Invasive Species in Louisiana

This week Louisiana is the state of choice. Mainly because Hansel from Louisiana responded to my blog last week. This is what their company is doing to help remove an invasive species in Louisiana.

Hansel says, "I was just reading your spotlight on how Kansas is dealing with invasives, and I thought that I might share with you what our company is doing in Louisiana. Working with a grant from the Barataria Terrebonne National Estuary Program, we have started a company that make dog treats out of nutria. As you may know, with the fall of the fur industry, nutria, a highly destructive mammal, have virtually no effective check on their explosive reproductive rates. And they are incredibly destructive to our wetlands. Presently Louisiana has to spend about $1.5 million each year to pay hunters to go in and cull their numbers. By creating consumer demand, we hope to create a private market control on their population (as previously existed when they were harvested for fur), which, in turn, would allow the State to phase out the Nutria Control Program and use those dollars for other coastal restoration projects. In the process, we hope to educate the public as to the dangers posed by invasive species as well as our coastal issues."

Learn more about invasive species in Louisiana:

• Invasive Species Interactive Map from Tulane University
• Louisiana's Invasive Species Website
• Exotic Species in Louisiana
• State Management Plan
• Invasive species: Impacts / Response Actions
• Status of Invasive Plants in Louisiana in EDDMapS.org

Attention Boaters: Don’t Be A Carrier!

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department bulletin

Attention Boaters: Don’t Be A Carrier!

Attention boaters: You could be carrying an invader that can harm our lakes, foul your boat, hinder water recreation and even threaten our drinking water supply!
Zebra mussels are a very destructive invasive species that can easily spread from lake to lake on boats and trailers like yours. They start out as microscopic larvae known as “veligers” and adults grow to only 1½ inches, but what these small (and often invisible) invaders lack in size they make up for in the damage they do. Zebra mussels have already been found in Lake Texoma, and you have the power to stop them from spreading to other Texas lakes!

This is sound advice for everyone boating on water inhabited by zebra mussels. Wherever you live, you can make a difference and help to stop the spread by following the Clean, Drain and Dry routine whenever moving your boat from one body of water to another. Read the entire bulletin to learn how easy it is to help.

Read the Bulletin

Have they made to your state yet? Check out this distribution map from USGS to see if there are zebra mussels living in a body of water near you.

Zebra Mussel Distribution Map

Weed Science Society says Smartphone Apps Make Invasive's Mapping Easy

WEED SCIENCE SOCIETY OF AMERICA (WSSA) PRESS RELEASE
Online databases and new smartphone applications are making it easier than ever to track and map infestations of invasive weeds, the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) said today. "These new resources are moving pockets of information out of universities and laboratories and into the public domain where they are readily accessible," says Lee Van Wychen, Ph.D., WSSA science policy director.
Read the complete Press Release.

Invasive Species in Kansas

Invasive species are in the news on a regular basis, so I thought it might be interesting to look at what is happening in different states. What kind of invasive species are they dealing with and how are they addressing those problems. Learning about what is working or not working in another state might help you manage invasive species in your state more effectively.
Kansas is the choice for this week. I did a little research and found a lot of good information. Unfortunately invasive species are alive and well in Kansas and the folks there are working hard to control and manage them. Below are links to resources, articles, lists and more on invasive species in Kansas.

• High-Priority Watch List from the Kansas Department of Agriculture  
• Aquatic Nuisance Species from Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism
• Kansas Anglers Tackle Invasive Species, an article in Kansas Afield by Trevor Graff  
• Major changes in bait, fishing and state park regulations from Kansas Outdoors by Michael Pearce 
• Invasive Plant Fact Sheet from the Kansas Native Plant Society - KNPS
• Invasive species for Kansas: Lists, Reporting and more Resources from Invasive.org

Updated Thousand Cankers Disease Survey Guidelines

The U.S. Forest Service and APHIS PPQ have updated the survey guidelines for Thousand Cankers Disease to include instructions for how to use the lure developed for the walnut twig beetle. Thousand Cankers Disease is caused by a fungus, Geosmithia morbida that is carried from tree to tree by walnut twig beetles, Pityophthorus juglandis. It causes death in species of black walnut. It has only been reported in the west at this point, but this disease has the potential to kill balck walnut trees in eastern U.S forests unless we stop it.

Learn how you can help stop the spread

 of this and other tree killing diseases from 

 Don't Move Firewood

Adult walnut twig beetle
Steven Valley, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Bugwood.org

Adult walnut twig beetles
Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org

Stop Invasive Species Act of 2012

Michigan Sea Grant Archive, University of Michigan and Michigan State University, Bugwood.org

Congress has introduced a bill to help fight the spread of invasive Asian carp. The bill will require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers  to complete the study for how to prevent the Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes within 18 months.
Read the bill: Stop Invasive Species Act of 2012.