the pull down menu – this is critical. Enter author(s) and affiliations and be sure to click on the square indicating which author is the presenter. Please be consistent with your colleagues in the naming of your institute or business. Click on the ”Submit” button when you have entered all the information. You will receive an email confirmation that your title has been submitted.
The deadline for title submission is Wed. September 23.
If you have any questions or encounter any problems, please contact Mark VanGessel (mjv@udel.edu) or Greg Armel (garmel@utk.edu).
We look forward to another great meeting this year.
Barb
NEWSS Public Relations
Barb Scott
Research Associate
Weed Science
Univ of DE, REC
16483 County Seat Hwy
Georgetown, DE 19947
bascott[at]udel.edu
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Job Announcement: Invasive Species Program Coordinator
POSITION TITLE: Invasive Species Program Coordinator
LOCATION: Sugarloaf Key, FL
DATE PREPARED: September 25, 2009
SALARY: $35,000/yr + benefits
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
The No Invasives Left Behind program implements exotic plant control projects on private and public lands throughout the Florida Keys (Monroe County). It is supported by three grants from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the State of Florida. Funding is secured annually, but the program is expected to receive continued funding.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
The Invasive Species Program Coordinator participates in the management and coordination of the No Invasives Left Behind Program, and leads efforts to secure funding for future years. Duties are split between office work and field work.
Applicants should have good communication, organizational, and computer skills.
Duties will include one or more of the following functions:
•Supervises a seasonal invasive species control team
•Removes exotic plant species
•Coordinates community support and gives community presentations
•Selects priority sites for invasive species control and collects pre and post treatment vegetation data
•Maintains budgets, assists with grant reporting and grant writing
•May be asked to assist with unrelated vegetation monitoring projects
POSTING DEADLINE: Open until filled
TO APPLY, SEND COVER LETTER AND RESUME TO:
Keith A. Bradley, Assistant Director
22601 SW 152 Ave.
Miami, FL 33170
Email: bradley[at]regionalconservation.org
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Florida's 2009 IP list now online
The Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council’s 2009 List of Invasive Plant Species is now online. http://www.fleppc.org/list/list.htm It is also in the Fall 2009 Wildland Weeds, which you should be getting any day now. The brochure version is at the printer now.
Thanks so much to the List Committee for creation of the list, and to Karen Brown for putting it all together for print form.
Keith A. Bradley
Assistant Director
The Institute for Regional Conservation
Miami, Florida
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Australian pine article
For those interested in reading about another "controversial" project to remove Australian pines -- this time in Miami. Link
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Capital/Mohawk PRISM meeting October 9
The next meeting of the Capital/Mohawk PRISM will be at Schodack Island State Park on October 9 starting at noon. The meeting will include talks on restoration by George Robinson from SUNY Albany and Eric Kiviat from Hudsonia. Casey Holzworth will lead a field trip after the meeting. Hope to see you there.
Peg Sauer
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New York Times Editorial: The Future of Our Parks
This week, PBS will broadcast Ken Burns’s new six-part series on the national parks, a chronicle of the rich 158-year history of what the series calls “America’s Best Idea” — setting aside remarkable places and landscapes for future generations to enjoy.
Mr. Burns’s documentary makes clear that no one should take that idea or the park system it created for granted. From the start, the project has been encumbered by political shortsightedness and inadequate financing, with the parks themselves constantly threatened by the encroachment of the world around them.
The parks’ future is the concern of a major new report from the National Parks Second Century Commission — an independent body organized and financed by the National Parks Conservation Association. It offers an unsparing look at the many problems that threaten the parks and sensible remedies for addressing them. [...]
The Park Service’s annual budget of $2.4 billion is less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the total federal budget, and more generous annual appropriations would certainly seem within reach. But the commission would also create a tax-exempt national parks endowment to attract private money and help free park budgets from the ebb and flow of Congressional outlays.
Making sure that the system lives up to its inherent promise involves more than money. Given new threats from global warming and invasive species, the commission wants the service to strengthen its scientific capabilities. It also urges the service to broaden its educational mission to reach more young people.
In some ways, it’s a miracle that the park system is as resilient as it is. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has said that he will take the commission’s recommendations seriously, and we hope President Obama will, too. The “best idea” needs to be protected and celebrated.
Read the editorial at link.
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Maine DEP fighting hydrilla in Damariscotta Lake
WCSH6.com
JEFFERSON (NEWS CENTER) -- Like a shorefront SWAT team, workers from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) descended on a small lagoon on Damariscotta lake on Monday.
Their target is a flimsy, green underwater plant, called Hydrilla, which was discovered growing in that lagoon.
Paul Gregory of the DEP describes Hydrilla as one of the most aggressive of all invasive plant species. The DEP and lakeside property owners want to stop the plant before it can spread.
The Hydrilla was discovered just last week by a resident who had been to a training class held by the Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association. He was paddling a kayak around, in search of invasive plants when he spotted the Hydrilla.
The DEP has placed screens across the two openings to the lagoon, to try to prevent pieces of the plant from floating out. And they're laying plastic mats on the lake bottom, just outside the lagoon, to stop the plant from taking root in new areas.
Damariscotta Lake is only the second place in Maine where Hydrilla has been found. The other is Pickerel Pond in Livermore.
Paul Gregory of the DEP says the plant is a real threat to water quality and to the general health of lakes and ponds, because it can choke off all other vegetation, use degrade water quality and eventually turn an area into swamp.
Damariscotta Lake is a large lake, but both the DEP and the Watershed Association say they were surprised at the Hydrilla find, and are treating it very seriously.
Photo courtesy of WCSH6.com.
Link
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Give birds a break: Lock up the cat
By NATALIE ANGIER, New York Times Science Section
Halloween came to our house early this year.
The other day I looked out the window and saw a strange black cat sauntering through our yard. It was a beautiful animal, with bright penny eyes and fur that gleamed like a newly polished shoe, but still the sight turned me ghoulish. So I ran outside, hollered, stamped my feet and finally managed to chase the little witch’s sidekick away. [...]
Experts disagree sharply these days over how to manage our multitudes of stray and feral cats, with some saying off to the pound, others preaching a policy of catch, neuter and release, and everybody wishing there were other options to click. Yet when it comes to pet policy, and the question of whether it’s O.K. to let your beloved Cleo, Zydeco or Cocoa wander at will and have their Hobbesian fun, the authorities on both sides of the alley emphatically say, No. There are enough full-time strays; don’t add in your chipper. It is not fair to the songbirds and other animals that domestic cats kill by the billions each year. New research shows that neighborhoods like mine are particularly treacherous, Bermuda Triangles for baby birds.
Peter P. Marra, a research scientist at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center at the National Zoo, pointed out that cats were the only domesticated animal permitted to roam. “Pigs have to stay in pens, chickens have to stay in pens,” he said. “Why are cats allowed to run around and do what their instincts tell them to do, which is rampage?” [...]
In the view of many wildlife researchers, a pet cat on a lap may be a piece of self-cleaning perfection, but a pet cat on the loose is like a snakefish or English ivy: an invasive species. Although domestic cats have been in this country since the colonial era, they are thought to be the descendants of a Middle Eastern species of wild cat, and there is nothing quite like them native to North America. As a result, many local prey species are poorly equipped to parry a domestic cat’s stealth approach. “People fool themselves into believing that by simply putting a bell on a cat they could prevent mortality to birds,” Mr. Schroeder said. “But a bell ringing means nothing to a bird.”
Read the full article at link.
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New invasive species in Missisquoi Bay, Vermont
State Natural Resources officials say that variable-leaved watermilfoil is now in the bay. It can "hitchhike" on boats and other recreational equipment, and it's also a popular aquarium species. Researchers say the plant is a concern because it can crowd out other beneficial plants.
Last year, the variable-leaved watermilfoil was spotted in Halls Lake in Newbury.
Link
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Fish and Wildlife Service releases its climate change plan
By Kim McGuire
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
As part of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s push on climate change, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today released its plan to guide the agency’s future efforts regarding impacts on wildlife.
The plan, which is available for public review and comment over the next 60 days, will help navigate future responses to things like changing wildlife migration patterns, the spread of invasive species, changing precipitation patterns and rising sea levels.
“The growing impacts from climate change on wildlife, plants, and watersheds are a call to action,” said Tom Strickland, assistant secretary of the interior for fish and wildlife and parks. “These impacts call for a coordinated and strategic response from the Department and its bureaus. We will help lead a national response that is grounded in sound science, and adaptive, landscape-scale conservation approach , and collaboration with partners. This is a crucial first step in that direction.” [...]
Read the story at link.
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Volunteers sought to remove invasive plants
West Hartford, Connecticut - The West Hartford Land Trust is asking for volunteers to help remove invasive plants from 1.5 acres about a mile from the town center.
