Zebra Mussel DNA Found in North Texas Lakes

Zebra Mussel DNA Found

in North Texas Lakes

A Fort Worth Star Telegram article by Bill Hanna states, ""Officials say...those lakes had some exposure to the mussels, but not enough to allow the creatures to become established. Since the first adult mussel was found in Lake Texoma in 2009, the shorelines of that reservoir have been covered with them. For scientists, the uncertainty is the threshold for establishing a colony. "We've had zebra mussels in the Great Lakes region for years, and there are still many bodies of water that don't have them," Britton said. "Those that are interested in keeping them out are successful.""

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/03/06/3789710/zebra-mussel-dna-confirmed-in.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/03/06/3789710/zebra-mussel-dna-confirmed-in.html#storylink=cpy

So if all boaters clean, drain and dry their boats when traveling from one lake to another, zebra mussels can be prevented from reaching high enough levels to become established. Read the entire article.
This shows just how important it is for every boater to clean, drain and dry their boat when traveling from one lake to another. Learn how to take action to help STOP the spread of Zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha. 

 Zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha
image by Amy Benson, U.S. Geological Survey, Bugwood.org

This video from Texas does a good job explaining the best way to prevent moving zebra mussels and other aquatic invasive species from one area to another. Wherever you live, using these techniques will help to protect your favorite boating habitats from invasive species.

Flathead catfish, Pylodictis olivaris, native to some areas in the U.S and invasive in others

Image by Lisa Liguori, UGA Marine Extension Service, Bugwood.org

Free Don’t Move Firewood materials!

Free materials!

For a limited time only, the Don’t Move Firewood campaign is offering all outreach and educational specialists an opportunity to stock up on free Don’t Move Firewood outreach materials! Prepare your extension office, outreach team, master gardener booth or natural history center for an extremely busy educational season this summer with your very own supply of Don’t Move Firewood bug tattoos, brochures, water bottles and more. Learn more or just visit our order form at Don’t MoveFirewood’s website or become our friend on Facebook. Deadline for orders is March 30th, so act fast, and tell your fellow outreach professionals about this opportunity!

Thank you Dwain!

Albizia julibrissin, Mimosa tree
photo by Tony Pernas, USDI National Park Service, Bugwood.org

Dwain Walden, columnist for the Moultrie Observer wrote a great article about Arbor Day and Mimosa trees. You can read the article, "So, How Did You Celebrate Arbor Day?", on the Moultrie Observer website. And in case anyone is unsure, mimosa trees, Albizia julibrissin are indeed an invasive species. Thank you Dwain for giving such a clear picture of just why this tree should not be planted in the United States, in spite of the fact that it is very pretty. Infestations like the one pictured below are all too common in the Southeastern United States. Wherever an invasive tree or any invasive plant is growing, a native tree or plant should be growing. More images of Mimosa tree. Information on the invasive mimosa tree and other invasive species is available at Invasive.org.

Mimosa tree infestation
photo by Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org

Free Smartphone Apps for Mapping Invasives

Download an app to your phone today!

NISAW Grassroots Webcast Available Online

The Grassroots Invasive Species Forum & Webcast held in Washington D.C. during National Invasive Species Awareness Week (NISAW) was recorded and is now available online. If you missed the Grassroots session, then this is your opportunity to watch the presentations. Webcast

Annoucing CalWeedMapper

CalWeedMapper is a New Website

for Mapping Invasive Plant Spread

calweedmapper.calflora.org

CalWeedMapper is a new website for mapping invasive plant spread and planning regional management strategies (calweedmapper.calflora.org). Users generate a report for their region that synthesizes information into three types of strategic opportunities: surveillance, eradication and containment. Land managers can use these reports to prioritize their invasive plant management, to coordinate at the landscape level (county or larger) and to justify funding requests. For some species, CalWeedMapper also provides maps of suitable range that show where a plant might be able to grow in the future. The system was developed by the California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC, www.cal-ipc.org) and is designed to stay current by allowing users to edit data.   

The Calweedmapper website displays data on all 200 invasive plant species from Cal-IPC’s statewide Inventory.  These data combine two sources: interviews with invasive plant experts and occurrence information from Calflora and the Consortia of California Herbaria (CCH). The maps show abundance, spread and management status for each species, displayed by USGS quadrangle.   

Users can generate reports in pdf format based on a selected region or species. The Regional Management Opportunity Report provides a summary table of information for all plants that present opportunities for management in the selected region. The Regional Species Report provides a map that illustrates the plant’s spatial distribution in the region. These reports are designed to help land managers prioritize and fund their work. Cal-IPC is working with several regions to develop strategic management plans using the information from CalWeedMapper. Contact them at mapping@cal-ipc.org for more information. 

This dynamic tool allows users to comment on and update abundance, spread and management information.  Also, any new occurrence data submitted to either Calflora or CCH will update the data in CalWeedMapper.  As a result, the maps will show current information.

