Category: Invasive species

Army Corps of Engineers plans $275 million in defenses to block Asian carp from reaching Great Lakes

Read the full story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Underwater noise and powerful water jets are among the $275 million worth of new defenses the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposes building at an Illinois navigation lock on the Des Plaines River to prevent invasive Asian Carp from reaching the Great Lakes.

After several months of delay from President Donald Trump’s administration, the Corps on Monday released its recommended planfor equipping the Brandon Road lock and dam near Joliet, Ill., with several technological measures to block the voracious Asian carp from moving into the lakes.

 

Anticipating and Preventing the Spread of Invasive Plants

Read the full case study in the Climate Resilience Toolkit.

Joshua Smith serves as Restoration Program Manager for the non-profit Watershed Research and Training Center. The Center is based in the once-booming timber town of Hayfork, California, and Smith coordinates many wildland stewardship efforts across the Klamath region. One of the biggest challenges he faces in his work is preventing the spread of invasive plants. “It’s one of the top ways we can protect the health of our forests and rivers,” says Smith.

In light of climate change, Smith recognizes that controlling invasive species is more important than ever. As conditions shift and seed-carrying wildlife move along corridors that link key habitat areas, aggressive invasive plants may become established in new areas first—keeping native plants from gaining footholds in newly suitable locations. Smith promotes addressing the existing threat of invasive species as an immediate no-regrets action people can take to support the resiliency of wildland ecosystems.

Invasive Carp Caught 9 Miles From Great Lakes, In ‘Cause For Serious Concern’

Read the full story from NPR.

A live Asian carp — an invasive fish so threatening to local U.S. ecosystems that officials have struggled to keep it out of the Great Lakes — has been caught nine miles from Lake Michigan, beyond a system of underwater electric barriers.

Pet fish pose potential lake problems

Read the full story in the Detroit News.

From his commercial fishing boat in Lake Erie, Nathan Newsome has seen all kinds of fish. And he will be the first to say he has an eye for something that doesn’t belong in Michigan waters.

From thousands of goldfish to varieties such as carp, the Great Lakes are full of invasive and non-invasive species — especially those apparently put there by pet owners who think there is no harm in freeing them into the state’s streams, rivers or lakes.

Ballast water can harbor invasive viruses, study says

Read the full story in Great Lakes Echo.

Ballast water entering the Great Lakes may contain viruses dangerous to wildlife and humans, according to a recent study published by the American Chemical Society.

Don’t Plant Those “Bee-Friendly” Wildflowers Cheerios Is Giving Away

Read the full story at Lifehacker.

Bee populations are in decline, and Cheerios wants to help. So far, so good. But they are sending free packets of wildflower seeds to people all over the country—and some of the flowers included are invasive species that, in some areas, you should probably not plant.

Fight invasives or protect pollinators: Neonicotinoids present tough choice

Read the full story at Great Lakes Echo.

Neonicotinoids, a class of insecticides frequently used in agriculture, gets plenty of bad press for killing pollinators like honeybees.

But they’ve also emerged as an important combatant of the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect that has devastated ash tree populations all over the United States with the highest risk localized to the American Midwest and the northern half of the eastern seaboard.