The effort, the latest to clear the land of nonnative plants, will happen from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 10 at the parcel, 1157 Farmington Ave. People should bring their own gloves, pruners, loppers, bow saws or other tools, and should wear long pants, long sleeves and sturdy shoes. Lunch and drinks will be offered.
Those interested in volunteering may call 860-331-3241 and leave a message, or send an e-mail to info[at]westhartfordlandtrust.org.
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Woman campaigns for invasive plant removal in Vermont
By Dorothy Pellett, BurlingtonFreePress.com
CHARLOTTE — Susan Smith’s canoe was out of the water and parked on her lawn on a recent day — but Lake Champlain’s shorelines are never far from her thoughts.
For two summers, Smith has led a campaign to remove the invasive European frogbit plant from Town Farm Bay in Charlotte. Volunteers and employees removed seven tons of the leafy weed during a stretch of only seven weeks this summer.
Frogbit’s swift rate of growth threatens wildlife that depends on native plants, fish and insects for food. Smith and other volunteers have counted 41 species of frogs, turtles, snakes and birds, including several sightings of a Great White Egret.
Read the article at link.
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Invasives threaten N.Y.'s natural order
By Michael Risinit, LoHud.com
In the 1997 movie "Men in Black," the characters played by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones work for an agency monitoring and managing alien activity on Earth. Their charges include a host of not-of-this-world creatures: worms that make a nice cup of coffee, large insects that drink sugar water and human-looking individuals blinking two sets of eyelids.
Of course, in the real world those don't exist (as far as we know, anyway). But other interlopers do, such as swallow-wort, zebra mussels, Chinese mitten crabs and northern snakeheads. They are among some 4,000 or so species in the United States that are both non-native (alien) and damaging to their new digs. Be they animal, plant or pathogen, such beings are called invasive species.
As a threat, invasives have been judged second only to habitat loss when it comes to a region's biodiversity - the abundance and variety of living things. Northern snakeheads, originally from China, can wipe out native fish populations. Chinese mitten crabs can be bad news for the Hudson River's blue crabs, and their burrowing can destabilize stream banks and earthen dams. Swallow-wort, imported from Europe, is a menace to monarchs. The butterflies are fooled into laying eggs on a plant that cannot support their offspring.
There's no official list yet of the dozens of invasive species calling New York home. But there's a definition. An invasive species is "non-native to the ecosystem under consideration, whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health," according to the Final Report of the New York State Invasive Species Task Force. That harm "must significantly outweigh any benefits," the 2005 report said.
Government and private organizations are trying to eradicate or control the ones here - mile-a-minute vine, golden nematode - and keep others at bay.
The plants, insects, diseases and fish that shouldn't be here, but are, can be the stuff of bad dreams. Ed McGowan, a science director for the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, is part of a Lower Hudson Valley coalition addressing the threat of invasive species. Where others "see greenery, scenery," he sees trouble for the region's natural order. [...]
One of his current battles is with mile-a-minute weed, a kudzu-like vine capable of growing more than 20 feet in a year. It forms dense mats, chokes out native vegetation and can kill trees. The plant, a native of eastern Asia, was accidentally introduced in the 1930s when it hitchhiked with nursery stock. His weapon? Goats.
Two goats, on loan from the Glynwood Center in Philipstown, spent much of their summer on Stony Point's Iona Island, a former military complex now part of Bear Mountain State Park. The vine with triangular leaves and barbs wasn't their first choice to munch on, McGowan said, "but they got to it eventually."
"It involves a lot of management. You need fences. You need to be concerned about coyotes in this area (who could decide to dine on the goats)," McGowan said as an osprey flapped above the nearby Hudson River.
The pair were charged with eating the plant into submission, which the goats did until they were relocated to another enclosure. That happened every 12 days. The goats left their former pens as smooth as putting greens, McGowan said. But shortly afterward, the areas were again lush with mile-a-minute.
Sheep, instead, were on duty at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Cross River. There, they were shepherded among several plots every three days. Their periodic return seems to keep mile-a-minute vine in check, compared to the goats' eat-it-and-leave-it approach.
Their reappearance, said Gary Kleppel, an Albany University, SUNY, professor, and his graduate student, Caroline Girard, mimics the behavior of deer and other plant-eating animals that would intermittently pass by and dine. Native grass was starting to sprout in once mile-a-minute-only territory.
"These two plants are in a desperate battle for dominance," said Kleppel, director of the school's Biodiversity Conservation Program. "If you take its (mile-a-minute) edge away, look what happens." [...]
Emerald ash borers, a beetle whose larvae can wipe out ash trees, probably arrived in the United States on wood crates and pallets aboard cargo ships or airplanes coming from its native Asia. It was found this year in western New York.
The round goby, a fish native to the Black and Caspian seas, competes with and preys on native fish. It has been found near Buffalo and Rochester, most likely descended from those that hitched a ride in ships' ballast water and were discharged into the Great Lakes.
"It's hard not to answer ‘all of them,' " said Steve Sanford, director of the state's Office of Invasive Species Coordination, when asked which invader he worries about most.
His office is to send a report to the state Legislature by January listing New York's invasive species and how to deal with them.
"More and more, society is realizing all the harm that comes from invasive species," he said. "When it upsets the balance, usually the system functions to a certain degree, but certain things are going to be lost. It depends on how much you value biodiversity."
Along with reshuffling nature, those invading plants and animals carry a financial impact. The annual cost of invasive species to the U.S. economy is about $138 billion, according to the federal government, including agricultural losses, infrastructure damage and management costs. Zebra mussels - small mollusks originally from Russia - alone account for about $270 million in economic damage in North America, said Dave Strayer of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook in Dutchess County. He characterized the figure as an underestimate.
He and his colleagues have been studying zebra mussels in the Hudson River since their appearance in 1991. The thumb-size shellfish can clog water pipes and power-plant intakes.
"Zebra mussels came into the river and turned it upside down. In the last few years, we've seen evidence that parts of the river are coming back," Strayer said.
The mussels upset the river's food chain by sucking out much of the phytoplankton - the tiny plant life - upon which other river creatures depend. Recently, Strayer and fellow scientists have found fewer older and bigger zebra mussels in the river, leaving them to wonder what's causing the change. While the future of zebra mussels in the Hudson plays out, he said, the average person's concern should be about invasive species in general. More needs to be done to focus attention on the issue, Strayer said.
"Let's stop it. Let's do better," he said. "We've been very slow in coming around to controlling invasive species. But we're not taking this problem seriously enough."
Read the full article at link.
PHOTO: New York DEC forester Michael Callan shows a sample of an emerald ash borer, an invasive species of insect, at Graham Hills Park in Mount Pleasant. (Stuart Bayer/The Journal News)
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Mile-a-minute vine confirmed in two new counties in Massachusetts
Mile-a-minute vine (Polygonum perfoliatum), an invasive vine native to eastern Asia, has been confirmed in two new counties in Massachusetts.
Also known as "devil's tail" or "Asiatic tear-thumb," mile-a-minute vine was first discovered in Massachusetts in 2006 in two locations: Falmouth (Barnstable County) and Milton (Norfolk County). Through a multi-agency effort to uncover new populations of this pervasive weed before it becomes established in Massachusetts, mile-a-minute vine was confirmed this past summer in the towns of Greenfield and Erving (Franklin County) and in Littleton (Middlesex County). In addition, a report from Boston in August led state officials to two seedlings which were immediately removed. A survey of the Boston site revealed no other mile-a-minute plants.
The plants found in Greenfield were removed after identification was confirmed, and state officials will continue to monitor the site over the next several years to remove any new seedlings that may be found. The mile-a-minute vine populations in Erving and Littleton are currently being assessed to determine the best way to manage them. The previously known populations of mile-a-minute vine in Milton and Falmouth are being managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, with the goal of eradicating the plants.
Mile-a-minute vine can be recognized by its perfectly triangular leaves, barbed stems, and clusters of metallic-blue berries. If left alone, this vine can quickly cover large areas and smother any plants in its path. Several other vines may be confused with this invasive species, including bindweed, fleecevine, and Asiatic bittersweet. The University of Connecticut offers a comparison of similar species on their website: http://www.hort.uconn.edu/mam/similarspecies.html
For more information about mile-a-minute vine, or to report a potential sighting in Massachusetts, visit http://massnrc.org/pests/pestFAQsheets/mileaminute.html.
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National Park Service Internships Available
Looking for an opportunity to see many National Parks in the southeastern US and assist in preserving their precious natural and cultural resources?
The Student Conservation Association, in partnership with the National Park Service NPS), is assisting in a nationwide effort to eradicate invasive, exotic plants from NPS lands. After habitat loss, invasive, exotic species are considered the greatest threat to global diversity.
The NPS Southeast Exotic Plant Management Team (SE-EPMT) is looking for interns to be on a traveling team to manage invasive, exotic plants in 18 NPS units. These parks are located in the Piedmont, Appalachian Highlands and the Cumberland Plateau provinces in seven southeastern states (KY, TN, VA, NC, AL, NC, and SC). Park sites include Cumberland Gap National Historic Park (KY/TN/VA), Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (TN/KY), Obed Wild and Scenic River (TN), Blue Ridge Parkway (NC/VA) and Mammoth Cave National Park (KY).
