Munch Hour with Vin Vasive

Munch Hour with Vin Vasive
 on Thursday, June 28th

Join this interactive chat on Thursday, June 28th from 1-3 pm EST
Click here on the day for the online chat room.

He’s lean, mean, and could be moving into a neighborhood near you. He’s Vin Vasive, the new spokes-bug for APHIS’ Hungry Pests outreach program. Vin has already done some work both in radio and television, staring in public service announcements reminding Americans about the dangers invasive pests, such as the Mexican Fruit Fly and Asian longhorned beetle, pose to fruits, vegetables, trees, and other agricultural crops. But now Vin is going viral: he will be hitting the Internet to talk about his “Culinary Tour” of America.

The Munch Hour chat room works best with the following browsers. Please download one of these to limit potential conflicts with the chat functionality: Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer 9.

Update on Invasive Species in Florida From Topical Currents

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Jenny Eckles, Dennis Giardina and Kelly Gestring were recently on Topical Currents, a south Florida NPR affiliate show.

In this show Topical Currents looks at invasive plants, reptiles, fish, insects and other critters in South Florida. These ecosystems remain under siege, at great cost to taxpayers. Fifty-million dollars annually is spent just to eradicate exotic weeds from fields, canals, ponds and roadsides. With no natural predators, Burmese pythons and amphibians thrive and prey on native species. Biologists say prevention is the best answer to the problem.

Click to listen to the recorded show on Topical Currents with host Joseph Cooper on 91.3 WLRN.

Learn more about:

• Florida’s Exotic Fish and Wildlife
• Invasive Plant Management
• Free I'veGot1 smartphone app
• CISMA's in Florida
• Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council

A Call to Action: The scope of invasive impacts demands response

Check out the new article in The Wildlife Society News by Michael Ielmini, Gail Wallin, and George Beck:  http://news.wildlife.org/twp/a-call-to-action/

Stop The Spread of Invasive Species

The Threat

It's up to each of us to help stop hungry pests

Hungry pests are invasive species that threaten to harm our crops and trees. Left unchecked, they can devastate entire agricultural industries, eliminating jobs, threatening our food supplies and costing billions.
There are things that each of us can do to help stop the spread. It's up to each of us to be sure that we're not packing a pest when we move things outdoors, go camping, or travel internationally.
Please do your part and be aware of any regulations and potential risks in your area. And if you see a pest, report it. With your help, we can protect so much that we value.
Click here to learn more.

Illinois Invasive Species Awareness Month

Illinois Invasive Species Awareness Month: The goal of May 2012 Illinois Invasive Species Awareness Month (ISAM) is to provide resources and opportunities to help stop the spread of invasive species in Illlinois - each and every person can make a difference, including you!
Check out the blog posted by Chris Evans at River to River CWMA. they posted the first edition of  "The Hunt for Invasive Species Slogans" Chris says, "I’ve always been intrigued with creativity that is put to good use. As I’m sure you know, a catchy or funny slogan or saying can really make an advertisement memorable (for example, you can't hear 'Where’s the Beef?' without thinking of Wendy's). From working with invasive species over the last ten years, I've come to the conclusion that there are a lot of creative, funny, and/or odd things out there when it comes to invasive species educational material.

I’m starting a series of posts to highlight some of the more memorable and fun slogans that you can find on publications, bumper stickers, and t-shirts.

If you know of some slogans that haven’t been posted here, please send them to rivertoriver@gmail.com.

These slogans seem to fit into three broad categories: Play-off, Alliteration, and Rhyming. Here in this first post, I am going to concentrate on The Play-off."

 Read the article The Hunt for Invasive Species Slogans

39th Annual Natural Areas Conference; Call for Papers

39th Annual Natural Areas Conference: Call for papers

Keeping Natural Areas Relevant and Resilient
Registration opens in June

Concurrent Sessions will likely include:

• Natural Area Program Relevance and Resiliency
• Coastal and Marine Issues
• Broadening the Base: Marketing and Communications
• Invasive Species Tracks
• Managing Cultural Resources on Natural Areas
• Cave and Karst Management
• Rare Species Conservation
• Measuring Success of Natural Area Programs
• Land Conservation

Full conference registration includes participation in the mid-conference (Thursday) field trip of your choice. All attendees of mid-conference field trips will receive a boxed lunch. Below is a tentative list of field trips. It will be finalized before registration opens in June.

Pre-conference Field Trips (subject to change)

• Caves and karst lands of western Virginia
• Clinch River canoe float in southwest Virginia
• Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve and Southern Blue Ridge
• Coastal Plain sinkhole ponds
• Chesapeake Bay shorelines
• Longleaf pine restoration at its northern limit

Conference Field Trips (subject to change)

• Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
• Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge
• False Cape State Park and Natural Area Preserve
• Savage Neck Dunes Natural Area Preserve
• Zuni Pine Barrens
• Blackwater River canoe float
• Chesapeake Bay ecotour (boat trip)
• Eastern Shore Marshes ecotour (kayak trip)
• Grafton Ponds Natural Area Preserve
• Wreck Island Natural Area Preserve
• North Landing River Natural Area Preserve
• Migratory Bird Habitat Restoration on the Eastern Shore

Another Way In for Invasive Species

Invasive species already travel to new locations at record speed via cargo ships and air freight, now we find they can also hitch rides on the debris tsunamis deliver across the ocean from the place they occur. Tsunamis can carry large sections of debris that contain living organisms a long way from the place of origin.
Read the article "Invasive species ride tsunami debris to US shore" by Jeff Bernard.