Keeping Pets Out of the Wild

From the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region:

Regret buying that goldfish? Give him to a friend, not to nature! Learn how you can protect our native species by keeping pets out of the wild: http://bit.ly/1zTAX2X

Photo: Goldfish courtesy of Hans Braxmeier/Creative Commons.

Yellowstone Lake and Lake Trout

From the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS):

Sunrise Over Yellowstone Lake — A stunning shot of the sunrise over Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park. USGS collaborative research is using acoustic transmitters implanted in invasive lake trout to document movement patterns in Yellowstone Lake to will assist with active netting activity by the National Park Service and identification of spawning areas that can subsequently be targeted for embryo removal. These data are critical for expanding management options for suppressing invasive lake trout. 

Learn more at http://www.nrmsc.usgs.gov/yellowstone_lake

Photo credit: Philip Sandstorm, Montana State University.

Python Project

From the U.S. Geological Survey:

This 16 1/2-foot python, being removed from the wild by USGS and NPS personnel, was captured in a thicket in Everglades National Park in May 2012. The python was equipped with a radio-transmitter and an accelerometer as part of one of the Burmese python projects led by USGS to learn more about the biology of the species to help in efforts to develop better control methods.

Scientists Work to Protect Trees in Southeast Alaska from Non-Native Longhorned Beetles

From USDA:

Posted by Jane Knowlton, Office of Communication, U.S. Forest Service, on October 21, 2014 at 3:00 PM

Alex Vaisvil, a student intern from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, lowers a Lindgren multi-funnel trap to lure longhorned beetles from the mid-canopy in the Tongass National Forest. Traps were located in the forest as part of a study to refine woodborer trapping methods in Southeast Alaska. (U.S. Forest Service/Elizabeth Graham)

Non-native longhorned beetles are easily transported around the world in solid wood packing material, arriving in a new location with no natural enemies to control their populations. Across the country, many of these non-native beetles, particularly the Asian longhorned beetle, have killed tens of thousands of hardwood trees, especially in eastern states.

Will these pests ravage trees in Southeast Alaska? U.S. Forest Service specialists are working to determine ways to prevent the kind of devastation they’ve had elsewhere.

“Alaska has been lucky compared to the rest of the country when it comes to invasive woodborers, such as the emerald ash borer and the Asian longhorned beetle,” said Elizabeth E. Graham, an entomologist for the agency’s Alaska Region.  “However if an invasive species established itself in our Alaskan forests, which are dominated by very few tree species, the effect would be devastating and extremely difficult to manage. We’ve only seen success in stopping the spread of invasive species in areas where they were detected early and swift action was taken.”

Research on pheromones of longhorned beetles shows they can be effectively used to monitor and survey beetles but they have not been tested in the wet environment of Southeast Alaska, according to Ann Ray, an assistant biology professor at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a research collaborator. To determine the best trap/pheromone emitter for Southeast Alaska, the university and the Forest Service are studying the efficacy of different types of pheromone emitters and different trap designs and their height placement on trees.

“The most effective traps for wood- boring beetles are designed to mimic the silhouette of a tree,” Ray said. “We bait the traps with an attractive component, such as pheromones, which are chemicals the insects use to communicate with other members of their species. They lure the beetles to the trap and the beetles are collected in the container below.”

Three different trap types were compared: Lindgren multi-funnel traps, panel intercept traps, and clear panel intercept traps. The traps were used in Juneau, Alaska, at two sites on the Tongass National Forest and a third site at the Jensen-Olsen Arboretum, a public garden north of Juneau. Traps were placed at the understory and canopy level to compare the effect of trap height on beetle collections.

Typically, a healthy tree has defense mechanisms to protect itself from beetle attack, such as sap or resin that oozes out and smothers the beetle. Longhorned beetles prefer to attack weakened and dying trees that are incapable of defending themselves. Those trees serve as a host for young beetles.

In a way, the beetles begin the decomposition process and aid in forest succession. But under the right circumstances, longhorned beetles can become a major forest pest. An abundance of stressed trees, such as following a disturbance and/or under certain climate conditions, can provide enough breeding material for beetle populations to reach outbreak level. At that point, healthy trees may be attacked as well. However, the most threatening insects to a healthy forest are non-native species, like the Asian longhorned beetle, that can be introduced into a new area.

“We check the traps regularly and identify the species of beetles,” said Graham.  “So far, we’ve collected no non-native species. However, our study results will be helpful in determining the best method for detecting non-native beetles and monitoring native populations of longhorned beetles in a coastal rainforest.”

Elizabeth Graham, an entomologist with the Alaska Region’s Forest Health Protection staff, shoots a rope into a tree on the Tongass National Forest. The rope is used to raise woodborer traps into the forest canopy. (U.S. Forest Service/Kat Pratt)

Speak Up: You Can Help Protect America's Hardwood Trees against the Asian Longhorned Beetle!