We are based in Asheville, NC on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the gateway to the Smoky Mountains National Park. The Asheville area has a thriving arts community, a vibrant and inviting downtown, diverse outdoor adventures, and many historic and architectural attractions. Assistance with housing is possible.
The SE-EPMT typically works two types of schedule: either four 10 hour days with three days off or eight 10 hour days with six days off. Four day weeks are usually Monday thru Thursday and eight day weeks are Monday thru Monday.
Position Duties: Implement and document invasive plant management control methods including manual, mechanical and chemical techniques using chainsaws, pole saws, brushcutters, hand tools, manual and gas powered sprayers and GPS. The goal is to protect National Park Service sites from these exotic fauna, including Japanese Honeysuckle, Japanese Spirea, Coltsfoot, Privet, and Kudzu.
Training Opportunities Include: Safe and effective use of chainsaws and other power tools; safe and effective use of herbicides; use of personal protective equipment; safety-first aid and CPR; ATV training and operation; defensive driving; Red Card (wildland fire fighter)certification; use of GPS/GIS and various database and computer programs.
Minimum Requirements: Applicant must be 25 years or under, have a valid drivers license, have reliable transportation to office site in Asheville, NC, be capable of navigating rough terrain carrying heavy loads (40lbs+) under potential extreme weather conditions.
Projected Start Date: October 19, 2009
For more information please contact::
Nancy Fraley
National Park Service
Coordinator
Southeast Exotic Plant Management Team
67 Ranger Drive
Asheville, NC 28805
828 - 296 - 0850 x100
OR
Toby Obenauer
Team Leader
Southeast Exotic Plant Management Team
67 Ranger Drive
Asheville, NC 28805
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Weevil army attacks weeds
By YVONNE NAVA, NBC Connecticut
Call in the wee black weevils! An army of them is being used to fight a problem in Greenwich. Scientists are releasing the insects to get rid of the fast-growing invasive weed known as the "mile-a-minute vine." The plant grows 6 inches per day and blankets shrubs, hedges and trees.
“It’s like a wall of green in some places,” Donna Ellis, a scientist at the University of Connecticut who is also a member of the state’s Invasive Plant Working Group, told Bloomberg.com. “We could double the number of weevils next year.”
Scientists plan to unleash 7,000 of the little weevils in five towns. Fairfield County, which includes Greenwich, will be the focus of next year’s weevil release because scientists are finding the heaviest concentration of mile-a-minute there.
The fancy name for this vine, which is native to eastern Asia, is Persicaria perfoliata. Officials with Audubon Connecticut say the weed probably was introduced in our state via a load of trees and shrubs trucked to Greenwich Audubon land from Pennsylvania.
So far, the vine has been spotted in five of the state’s eight counties.
“Instead of seeing the trees and the view, the view is just blocked,” Ellis said of an infestation in Quinnipiac River State Park in North Haven after visiting a monitoring site this week.
Read the article at link.
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Genome of Irish potato famine pathogen decoded
By Nicole Davis, Broad Communications
A large international research team has decoded the genome of the notorious organism that triggered the Irish potato famine in the mid-19th century and now threatens this season’s tomato and potato crops across much of the US.
Published in the September 9 online issue of the journal Nature, the study reveals that the organism boasts an unusually large genome size — more than twice that of closely related species — and an extraordinary genome structure, which together appear to enable the rapid evolution of genes, particularly those involved in plant infection. These data expose an unusual mechanism that enables the pathogen to outsmart its plant hosts and may help researchers unlock new ways to control it.
“This pathogen has an exquisite ability to adapt and change, and that’s what makes it so dangerous,” said senior author Chad Nusbaum, co-director of the Genome Sequencing and Analysis Program at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. “We now have a comprehensive view of its genome, revealing the unusual properties that drive its remarkable adaptability. Hopefully, this knowledge can foster novel approaches to diagnose and respond to outbreaks.”
“Our findings suggest a ‘two-speed’ genome, meaning that different parts of the genome are evolving at different rates,” said co-lead author Sophien Kamoun, head of the Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, UK. “Future sequencing of additional strains and close relatives of this pathogen will help test this hypothesis and could transform our understanding of how it adapts to immune plants."
Read the full article at link.
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Slender falsebrome (Brachypodium sylvaticum) has been found in two New York counties.
According to the New York Flora Atlas, slender falsebrome is a perennial, herbaceous monocot that often forms dense patches and sometimes occurs as scattered individuals, primarily in forest understories but also growing in full sun.A native of Eurasia and north Africa, this species is sometimes sold as an ornamental grass. It has the potential to become highly invasive and therefore should not be planted. A large infestation discovered by Steven Daniel in 2009 in Genesee County is the first report from New York. Bergen Swamp stewards observed this plant at this location since at least the late 1990s, but did not know what it was or that it was a potentially new invasive plant for the region. A second population was discovered in Tompkins County (approximately 85 miles from the Genesee County population) also in 2009. Therefore, this invasive species is probably widespread in at least western and central New York and has likely been overlooked.
In Washington state, the plant generally stays green throughout the year.
For more information, including photographs, visit the New York Flora Atlas.
For additional information about this species, including how to identify it, visit the King County, Washington website.
Photo by Glenn Miller, Courtesy of King County, Washington.
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Another invasive grass to watch out for
New York Flora Association Blog
The New York Flora Association Blog recently posted an alert for false brome grass. Marilyn Jordan from The Nature Conservancy on Long Island is also concerned about wavy leaf basketgrass showing up in New York.
Oplismenus hirtellus (L.) P. Beauv. ssp. undulatifolius (Ard.) U. Scholz
This was reported through the Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council listserve. According to USDA plants the subspecies is only found in MD, but postings to the ma-eppc listserv indicate it is also in VA and FL.
There may be taxonomic confusion with the species Oplismenus hirtellus. Wavy leaf basketgrass is more competitive than Japanese stilt grass, and “An ornamental variegated pink, green and white form, sold as O. hirtellus ‘Variegatus’ for hanging baskets, has spontaneously reverted to an all-green, wavy-leafed, very aggressive form under greenhouse conditions.”
The species has been sold in CT according to LIISMA SRC member J. Lehrer.
Information and photos of the species are available at:
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/download/wlbg_poster011108.pdf and
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/WLBG/wl_basketgrass_ID.asp
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NOAA, EEA, and partners complete restoration project at Hempstead Harbor
Today, NOAA and its partners, including EEA Inc., celebrated the successful completion of a multi-year project to compensate the public for hazardous waste released into Hempstead Harbor, N.Y. The project restored salt marsh and coastal shoreline, and created important habitats for spawning, nursing and foraging fish and other wildlife."Coastal wetlands like this one provide important environmental and economic services," said Robert Haddad, Assessment and Restoration Division chief of NOAA's Office of Response & Restoration. "The completion of this habitat cleanup and restoration project will benefit fisheries and the wildlife and coastal communities that depend upon them."
The Applied Environmental Services property, designated as a Superfund site in 1986, was used as a petroleum and hazardous waste storage area from the 1930s to the 1970s. Improper handling and storage of these hazardous substances led to the contamination of groundwater, surface water, soils, sediments, and air.
Restoration took place across the harbor in Bar Beach Lagoon. NOAA partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New York State agencies, the Town of North Hempstead, and EEA Inc. on activities that included the removal of invasive plant species and 3,000 cubic yards of soil and solid waste debris. Each of the excavated areas was backfilled with clean soils provided by the Town of North Hempstead. Volunteers helped plant more than 8,000 native marsh wetland plants and coastal grasses, shrubs and trees.
"This restoration project also will improve the quality of life for communities in the vicinity of Hempstead Harbor," said Jon Kaiman, the Town of North Hempstead Supervisor. "The town is proud to have played a key role in the turnaround of this critical wildlife habitat."
This project was the first in the nation to be funded by a Superfund natural resource damage settlement that included money for performance monitoring. Efforts have succeeded in establishing a diverse population of salt marsh and coastal plant and animal species, including marsh vegetation, invertebrates, fish and birds.
NOAA's Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program restores habitats and communities that have been harmed by oil spills, hazardous substance releases, and ship groundings. Since the 1980s, this program has worked with other agencies, industry and communities to successfully protect natural resources at more than 500 waste sites and settled almost 200 natural resource damage assessment cases, generating almost $450 million for restoration projects nationwide.
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.
Photo Credit: NOAA
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Northeastern Weed Science Society Conference
Dear NEWSS Members and Members to Be:
The Annual NEWSS Conference is fast approaching. The title and author(s) submission site is now active for the 64th Annual Meeting to be held at the Marriott Boston Cambridge, Two Cambridge Center, 50 Broadway, Cambridge, MA January 4‐10th, 2010.