To show where a given plant is most likely to spread, CalWeedMapper also displays suitable range based on climate. Computer models were used to generate suitable range for some plant species based on where they currently grow. The maps show the areas that contain suitable range based on climate conditions in 2010 and 2050. These maps can help land managers with climate adaptation planning and preparing for the movement of new invasive plants into their region.

The California Invasive Plant Council is an equal-opportunity provider. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding provided by the USDA Forest Service, State and Private Forestry Program through the California Department of Food & Agriculture. Additional funding from the USDA Forest Service Special Technology Development Program, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Resources Legacy Fund, and Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund.

A Seed in Time

Read the article, Native plant growers throughout Hawai‘i replace IHOP’s “The Lorax” themed seed bookmarks with native plants, by the Maui Invasive Species Committee. This is a great example of the kind of quick action that can help prevent the introduction of a potentially invasive species. The relatively small cost of prevention can reduce or eliminate the enormous expense in time and money trying to control or remove an established invasive species population.

Native plant in Hawai'i, Dodonaea viscosa
photo by Forest & Kim Starr

February issue of National Plant Diagnostic Network News

The February issue of NPDN News is now available at www.npdn.org/newsletter.  Highlights for this issue include:

• A node is born: Introducing Cornell-Bugwood
• New host plants added to Phytophthora ramorum regulations
• Diagnostic tip: cleaning up mite infested fungal cultures
• IT security: using strong passwords
• GPDN webinar series

Flat Mites of the World

CPHST’s Identification Technology Program (ITP) is pleased to announce the release of its latest identification tool, Flat Mites of the World. This tool is aimed at enhanc­ing our diagnostic capabilities for key taxa and to ultimately allow plant protection and quaran­tine services to develop rapid solutions to serious biosecurity threats.

Flat mites remain one of the most economically significant of all acarine groups. All species are phytophagous and the species that have been identified as pests have shown the potential to cause severe economic damage to agricultural crops, ornamentals, and timber. They cause dam­age directly through feeding on host plant tissue and indirectly through the transmission of plant viruses.

Flat Mites of the World will help you identify, via interactive keys, diagnostic fact sheets, and an image gallery, the 36 genera of flat mites present throughout the world, including specific diagnostics for 13 species of Raoiella, 14 species of Brevipalpus, and Tenuipalpus pacificus. The resource can be accessed at:  idtools.org/id/mites/flatmites/

Upper Midwest Invasive Species Conference

Welcome to the first Upper Midwest

Invasive Species Conference!

Following two successful invasive species conferences in 2008 and 2010 (formerly the Minnesota-Wisconsin Invasive Species Conference), the expanded Upper Midwest Invasive Species Conference 2012 will be held at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

CONFERENCE WEBSITE

March 1st: Webcast-Grassroots Invasive Species Forum

Watch the Webcast Today!

Calling all CISMAs, CWMAs, PRISMs and other partnerships addressing the threat of Invasive Species!

Please join us for a live Webcast of the Grassroots session being held during National Invasive Species Awareness Week in Washington, D.C. (www.nisaw.org). This will be an audio broadcast only, so you do not need to phone in or VOIP in – just need speakers or headphones to listen and watch from your computer. 

Ø  When:  March 1^st from 1:00pm to 3:00pm Eastern Standard Time

Ø  Where: in person in D.C. or from your computer

Ø  Why: learn more about the partnerships around the nation that are crossing boundaries and joining forces to battle invasive species (http://www.naeppc.org/cismas.html)

Ø  How: Simply join the event using the event address below – we will start on time, so try to log on 5 minutes ahead

             o   Event address for attendees: https://nethope.webex.com/nethope/onstage/g.php?d=674316733&t=a

o   Event password: NISAWstate1!

o   Event number: 674 316 733

CISMA: Cooperative Invasive Specie Management Area

CWMA: Cooperative Weed Management Area

PRISM: Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management 

Grassroots Invasive Species Forum & Webcast

March 1, 2012 at Hamilton Crowne Plaza Hotel, Hamilton Ballroom, 1001 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005

 Agenda:

1:00-1:20 pm Overview of National Invasive Species Organizations:Damon Waitt, Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center,University of Texas at Austin

 1:20-1:40 pm State Coordination of CWMAs: Funding and Species Inventories:Doug Johnson, California Invasive Plant Council

1:40- 2:00 pm Benefits of Having a Paid CWMA Coordinator: Chris Evans, River to River CWMA

2:00-2:20 pm Early Detection and Rapid Response Success Stories: Tony Pernas, National Park Service
2:20- 2:40 pm Managing invasive species on tribal lands: Susan Kedzie, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
2:40-3:00 pm Panel Discussion: Moderators: Chuck Bargeron, University of Georgia; Kris Serbesoff-King, The Nature Conservancy