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Natalie Loggans, USDA, APHIS, Legislative and Public Affairs, on August 5, 2013 at 2:30 PM

An invasive ALB perched on a branch. August is "Tree Check Month" when adult ALB like this one can be easily spotted on or around hardwood trees. Photo by R. Anson Eaglin.

From the moment an Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) infests a tree, there is no cure. No amount of treatments will drive this deadly pest from the comfort of America’s heartwood, leaving thousands of trees dead and dying in the northeastern U.S.  However, as bleak as this may sound, there is a way to stop this beetle, but we need your help.  The American public could be one of the ALB’s greatest opponents, and in stopping the beetle you can help save trees.

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the U.S. Forest Service, the Nature Conservancy, and American Forests held a joint news conference at the National Press Club on July 29, 2013 to urge the public to report signs of the invasive pest that threatens recreational areas, forests, and suburban and urban shade trees.  These agencies have named August “Tree Check Month” in order to encourage the public to examine their trees for signs of ALB.

“The sooner we can find infested trees, the sooner we can save non-infested trees,” said Rhonda Santos, USDA-APHIS’s ALB Public Information Officer.  “We’re asking the public to be aware of how to detect ALB infestations, to check their trees and report any suspicions.”

The ALB was first discovered in the U.S. in 1996, likely arriving unknowingly inside wood packing material from Asia. The insect has no known natural predators in the US.  The beetle bores through the tissues that carry water and nutrients throughout the tree, starving and weakening the tree until it dies.  Once a tree is infested, it must be removed.

Massachusetts, a stated heavily infested with ALB, has already lost 33,000 trees to the infestation around Worcester. Meanwhile, in Boston, only 6 infested trees have been found and removed to date due to an informed hospital employee’s careful observations of trees on the grounds. Had this report not been submitted, Boston’s trees may have met a Worcester fate.

Scott Pfister, USDA-APHIS’s Director of Pest Management, acknowledges that having the public’s support is a tremendous help in the effort to stop deadly infestations before they occur. “If we all work together, we stand a much better chance of eradicating this invasive insect,” Pfister said. “This August, please take ten minutes to check your community’s trees for signs of the ALB.  You just might be saving thousands of trees down the road.”

Want to know how to check for ALB? Visit http://asianlonghornedbeetle.com/ for detection tips, and rules on preventing further spread of the ALB.  If you see signs of ALB in your community, take a digital photo or capture a specimen and freeze it if possible. Then contact your state or county officials, submit a report through the ALB website above, or call APHIS’s ALB hotline at 1-866-702-9938.

Using binoculars can help residents check for signs of ALB high in the canopy of susceptible trees. Photo by R. Anson Eaglin.

Press release:

September 17, 2012

ICYMI: Portman Pens Toledo Blade Op-Ed On Protecting Great Lakes From Threat Of Asian Carp

Washington, D.C. – The Toledo Blade featured an op-ed from Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) on the need for immediate action to combat the threat of Asian carp invading the Great Lakes ecosystem.

With looming economic uncertainty and over 100,000 fishing-related jobs in Ohio at risk, Portman’s bipartisanStop Invasive Species Act, which was signed into law in June, requires the expedited creation of a plan to block Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.

Article included below. Actual article can be found here.

Toledo Blade

It’s time to get serious about Asian carp

By Rob Portman

September 16, 2012

Have Asian carp finally infiltrated Lake Erie?

Many Ohioans are asking that question after the announcement this month that more samples taken from the lake tested positive for carp DNA. I believe this is another indication that unless we get serious, Lake Erie could be irreparably changed through the introduction of Asian carp to its ecosystem.

The federal government, working with Ohio and Michigan, initiated the recent search after the discovery that some water samples retrieved from Sandusky Bay last year also tested positive for carp DNA. Although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stressed that these findings do not confirm the presence of carp in Lake Erie, other experts warn that the pattern and location of the detections suggest the presence of live fish in the lake.

For years, Asian carp have worked their way toward the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River. Federal agencies such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have monitored the progress of the fish. They have tried to erect barriers at various points of entry, to block the carp from invading the Great Lakes and permanently disrupting the region's $7 billion fishery industry.

Much of the corps' focus has been on building electric barriers to prevent carp from moving through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal; unfortunately, such barriers are known to malfunction. Preventive measures also have been established at Eagle Marsh in Indiana, where a simple chain-link fence is all that stands between carp and the Maumee River -- a direct tributary of Lake Erie.

This month's findings offer further proof that our previous actions to prevent the spread of Asian carp have not been sufficient. Earlier this year, it looked as if the federal government would not have a plan in place to combat Asian carp until well after 2015.

Dissatisfied with this timetable, I joined my colleague Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.) to reintroduce legislation that will finally put in place a plan to prevent permanently the spread of Asian carp to the Great Lakes. The Stop Invasive Species Act compels the corps to submit to Congress by 2013 an expedited action plan with options for stopping Asian carp from penetrating the Great Lakes.