Go to http://wssaabstracts.com (or use the sign‐in link at www.newss.org) and sign in under new user to create your own password for the site.
To submit your title, click on new presentation. Simply follow the site’s step by step process for submission. Add your title, then choose topic type and section by using the pull‐down menus. Be sure to indicate if you are competing in the graduate student contest via the pull down menu – this is critical. Enter author(s) and affiliations and be sure to click on the square indicating which author is the presenter. Please be consistent with your colleagues in the naming of your institute or business. Click on the ”Submit” button when you have entered all the information. You will receive an email confirmation that your title has been submitted.
The deadline for title submission is Wed. September 23.
If you have any questions or encounter any problems, please contact Mark VanGessel (mjv@udel.edu) or Greg Armel (garmel@utk.edu).
We look forward to another great meeting this year.
Barb
NEWSS Public Relations
Barb Scott
Research Associate
Weed Science
Univ of DE, REC
16483 County Seat Hwy
Georgetown, DE 19947
bascott[at]udel.edu
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Job Announcement: Invasive Species Program Coordinator
POSITION TITLE: Invasive Species Program Coordinator
LOCATION: Sugarloaf Key, FL
DATE PREPARED: September 25, 2009
SALARY: $35,000/yr + benefits
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
The No Invasives Left Behind program implements exotic plant control projects on private and public lands throughout the Florida Keys (Monroe County). It is supported by three grants from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the State of Florida. Funding is secured annually, but the program is expected to receive continued funding.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
The Invasive Species Program Coordinator participates in the management and coordination of the No Invasives Left Behind Program, and leads efforts to secure funding for future years. Duties are split between office work and field work.
Applicants should have good communication, organizational, and computer skills.
Duties will include one or more of the following functions:
•Supervises a seasonal invasive species control team
•Removes exotic plant species
•Coordinates community support and gives community presentations
•Selects priority sites for invasive species control and collects pre and post treatment vegetation data
•Maintains budgets, assists with grant reporting and grant writing
•May be asked to assist with unrelated vegetation monitoring projects
POSTING DEADLINE: Open until filled
TO APPLY, SEND COVER LETTER AND RESUME TO:
Keith A. Bradley, Assistant Director
22601 SW 152 Ave.
Miami, FL 33170
Email: bradley[at]regionalconservation.org
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Florida's 2009 IP list now online
The Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council’s 2009 List of Invasive Plant Species is now online. http://www.fleppc.org/list/list.htm It is also in the Fall 2009 Wildland Weeds, which you should be getting any day now. The brochure version is at the printer now.
Thanks so much to the List Committee for creation of the list, and to Karen Brown for putting it all together for print form.
Keith A. Bradley
Assistant Director
The Institute for Regional Conservation
Miami, Florida
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Australian pine article
For those interested in reading about another "controversial" project to remove Australian pines -- this time in Miami. Link
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Capital/Mohawk PRISM meeting October 9
The next meeting of the Capital/Mohawk PRISM will be at Schodack Island State Park on October 9 starting at noon. The meeting will include talks on restoration by George Robinson from SUNY Albany and Eric Kiviat from Hudsonia. Casey Holzworth will lead a field trip after the meeting. Hope to see you there.
Peg Sauer
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New York Times Editorial: The Future of Our Parks
This week, PBS will broadcast Ken Burns’s new six-part series on the national parks, a chronicle of the rich 158-year history of what the series calls “America’s Best Idea” — setting aside remarkable places and landscapes for future generations to enjoy.
Mr. Burns’s documentary makes clear that no one should take that idea or the park system it created for granted. From the start, the project has been encumbered by political shortsightedness and inadequate financing, with the parks themselves constantly threatened by the encroachment of the world around them.
The parks’ future is the concern of a major new report from the National Parks Second Century Commission — an independent body organized and financed by the National Parks Conservation Association. It offers an unsparing look at the many problems that threaten the parks and sensible remedies for addressing them. [...]
The Park Service’s annual budget of $2.4 billion is less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the total federal budget, and more generous annual appropriations would certainly seem within reach. But the commission would also create a tax-exempt national parks endowment to attract private money and help free park budgets from the ebb and flow of Congressional outlays.
Making sure that the system lives up to its inherent promise involves more than money. Given new threats from global warming and invasive species, the commission wants the service to strengthen its scientific capabilities. It also urges the service to broaden its educational mission to reach more young people.
In some ways, it’s a miracle that the park system is as resilient as it is. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has said that he will take the commission’s recommendations seriously, and we hope President Obama will, too. The “best idea” needs to be protected and celebrated.
Read the editorial at link.
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Maine DEP fighting hydrilla in Damariscotta Lake
WCSH6.com
JEFFERSON (NEWS CENTER) -- Like a shorefront SWAT team, workers from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) descended on a small lagoon on Damariscotta lake on Monday.Their target is a flimsy, green underwater plant, called Hydrilla, which was discovered growing in that lagoon.
Paul Gregory of the DEP describes Hydrilla as one of the most aggressive of all invasive plant species. The DEP and lakeside property owners want to stop the plant before it can spread.
The Hydrilla was discovered just last week by a resident who had been to a training class held by the Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association. He was paddling a kayak around, in search of invasive plants when he spotted the Hydrilla.
The DEP has placed screens across the two openings to the lagoon, to try to prevent pieces of the plant from floating out. And they're laying plastic mats on the lake bottom, just outside the lagoon, to stop the plant from taking root in new areas.
Damariscotta Lake is only the second place in Maine where Hydrilla has been found. The other is Pickerel Pond in Livermore.
Paul Gregory of the DEP says the plant is a real threat to water quality and to the general health of lakes and ponds, because it can choke off all other vegetation, use degrade water quality and eventually turn an area into swamp.
Damariscotta Lake is a large lake, but both the DEP and the Watershed Association say they were surprised at the Hydrilla find, and are treating it very seriously.
Photo courtesy of WCSH6.com.
Link
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Give birds a break: Lock up the cat
By NATALIE ANGIER, New York Times Science Section
Halloween came to our house early this year.
The other day I looked out the window and saw a strange black cat sauntering through our yard. It was a beautiful animal, with bright penny eyes and fur that gleamed like a newly polished shoe, but still the sight turned me ghoulish. So I ran outside, hollered, stamped my feet and finally managed to chase the little witch’s sidekick away. [...]
Experts disagree sharply these days over how to manage our multitudes of stray and feral cats, with some saying off to the pound, others preaching a policy of catch, neuter and release, and everybody wishing there were other options to click. Yet when it comes to pet policy, and the question of whether it’s O.K. to let your beloved Cleo, Zydeco or Cocoa wander at will and have their Hobbesian fun, the authorities on both sides of the alley emphatically say, No. There are enough full-time strays; don’t add in your chipper. It is not fair to the songbirds and other animals that domestic cats kill by the billions each year. New research shows that neighborhoods like mine are particularly treacherous, Bermuda Triangles for baby birds.
Peter P. Marra, a research scientist at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center at the National Zoo, pointed out that cats were the only domesticated animal permitted to roam. “Pigs have to stay in pens, chickens have to stay in pens,” he said. “Why are cats allowed to run around and do what their instincts tell them to do, which is rampage?” [...]
In the view of many wildlife researchers, a pet cat on a lap may be a piece of self-cleaning perfection, but a pet cat on the loose is like a snakefish or English ivy: an invasive species. Although domestic cats have been in this country since the colonial era, they are thought to be the descendants of a Middle Eastern species of wild cat, and there is nothing quite like them native to North America. As a result, many local prey species are poorly equipped to parry a domestic cat’s stealth approach. “People fool themselves into believing that by simply putting a bell on a cat they could prevent mortality to birds,” Mr. Schroeder said. “But a bell ringing means nothing to a bird.”
Read the full article at link.
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New invasive species in Missisquoi Bay, Vermont
State Natural Resources officials say that variable-leaved watermilfoil is now in the bay. It can "hitchhike" on boats and other recreational equipment, and it's also a popular aquarium species. Researchers say the plant is a concern because it can crowd out other beneficial plants.
Last year, the variable-leaved watermilfoil was spotted in Halls Lake in Newbury.
Link
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Fish and Wildlife Service releases its climate change plan
By Kim McGuire
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
As part of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s push on climate change, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today released its plan to guide the agency’s future efforts regarding impacts on wildlife.
The plan, which is available for public review and comment over the next 60 days, will help navigate future responses to things like changing wildlife migration patterns, the spread of invasive species, changing precipitation patterns and rising sea levels.
“The growing impacts from climate change on wildlife, plants, and watersheds are a call to action,” said Tom Strickland, assistant secretary of the interior for fish and wildlife and parks. “These impacts call for a coordinated and strategic response from the Department and its bureaus. We will help lead a national response that is grounded in sound science, and adaptive, landscape-scale conservation approach , and collaboration with partners. This is a crucial first step in that direction.” [...]
Read the story at link.
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Volunteers sought to remove invasive plants
West Hartford, Connecticut - The West Hartford Land Trust is asking for volunteers to help remove invasive plants from 1.5 acres about a mile from the town center.
The effort, the latest to clear the land of nonnative plants, will happen from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 10 at the parcel, 1157 Farmington Ave. People should bring their own gloves, pruners, loppers, bow saws or other tools, and should wear long pants, long sleeves and sturdy shoes. Lunch and drinks will be offered.
Those interested in volunteering may call 860-331-3241 and leave a message, or send an e-mail to info[at]westhartfordlandtrust.org.
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Woman campaigns for invasive plant removal in Vermont
By Dorothy Pellett, BurlingtonFreePress.com
CHARLOTTE — Susan Smith’s canoe was out of the water and parked on her lawn on a recent day — but Lake Champlain’s shorelines are never far from her thoughts.
For two summers, Smith has led a campaign to remove the invasive European frogbit plant from Town Farm Bay in Charlotte. Volunteers and employees removed seven tons of the leafy weed during a stretch of only seven weeks this summer.
Frogbit’s swift rate of growth threatens wildlife that depends on native plants, fish and insects for food. Smith and other volunteers have counted 41 species of frogs, turtles, snakes and birds, including several sightings of a Great White Egret.
Read the article at link.
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Invasives threaten N.Y.'s natural order
By Michael Risinit, LoHud.com
In the 1997 movie "Men in Black," the characters played by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones work for an agency monitoring and managing alien activity on Earth. Their charges include a host of not-of-this-world creatures: worms that make a nice cup of coffee, large insects that drink sugar water and human-looking individuals blinking two sets of eyelids.Of course, in the real world those don't exist (as far as we know, anyway). But other interlopers do, such as swallow-wort, zebra mussels, Chinese mitten crabs and northern snakeheads. They are among some 4,000 or so species in the United States that are both non-native (alien) and damaging to their new digs. Be they animal, plant or pathogen, such beings are called invasive species.
As a threat, invasives have been judged second only to habitat loss when it comes to a region's biodiversity - the abundance and variety of living things. Northern snakeheads, originally from China, can wipe out native fish populations. Chinese mitten crabs can be bad news for the Hudson River's blue crabs, and their burrowing can destabilize stream banks and earthen dams. Swallow-wort, imported from Europe, is a menace to monarchs. The butterflies are fooled into laying eggs on a plant that cannot support their offspring.
There's no official list yet of the dozens of invasive species calling New York home. But there's a definition. An invasive species is "non-native to the ecosystem under consideration, whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health," according to the Final Report of the New York State Invasive Species Task Force. That harm "must significantly outweigh any benefits," the 2005 report said.
Government and private organizations are trying to eradicate or control the ones here - mile-a-minute vine, golden nematode - and keep others at bay.
The plants, insects, diseases and fish that shouldn't be here, but are, can be the stuff of bad dreams. Ed McGowan, a science director for the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, is part of a Lower Hudson Valley coalition addressing the threat of invasive species. Where others "see greenery, scenery," he sees trouble for the region's natural order. [...]
One of his current battles is with mile-a-minute weed, a kudzu-like vine capable of growing more than 20 feet in a year. It forms dense mats, chokes out native vegetation and can kill trees. The plant, a native of eastern Asia, was accidentally introduced in the 1930s when it hitchhiked with nursery stock. His weapon? Goats.
Two goats, on loan from the Glynwood Center in Philipstown, spent much of their summer on Stony Point's Iona Island, a former military complex now part of Bear Mountain State Park. The vine with triangular leaves and barbs wasn't their first choice to munch on, McGowan said, "but they got to it eventually."
"It involves a lot of management. You need fences. You need to be concerned about coyotes in this area (who could decide to dine on the goats)," McGowan said as an osprey flapped above the nearby Hudson River.
The pair were charged with eating the plant into submission, which the goats did until they were relocated to another enclosure. That happened every 12 days. The goats left their former pens as smooth as putting greens, McGowan said. But shortly afterward, the areas were again lush with mile-a-minute.
Sheep, instead, were on duty at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Cross River. There, they were shepherded among several plots every three days. Their periodic return seems to keep mile-a-minute vine in check, compared to the goats' eat-it-and-leave-it approach.
Their reappearance, said Gary Kleppel, an Albany University, SUNY, professor, and his graduate student, Caroline Girard, mimics the behavior of deer and other plant-eating animals that would intermittently pass by and dine. Native grass was starting to sprout in once mile-a-minute-only territory.
"These two plants are in a desperate battle for dominance," said Kleppel, director of the school's Biodiversity Conservation Program. "If you take its (mile-a-minute) edge away, look what happens." [...]
Emerald ash borers, a beetle whose larvae can wipe out ash trees, probably arrived in the United States on wood crates and pallets aboard cargo ships or airplanes coming from its native Asia. It was found this year in western New York.
The round goby, a fish native to the Black and Caspian seas, competes with and preys on native fish. It has been found near Buffalo and Rochester, most likely descended from those that hitched a ride in ships' ballast water and were discharged into the Great Lakes.
"It's hard not to answer ‘all of them,' " said Steve Sanford, director of the state's Office of Invasive Species Coordination, when asked which invader he worries about most.
His office is to send a report to the state Legislature by January listing New York's invasive species and how to deal with them.
"More and more, society is realizing all the harm that comes from invasive species," he said. "When it upsets the balance, usually the system functions to a certain degree, but certain things are going to be lost. It depends on how much you value biodiversity."
Along with reshuffling nature, those invading plants and animals carry a financial impact. The annual cost of invasive species to the U.S. economy is about $138 billion, according to the federal government, including agricultural losses, infrastructure damage and management costs. Zebra mussels - small mollusks originally from Russia - alone account for about $270 million in economic damage in North America, said Dave Strayer of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook in Dutchess County. He characterized the figure as an underestimate.
He and his colleagues have been studying zebra mussels in the Hudson River since their appearance in 1991. The thumb-size shellfish can clog water pipes and power-plant intakes.
"Zebra mussels came into the river and turned it upside down. In the last few years, we've seen evidence that parts of the river are coming back," Strayer said.
The mussels upset the river's food chain by sucking out much of the phytoplankton - the tiny plant life - upon which other river creatures depend. Recently, Strayer and fellow scientists have found fewer older and bigger zebra mussels in the river, leaving them to wonder what's causing the change. While the future of zebra mussels in the Hudson plays out, he said, the average person's concern should be about invasive species in general. More needs to be done to focus attention on the issue, Strayer said.
"Let's stop it. Let's do better," he said. "We've been very slow in coming around to controlling invasive species. But we're not taking this problem seriously enough."
Read the full article at link.
PHOTO: New York DEC forester Michael Callan shows a sample of an emerald ash borer, an invasive species of insect, at Graham Hills Park in Mount Pleasant. (Stuart Bayer/The Journal News)
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Mile-a-minute vine confirmed in two new counties in Massachusetts
Mile-a-minute vine (Polygonum perfoliatum), an invasive vine native to eastern Asia, has been confirmed in two new counties in Massachusetts.
Also known as "devil's tail" or "Asiatic tear-thumb," mile-a-minute vine was first discovered in Massachusetts in 2006 in two locations: Falmouth (Barnstable County) and Milton (Norfolk County). Through a multi-agency effort to uncover new populations of this pervasive weed before it becomes established in Massachusetts, mile-a-minute vine was confirmed this past summer in the towns of Greenfield and Erving (Franklin County) and in Littleton (Middlesex County). In addition, a report from Boston in August led state officials to two seedlings which were immediately removed. A survey of the Boston site revealed no other mile-a-minute plants.
The plants found in Greenfield were removed after identification was confirmed, and state officials will continue to monitor the site over the next several years to remove any new seedlings that may be found. The mile-a-minute vine populations in Erving and Littleton are currently being assessed to determine the best way to manage them. The previously known populations of mile-a-minute vine in Milton and Falmouth are being managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, with the goal of eradicating the plants.
Mile-a-minute vine can be recognized by its perfectly triangular leaves, barbed stems, and clusters of metallic-blue berries. If left alone, this vine can quickly cover large areas and smother any plants in its path. Several other vines may be confused with this invasive species, including bindweed, fleecevine, and Asiatic bittersweet. The University of Connecticut offers a comparison of similar species on their website: http://www.hort.uconn.edu/mam/similarspecies.html
For more information about mile-a-minute vine, or to report a potential sighting in Massachusetts, visit http://massnrc.org/pests/pestFAQsheets/mileaminute.html.
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National Park Service Internships Available
Looking for an opportunity to see many National Parks in the southeastern US and assist in preserving their precious natural and cultural resources?
The Student Conservation Association, in partnership with the National Park Service NPS), is assisting in a nationwide effort to eradicate invasive, exotic plants from NPS lands. After habitat loss, invasive, exotic species are considered the greatest threat to global diversity.