Previous legislation on this issue did not gain traction. But this improved version ensures that the corps must look at ways to block carp from all possible points of entry to the Great Lakes, not just the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

Thanks to the efforts of groups such as the Ohio Nature Conservancy, the Ohio Environmental Council, and the Lake Erie Charter Boat Association, we got the Stop Invasive Species Act signed into law in June, less than three months after its introduction. The legislation requires the corps to make an interim progress report to Congress and President Obama by the end of this month.

I hope the corps' interim report will include recommendations that can provide additional protections for the Great Lakes region in the near term. The federal government must acknowledge that Ohioans are looking not only for answers, but also for action.

It is imperative that the Obama Administration meets the deadlines set by Congress and completes a report that identifies the single most cost-efficient and effective solution for permanently preventing Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.

With economic uncertainty looming as far as the eye can see, we can't allow this threat to harm Ohio's 100,000 fishing-related jobs, as well as the rest of the state's economy.

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio) is co-sponsor of the Stop Invasive Species Act.

EPA Awards Over $49,000 to the LSU AgCenter to Document Expansion of the Invasive Mexican Rice Borer

Press release:

EPA Awards Over $49,000 to the LSU AgCenter

to Document Expansion of the Invasive Mexican Rice Borer

(DALLAS – August 13, 2012) The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, known as the LSU AgCenter, $49,956 to develop an electronic reporting and mapping system to document the expansion of the invasive Mexican rice borer. The project will advance the adoption of integrated pest management tactics for the Mexican rice borer in Louisiana by tracking the movement of the pest into new regions and avoid unnecessary use of insecticides in non-infested regions. In addition, the impact on public health and the environment will be measured by tracking the use of insecticides in rice and sugarcane crops. The Mexican rice borer was first discovered in Louisiana in 2008 and is a devastating pest of sugarcane and a serious pest of rice.

Integrated pest management is a sustainable approach to managing pests by combining biological, cultural, physical and chemical tools in a way that minimizes economic, health and environmental risks.

IPMLouisiana is the integrated pest management program of the LSU AgCenter. It is a comprehensive pest management program involving elements of plant pathology, entomology and weed science. The LSU AgCenter is one of 11 institutions within the Louisiana State University System, and its mission is to provide the people of Louisiana with research-based educational information that will improve their lives and economic well-being.

Additional Information on EPA grants is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/gandf/index.htm

More about activities in EPA Region 6 is available at http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.html

# # #

May 04, 2012

Newspapers Across Great Lakes States Agree: Portman's Plan Is Needed To Stop Asian Carp

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Over the past week, a number of newspapers from Great Lakes states have come out in support of Senator Rob Portman’s (R-OH) bipartisan legislation to prevent Asian carp and other invasive species from entering the Great Lakes.  The Stop Invasive Species Act requires the speedy creation of an action plan to block Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes through a number of rivers and tributaries across the Great Lakes region.

The Columbus Dispatch, The Toledo Blade and The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette have all cited the need for immediate action on this issue to protect the environmental and economic benefits of the Great Lakes and support Portman’s plan for doing just that. Some of the highlights include:

“Because the threat posed to the Great Lakes by invasive Asian carp has been beyond urgent for several years, the message of a newly-introduced bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate is welcome: Hurry up.,” Columbus Dispatch.

“The Corps now plans to offer options for keeping the big fish…out of the Great Lakes by the end of 2013, and to present a final proposal by 2015. That isn't soon enough, given the inroads carp already have made. (Portman’s) legislation would mandate a progress report from the Corps within three months of its enactment, and a final proposal for action within 18 months…,” Toledo Blade.

“…Asian carp continue their migration toward the Great Lakes. Fortunately, Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich, have a proposal that could help block a carp invasion,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

‘Armored catfish’ invading Florida

Video from Fox News Channel (2:52).

The armored catfish are also known as Plecos and are found in many home aquariums.

To see the video, click the link below:

http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/happening-now/index.html?intcmp=features#/v/1600466800001/armored-catfish-invading-florida

Florida: Imports of Four Snake Species Are Banned

From the January 18 New York Times:

Florida: Imports of Four Snake Species Are Banned

By REUTERS

The United States announced a ban on imports of four snake species on Tuesday after years of unsuccessful efforts to eradicate the giant snakes from Everglades National Park in Florida and from other ecologically sensitive areas. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the rule would take effect within about 60 days and would also make it illegal to transport the snakes across state lines. The ban applies to the Burmese python, a notorious invasive species from Southeast Asia; the yellow anaconda; and northern and southern African pythons. Biologists say that most of the pythons in the Everglades are thought to have been released by their owners once they realized that the pets could grow from just a foot to 12 feet.

“The action we’re taking today is a milestone in the protection of the Everglades,” Mr. Salazar said at a news conference in a corner of the Everglades just outside Miami. Wildlife officials held aloft a recently captured 13-foot python at the event.

==========