The NPS Southeast Exotic Plant Management Team (SE-EPMT) is looking for interns to be on a traveling team to manage invasive, exotic plants in 18 NPS units. These parks are located in the Piedmont, Appalachian Highlands and the Cumberland Plateau provinces in seven southeastern states (KY, TN, VA, NC, AL, NC, and SC). Park sites include Cumberland Gap National Historic Park (KY/TN/VA), Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (TN/KY), Obed Wild and Scenic River (TN), Blue Ridge Parkway (NC/VA) and Mammoth Cave National Park (KY).
We are based in Asheville, NC on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the gateway to the Smoky Mountains National Park. The Asheville area has a thriving arts community, a vibrant and inviting downtown, diverse outdoor adventures, and many historic and architectural attractions. Assistance with housing is possible.
The SE-EPMT typically works two types of schedule: either four 10 hour days with three days off or eight 10 hour days with six days off. Four day weeks are usually Monday thru Thursday and eight day weeks are Monday thru Monday.
Position Duties: Implement and document invasive plant management control methods including manual, mechanical and chemical techniques using chainsaws, pole saws, brushcutters, hand tools, manual and gas powered sprayers and GPS. The goal is to protect National Park Service sites from these exotic fauna, including Japanese Honeysuckle, Japanese Spirea, Coltsfoot, Privet, and Kudzu.
Training Opportunities Include: Safe and effective use of chainsaws and other power tools; safe and effective use of herbicides; use of personal protective equipment; safety-first aid and CPR; ATV training and operation; defensive driving; Red Card (wildland fire fighter)certification; use of GPS/GIS and various database and computer programs.
Minimum Requirements: Applicant must be 25 years or under, have a valid drivers license, have reliable transportation to office site in Asheville, NC, be capable of navigating rough terrain carrying heavy loads (40lbs+) under potential extreme weather conditions.
Projected Start Date: October 19, 2009
For more information please contact::
Nancy Fraley
National Park Service
Coordinator
Southeast Exotic Plant Management Team
67 Ranger Drive
Asheville, NC 28805
828 - 296 - 0850 x100
OR
Toby Obenauer
Team Leader
Southeast Exotic Plant Management Team
67 Ranger Drive
Asheville, NC 28805
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Weevil army attacks weeds
By YVONNE NAVA, NBC Connecticut
Call in the wee black weevils! An army of them is being used to fight a problem in Greenwich. Scientists are releasing the insects to get rid of the fast-growing invasive weed known as the "mile-a-minute vine." The plant grows 6 inches per day and blankets shrubs, hedges and trees.“It’s like a wall of green in some places,” Donna Ellis, a scientist at the University of Connecticut who is also a member of the state’s Invasive Plant Working Group, told Bloomberg.com. “We could double the number of weevils next year.”
Scientists plan to unleash 7,000 of the little weevils in five towns. Fairfield County, which includes Greenwich, will be the focus of next year’s weevil release because scientists are finding the heaviest concentration of mile-a-minute there.
The fancy name for this vine, which is native to eastern Asia, is Persicaria perfoliata. Officials with Audubon Connecticut say the weed probably was introduced in our state via a load of trees and shrubs trucked to Greenwich Audubon land from Pennsylvania.
So far, the vine has been spotted in five of the state’s eight counties.
“Instead of seeing the trees and the view, the view is just blocked,” Ellis said of an infestation in Quinnipiac River State Park in North Haven after visiting a monitoring site this week.
Read the article at link.
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Genome of Irish potato famine pathogen decoded
By Nicole Davis, Broad Communications
A large international research team has decoded the genome of the notorious organism that triggered the Irish potato famine in the mid-19th century and now threatens this season’s tomato and potato crops across much of the US.
Published in the September 9 online issue of the journal Nature, the study reveals that the organism boasts an unusually large genome size — more than twice that of closely related species — and an extraordinary genome structure, which together appear to enable the rapid evolution of genes, particularly those involved in plant infection. These data expose an unusual mechanism that enables the pathogen to outsmart its plant hosts and may help researchers unlock new ways to control it.
“This pathogen has an exquisite ability to adapt and change, and that’s what makes it so dangerous,” said senior author Chad Nusbaum, co-director of the Genome Sequencing and Analysis Program at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. “We now have a comprehensive view of its genome, revealing the unusual properties that drive its remarkable adaptability. Hopefully, this knowledge can foster novel approaches to diagnose and respond to outbreaks.”
“Our findings suggest a ‘two-speed’ genome, meaning that different parts of the genome are evolving at different rates,” said co-lead author Sophien Kamoun, head of the Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, UK. “Future sequencing of additional strains and close relatives of this pathogen will help test this hypothesis and could transform our understanding of how it adapts to immune plants."
Read the full article at link.
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Monday, March 30, 2009
Week of March 30, 2009
Updated 4/2
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Economic Stimulus Could Boost Invasive Species Management
On February 17, President Barack Obama signed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 to stimulate the economy by creating jobs and building infrastructure.
As of March, implications for invasive species management were unclear. The stimulus package includes more than $3 billion for agencies and programs that will directly affect natural resources. The ARRA spending mandates are very broad and include concepts such as habitat restoration, watershed improvement, forest health protection, and wildland fire management that may allow funding to flow toward invasive plant management.
States and federal agencies face a May 3 deadline to begin reporting how ARRA dollars will be allocated. Until that time, governors are coordinating state allocations, while regional and national offices of the federal agencies are evaluating needs and deciding how to distribute funds.
Information about individual state and federal ARRA programs – how the dollars are being allocated and progress toward goals – can be found at http://e2ma.net/go/1862571322/1698740/63287196/goto:http:/www.recovery.gov/. This website is the primary online portal through which the government will continue to report how ARRA funds are being spent "in a timely, targeted, and transparent manner," according to the President.
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Book makes case for native plants
By Bill Cary • Gannett News Service
People in the gardening world are calling Douglas W. Tallamy's book on native plants the next "Silent Spring," Rachel Carson's 1962 book that warned of the dangers of chemical pesticides and helped launch the modern-day environmental movement.
In his book, "Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens" (Timber Press, 2007, $27.95), Tallamy argues that native plants are vital to the survival of our ecosystems because they sustain native wildlife. When native plants disappear, so do the insects that have evolved with them, thus depriving birds and other animals of the food they need to survive.
Tallamy, professor and head of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware in Newark, Del., has spent years studying insects and the many ways they interact with plants. This food web helps to determine the diversity of our ecosystem...
...We've put nature into neat little quadrants and many of these are filled with invasive species, he said. Look at the narrow strips of land next to our highways - many are overflowing with invasive porcelain berry and bittersweet vines that are pulling down the native trees and choking out everything else.
When we load up our ecosystem with pretty plants from China or Europe, our native insects can't eat them. From the insects' point of view, we might as well stick plastic flowers in our yard instead of peonies or lilacs.
Nationwide, 100 million acres have been invaded by alien plants, and that's expected to double in the next five years...
Read the full article at Link.
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Agricultural agents in NJ wage war on bugs, plants, and disease
By Judy Peet - The Star-Ledger
All Alba Lugardo wanted was her chicken tamales.
She stood sobbing at international customs inspection at Newark Liberty International Airport as agents explained why they seized her vittles. Lugardo didn't care about the big picture; she just wanted the comfort food she brought in her carry-on luggage from Ecuador for her pregnant daughter in Newark.
But invasion can come from the most unlikely places.
To Lugardo, a tamale is a meal. To federal bug and germ hunters, uninspected foreign meat wrapped in corn husks is a possible carrier of avian flu that could sicken hundreds and destroy the livelihood of thousands of chicken-farm workers in Delaware. It is quite a stretch, but one that Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists at every U.S. port of entry make daily in the fight against tiny alien predators.
Ten days ago, Newark agents announced they discovered a plant bug never before seen in the U.S. Botanists don't know if it is a killer, because, like most of the estimated 30 million insect species on the planet, it has never been studied...
...Every day, inspectors in Newark intercept on average more than 100 bugs, according to customs reports. About once a month, they come across a species never before seen in the U.S. The stowaway found 10 days ago was hiding in a bunch of Israeli thyme, said Thomas Henry, the USDA botanist who examined the insect.
It is of the Miridae family, but the species is unknown. Henry said that of the estimated 30 million bug species worldwide, only 1.5 million have been fully classified. It is definitely not one of the 90,000 species native to the U.S., Henry said.
Read the full article, with video, at Link.
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Birds vanishing in the Lehigh Valley, PA
By Christopher Baxter - The Morning Call
An unprecedented study of United States bird populations suggests development in the Lehigh Valley during the past decade has contributed to the steep decline of local species, signaling a deterioration of the region's environment.
Of the 132 most prevalent birds found in Pennsylvania, one-third show significant declines during the past 40 years, mirroring national trends, according to the study's raw data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey.''
The report, ''The State of the Birds,'' released this month by the U.S. Department of the Interior, found that about one-third of the nation's 800 species are endangered, threatened, or in decline.
...suffering precipitous drops in population are Eastern forest birds, which in Pennsylvania include the golden-winged warbler, down 6.7 percent annually since 1967; the wood thrush, down 2.3 percent annually; and the Eastern towhee, down 2 percent annually.
Those species rely on large tracts of pristine hardwood forest, a statewide specialty increasingly under attack by suburban sprawl, invasive species, and deer overpopulation, said Nels Johnson, director of conservation with The Nature Conservancy of Pennsylvania...
Read the full article at Link.
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Connecticut has key role in search for cause of white-nose syndrome in bats
By RINKER BUCK, Courant.com
The rapid spread from the Northeast to the South of the deadly white-nose syndrome in bats is more than a crisis that once again puts Connecticut at the center of a major outbreak like Lyme disease or West Nile virus.
The race to solve the white-nose mystery before the scourge reaches the large bat populations of the American South has set off a frenzied, CSI-like drama in veterinary and pathology laboratories from Italy to Wisconsin. Connecticut is playing a crucial role by compiling data on the syndrome and sending samples of diseased bats to important university and government diagnostic clinics.
The syndrome, first discovered in New York state in 2006, is a condition in which the heads, legs and wings of hibernating bats are coated with a white fungus that scientists have identified as a rare form of geomyces, a fungus usually found in cold, dry environments, such as the tundra in the Arctic.
Earlier this month, biologists from the state Department of Environmental Protection confirmed, after visits to bat caves in Litchfield County, that as many as 90 percent of Connecticut's bats have died...
...Al Hicks, a mammal specialist who runs the endangered species program for the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, led the team of field biologists who first discovered white-nose in bats. He considers it telling that the first site where white-nose was found was Howe Caverns in New York's Schoharie County, a popular tourist site where more than 200,000 visitors a year ride elevators down to a deep cave that houses hibernating bats on the far end.
"We've known since 1983 that there is a very similar geomyces fungus on bats in Europe but that it has not killed them in large numbers like here in the U.S.," Hicks said. "Someone from Europe might have carried that fungus into Howe Caverns on their shoes. This might have introduced a fungus from another continent that American bats had not yet developed resistance to."...
Read the full article at Link.
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Annapolis, Maryland bans invasive plants
By Tyeesha Dixon, BaltimoreSun.com
The City of Annapolis would impose restrictions on invasive plants if a bill the City Council is considering passes.
The bill would prohibit 97 species of invasive plants ... on "lots or parcels within the city unless completely contained to control growth and prevent encroachment." It would also limit growth of grass, weeds and other rank vegetation to one foot high.
The bill includes exceptions to the height requirement, including agricultural property, natural wooded areas, public parks, and recreational property and unimproved areas of more than three acres.
At Monday's public hearing, Ward 2 Alderman Fred Paone, the bill's sponsor, said he introduced the bill because of neighbor disputes regarding unruly bamboo. Paone said he started to learn of constituents' problems with bamboo and kudzu, in particular, in June.
David Prosten, chairman of the 1,400-member Anne Arundel County chapter of the Sierra Club, told the council that the group supports the bill.
Read the full story at Link.
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Swamp studies snag honors for two students in New York
By Roger Muehlig, BataviaNews.com
BERGEN, NY -- Two Byron-Bergen Central School students are headed for a state science competition in Albany in June with award-winning projects related to an endangered snake and an invasive weed in the Bergen Swamp.
Seniors Kelsey Hill and Daniel Madziarz won high honors for their projects at the Central Western Section of the Science Teachers Association of New York State's 2009 Science Congress at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, the school district said.
Hill's presentation, "Survey of the Invasive Species Eurasian species Phragmites Australis in the Bergen Swamp," also earned her a U.S. Army certificate of achievement, a U.S. Air Force certificate of achievement and an MP3 player, the district said.
Hill and Madziarz were mentored by Stephen Locke, a science teacher at Byron-Bergen and a trustee and vice president of the Bergen Swamp Preservation Society, which owns the 1,900-acre rare plant and wildlife preserve that stretches across the northern half of the town and into the neighboring town of Byron.
Locke said the two students volunteered for their projects, received no extra credit for their work and probably put in more than 500 hours of time each.
Hill's effort showed that an invasive species of phragmites, which originated in Europe, and the native species that came from New England were both in the swamp. Both like high-salt wetlands, Locke said, but Hill did a nice job of documenting the differences between the two and showed that the European species was taking over, occupying 27 percent of the swamp's open land.
Hill, who would like to pursue environmental writing in college, perhaps at Ohio Wesleyan, is not only the first to scientifically state the takeover is occurring, Locke said, but created a computer data-base to manage eradication of the invasive species.
The daughter of David and Lesle Hill said she spent about 16 hours a week in the swamp last summer and another 15 hours or so a week formulating her report.
"It was pretty hot out there, but it was worth it," she said.
Read the full story at Link.
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Cazenovia, NY bans phosphorus fertilizer to reduce AIS
By Alaina Potrikus, The Post-Standard
Cazenovia leaders want homeowners to know that most soils in the lake watershed contain adequate levels of naturally occurring phosphorus and should not be affected by the town's ban on fertilizers with the nutrient.
The town board in January passed the area's first ban restricting the use of phosphorus in lawn fertilizers in hopes of creating a less-fertile environment for algae and other aquatic plants, such as the weed Eurasian watermilfoil, that annually plague Cazenovia Lake. Village leaders are considering a similar resolution in support of the local law.
The community has been making plans all winter to tackle the growing problem of invasive species such as milfoil. The town, in conjunction with the village and the Cazenovia Lake Association, is applying for a permit from the state Department of Environmental Conservation to apply the herbicide Renovate to portions of the lake in hopes of knocking back the milfoil population, which has skyrocketed in recent summers.
While local officials work to solve the environmental and financial ramifications of the milfoil, Town Supervisor Liz Moran said, the phosphorus ban is something area homeowners can do to help prevent future weed growth.
The ban will be enforced by the town's code enforcement officer, and Moran said officials hope "the majority of residents recognize that, although not a magic bullet, a phosphorus reduction plan is an easy way for everyone to display good stewardship of the lake and contribute to the long-term health of this precious resource."
Read full story at Link.
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Lake Placid, NY to use beetles to combat purple loosestrife
By HEATHER SACKETT, for the Adirondack Enterprise
LAKE PLACID - "If you can't beat 'em, let the beetles eat 'em." This slogan of the Ausable River Association will be put to the test this summer, when Lake Placid will attempt to combat an invasive species with hungry beetles.
The golden loosestrife beetle (Galerucella pusilla) will be released into four dense stands of purple loosestrife on the shores of Mill Pond and Power Pond. The project's aim is to keep the tributaries of the Ausable River free from the invasive species. Mill and Power ponds are on the Chubb River, which feeds into the Ausable. The program is funded by a grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program.
According to the association's director Carol Treadwell, no purple loosestrife has been recorded in the West Branch of the river between Lake Placid and Wilmington - and the association wants to keep it that way.
According to director of the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program Hilary Smith, purple loosestrife is one of the most widespread invasive plants in the country.
"Our concern is because the Adirondacks have a lot of prime habitat for wetland invasives," Smith said. "If you're finding it along river complexes, it can be spread downstream."
The beetles, which eat only purple loosestrife, are used after other labor-intensive control methods like hand cutting and pulling the plants and spot applications of herbicide have failed to keep a population of purple loosestrife in check.
The beetles, which are light brown in color and four to six millimeters long, will be released this spring by a team of volunteers, headed up by Treadwell. Right now, they are being raised in a marsh near Utica.
Read the full article at Link.
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Cape May County hopes stimulus funds flow to Lower creek
By BRIAN IANIERI, PressofAtlanticCity.com
LOWER TOWNSHIP - Cape May County is asking for $2 million in federal stimulus money to help restore Cox Hall Creek in Lower Township.
The watershed, which covers 1,940 acres, is clogged by phragmites marsh reeds that hinder the creek's ability to drain and pose fire hazards when the stalks are dry. Poor water flow at Cox Hall Creek also presents concerns about mosquito breeding habitat.
County freeholders are applying for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration Project grant, which would use federal stimulus money.
The $2 million proposed project would involve placing two culverts in the area to allow saltwater to flow in from the Delaware Bay to kill the invasive phragmites, said County Administrator Stephen O'Connor.
Federal funding would also pay for studies on a second phase of the proposed project.
That phase involves installing new pipes with tidal traps leading directly into the Delaware Bay to create a constant, controlled level of water, O'Connor said.
Read the full story at Link.
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National ANS Database now part of NYIS.INFO
I'm very excited to report that the aquatic invasive/aquatic nuisance species database of the National Aquatic Nuisance Species Clearinghouse (NANSC) is now a part of the NY Invasive Species Clearinghouse (NYIS.INFO). The database is a searchable annotated catalog of the NANSC international library of research, public policy, and outreach education publications pertaining to invasive marine and fresh-water aquatic nuisance species that are found in North America. It is also the home of North America's most extensive library of publications related to the spread, biology, impacts and control of zebra mussels.
The Aquatic Invasive Species Database (Link) can be searched via an extended outline search or via a powerful full text search feature.
Charles R. O'Neill, Jr.
Sr. Extension Specialist
Cornell University/New York Sea Grant
Director, NY Invasive Species Clearinghouse Director, National Aquatic
Nuisance Species Clearinghouse Coordinator, Cornell Invasive Species Program
Morgan II, SUNY College Brockport, NY 14420
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Share your phragmites samples and location data
Dr. Bernd Blossey at Cornell University is soliciting contributions of samples and data on native and invasive locations of common reed (Phragmites australis). In particular, Blossey is hoping to receive more data from western states, which currently are poorly represented in his database. Blossey and his colleagues will use the data to prepare a distribution map so that more targeted searches can be done in certain states. They also hope to launch a web-based approach that will allow volunteers or states to update data remotely.
Contact Dr. Bernd Blossey
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Volunteers needed to root out invasive plants in Virginia
By John Hopkins, The Virginian-Pilot
The local chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society will join the Chesapeake Arboretum and interested volunteers on May 2 to uproot nonnative growth in the area during the first statewide Invasive Plant Removal Day.
They will target English ivy and ligustrum, also known as privet, at the arboretum's urban forest in Chesapeake, said Barbara Gelzer, the arboretum's coordinator. Statewide, various other groups will take on similar tasks in their own communities.
The Virginia Native Plant Society and the Virginia Master Naturalists are sponsoring the statewide event. Activities are being coordinated now and interested people can learn more by going to www.virginiamasternaturalist.org/invasives/index.html.
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Very cute biological control agents on Long Island
BY ARI GOLDSTEIN, Newsday.com
The Town of Hempstead has a new set of grass cutters for the Norman J. Levy Park and Preserve in Merrick, and they go by the names Sleepy, Sneezy, Bashful, Happy and Doc.
The five are Nigerian dwarf goats and their assignment will be controlling weeds and overgrowth at the 50-acre preserve.
The puppy-sized goats, between 4 and 6 weeks old, spent Monday in their pen, grazing on goat pellets. By autumn, town officials hope the five will be chowing down grass and weeds.
We'll let them eat to their hearts' content," said Town Supervisor Kate Murray. "Basically, they're going to be our natural lawn mowers."
But the goats won't have free rein of the preserve: They will either be tethered to a line, tended on leashes or kept inside a movable fence.
And although the animals are considered gentle, children will not be allowed to pet them."
There's an overabundance of caution at this point," Murray said. "They're young, they're unpredictable and it's not really their purpose.
"The town paid $1,200 for the five goats, which were born at the Long Island Zoological Society in Manorville. The town expects to save money that would have been spent on labor, gas, lawn mowers and line trimmers. Officials also touted the goats' value to the environment, as their carbon footprint will be smaller than that of lawn care machinery.
It's not the first time the preserve has turned to unusual methods to respond to issues at the facility. Four years ago, guinea fowl were brought in to control ticks. They feed on insects and, since their arrival, the preserve hasn't had any reports of ticks, Murray said.
The preserve hopes the goats will thrive -- and perhaps add to their ranks.
"We figure with one boy and four girls, nature might take its course," Murray said.
Read the full article and see some very cute photos at Link.
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Phragmites' last stand?
By LEE PROCIDA, PressofAtlanticCity.com
For more than a century, North American scientists, engineers, environmentalists, sportsmen and others have fought the invasion of a foreign form of the common reed, Phragmites australis, and lost...
...After a decade of studies, scientists at Cornell University have narrowed a field of 150 different species of fungus, pathogens and insects down to four moths that, if released into the wild here, could potentially attack and kill the invasive form of phragmites.
Bernd Blossey, associate professor at the university and lead researcher on the project, said any release of the species would not be for another three to five years, since they are currently being carefully studied in Rhode Island and Switzerland.
Nevertheless, he said initial studies have been very promising, and the moths the researchers are studying seem to have a singular interest in eating the one species of phragmites that has plagued this area.
"The biological control of plants has been around for 120 to 150 years," Blossey said, "but for phragmites, it's extremely novel and no one has tried that."
In southern New Jersey - what Blossey called "the middle of the storm" in the invasion - other techniques have mostly centered on burning, chopping, mowing or spraying with herbicide the large stands of phragmites found here.
These attempts, particularly spraying, have not only been met with much public resistance, but they also usually only serve to push the reed back rather than eradicate it altogether. Most require continuous maintenance as the reed creeps back in, making them more expensive and time consuming.
But the moths that Blossey is studying have a long history of being effective phragmites killers. They are all found in Europe, where the form of phragmites that has taken over marshes here also came from, and they have adapted a particular taste for the plant - one is even called a Reed Leopard.
In Europe they are so proficient they are sometimes considered pests, but that's only because the form of phragmites that is considered invasive here provides valuable habitat overseas.
Whatever species is eventually released to attack the foreign variety of phragmites will have to leave that native species alone, which Blossey said is the main concern now as studies of the moths are continued.
Read the full article at Link.
For more information, visit InvasivePlants.Net.
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Exotic species at the 36th Natural Areas Conference
September 11-18, 2009
Vancouver, Washington
In association with the Natural Areas Association, the National Association of Exotic Pest Plant Councils will host an Invasive Exotic Species track at the 2009 Natural Areas Conference in Vancouver, Washington. The theme for the September 15-18, 2009, conference is “Living on the Edge: Why Natural Areas Matter.”
All NAEPPC chapters are invited and encouraged to submit some aspect of their work in a contributed paper or poster. Submission of abstracts and other information about the conference is available online at the Natural Areas Conference web site. Please note the April 30, 2009 deadline for abstract submission.
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New Hampshire lake group tackles invasive milfoil
By Eric Parry, EagleTribune.com
HAMPSTEAD, NH — Residents around Big Island Pond believe a 30-foot pontoon boat — complete with a pump, hoses and a perforated deck — in Skip Lanouette's front yard is their best hope of fighting an invasive weed that has spread across the lake for the past decade.
Lanouette and a group of residents from around the lake are converting the boat into a harvester that will help scuba divers remove milfoil from the pond.
There have been attempts to rid the lake of the milfoil in the past, but pulling the weeds by hand and stuffing them into bags was a tedious process that didn't accomplish much.
But with this new tool, Bob Patterson, who is leading a team of 15 divers, said a lot more of the lake should be free of the weed that spreads quickly and can choke natural vegetation.
"What took us a whole month by hand last year can take us a day with the harvester," Patterson said.
While two divers are in the water pulling weeds, a 4-inch-wide hose attached to one of the divers will suck the weed into large holding tanks on the deck of the boat. The holding tanks and deck have been fitted with a tight mesh that will collect the weed in bags, but will allow the water to drain back into the pond.
At most, divers will only have to go down 12 feet because the weed doesn't grow any deeper than that in the lake, Patterson said.
To make sure they collect it all, volunteers armed with pool skimmers will circle the boat in kayaks to trap any small pieces of the weed that float to the top.
"A little 2-inch piece can float away and start a new colony somewhere else," Patterson said.
After the milfoil is bagged and tagged, volunteers will then send a complete report back to the state Department of Environmental Services. The report will include how much of the weed was collected, where it was growing, water temperature and air temperature.
About 60 volunteers are involved with the project, helping to retrofit the boat with benches for the divers, hooking up the hoses and spending weekends navigating the boat around the lake. So far, 135 dives have been scheduled starting at the end of the month and continuing every weekend through the summer.
"The volunteerism on the lake is incredible," said Paul LaRochelle, who was one of the neighbors who helped Lanouette install the pump last weekend.
The boat was purchased earlier this year with the help of the lake association, donations from residents and the New Hampshire Lakes Association.
But even with this new tool, the state DES is suggesting a chemical, 2-4-D, be used to assist in the cleanup.
Amy Smagula, a DES limnologist, said the combination of the hand pulling and herbicide treatment will eliminate the weed faster than either technique alone.
"Fifty acres is a little daunting when you're trying to physically remove it," Smagula said.
Still, residents know the lake will never be completely rid of the weed.
Read the full story at Link.
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Southeast Herbicide Applicator Conference
University of Florida
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
Sep 22-24, 2009
Edgewater Beach Resort
Panama City Beach, Florida
Training for those who conduct weed control in canals, lakes, water retention ponds, golf course ponds, rivers, parks, highway rights-of-ways, transmission lines, and are responsible for vegetation management along right-of-ways and in natural areas, and use biological control techniques to suppress aquatic weed growth.
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