Thursday, April 19, 2012

NAISN Board Meeting

North American Invasive Species Network
Strategic Planning Workshop and Board of Directors Meeting
April 22–23, 2012
Hotel Oasis Cancun • Cancun, Mexico
View Agenda

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Android versions of Outsmart Invasives and Missouri River Watershed Invasives Now Available!

Many of you have been contacting us to find out when the Android versions of our Invasive Species Reporting Apps will be available.  We have recently released the Android versions of Outsmart Invasives and Missouri River Watershed Coalition Invasive Species Reporting.  These apps support the work of people in Massachusetts, Colorado, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska who are trying to locate and manage invasive species.

Free Webcast: Garlic Mustard and the 2012 Challenge

Join the Stewardship Network for
FREE Webcast Wednesday, April 11th,
"Garlic Mustard and the 2012 Challenge"
Presentation by: Mark Renz, University of Wisconsin - Madison; Tina Roselle, The Stewardship Network; and Lisa Brush, The Stewardship Network
Date: Wednesday, April 11th, 2012
Time: 12 noon to 1pm Eastern
Place: Your Computer!

Click here to view webcast!
(Link will become live day of webcast)

It's that time of year again! Join us as we officially kick of the 2012 Garlic Mustard Challenge with our April webcast. Mark Renz will be joining us to give an overview of the biology of garlic mustard, emphasizing critical stages for management. Multiple management methods (Mechanical, hand removal, cultural and herbicide) will be discussed including a discussion of when and where it is appropriate to conduct each method. Tina Roselle, our Volunteer Garlic Mustard Challenge Coordinator, will also be joining us to talk about this year's Challenge, our goals, and what's new from previous years.

Join Mark Renz, University of Wisconsin - Madison; Tina Roselle, The Stewardship Network; and Lisa Brush, of The Stewardship Network, to learn more about this important topic in the next Stewardship Network webcast!

Press Release: USDA Urges Americans to Prevent Invasive Pests, Protect American Agriculture

Press Release: USDA Urges Americans to Prevent Invasive Pests, Protect American Agriculture

"WASHINGTON, APRIL 2, 2012—The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today announced that it is dedicating the month of April to sharing information about the threat that invasive plant pests, diseases and harmful weeds pose to America's fruits, vegetables, trees, and other plants—and how the public can help prevent their spread. APHIS works each day to promote U.S. agricultural health and safeguard the nation’s agriculture, fishing and forestry industries.

“Invasive pests hit close to home and threaten the things we value,” said Rebecca A. Blue, Deputy Under Secretary for USDA's Marketing and Regulatory Programs. “We need the public’s help because these hungry pests can have a huge impact on the items we use in everyday life, from the fabric in our clothing, the food on our table, the lumber used to build our home and the flowers in our garden. During one of the most successful periods in history for U.S. agriculture, it is important that we step up our efforts to educate Americans about USDA’s good work to protect our nation’s food, fiber, feed and fuel from invasive pests.”

Invasive pests are non-native species that feed on America’s agricultural crops, trees and other plants. These “hungry pests” have cost the United States billions of dollars and wreak havoc on the environment. USDA and U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection—working closely with state agriculture departments and industry—are dedicated to preventing the introduction and spread of invasive pests. The goal is to safeguard agriculture and natural resources from the entry, establishment and spread of animal and plant pests and noxious weeds.
But federal and state agencies can’t do it alone. It requires everyone’s help to stop the unintended introduction and spread of invasive pests."

Click to learn about ways you can help.

Invasive Plant Ecology and Management Short Course

2012 NORTH AMERICAN INVASIVE PLANT ECOLOGY
AND MANAGEMENT SHORT COURSE 

April 3, 2012. The date for the 2012 NAIPSC is rapidly approaching and organizers are anticipating up to 40 participants will be in attendance to hear and interact with the 14 instructors who have a wide range of expertise in invasive plant ecology and management. 

This year’s participants at the NAIPSC will learn first-hand about the latest research on invasive plant water use and the implications this can have on restoration and other management activities in riparian and rangeland areas. Instructors will discuss the effects of introduced common reed (Phragmites australis) and native eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) on water resources and neighboring plant and animal communities.

Also, this year’s field site visits will be to privately owned land that is actively being restored with prescribed burning, revegetation, and various other techniques; a riparian area where research is being conducted on native plant stand age and establishment effects on invasive plant species; and a rangeland where techniques to identify and locate plants will be demonstrated using GPS/GIS technology.

These are just a two examples of the presentations, workshops, site visits, and instructor-led discussion sessions that will be part of the 2012 NAIPSC. For more information and registration details, go to the NAIPSC website. The NAIPSC is open to graduate students, researchers, land managers, and policy makers and has been approved for CEU and CCA credits, and graduate student credits through the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Register now! Space is limited!

Give us your Oak Caterpillars!!!

Researchers at the University of Georgia are initiating a regional-level study on oak caterpillar outbreaks in the southeastern U.S.  Our project objectives are to better understand the ecology and distribution of caterpillars feeding on oak trees in early spring, and to provide guidance on management of caterpillars. 

 
For the purpose of this project, we are requesting all folks who have seen caterpillars in large numbers on oak trees on their properties to send us samples.  Specific instructions for collection are as follows:
  1. Collect as many caterpillars from oak trees as possible.  Caterpillars are nocturnal, and can be collected using tweezers directly from the tree.  Bands of cloth can be placed on the tree trunk to stop the caterpillars from climbing the trees and to collect many insects at the same time. 
  2. We prefer >10 caterpillars per tree, but we will take up to 250.  Place caterpillars in a small plastic container or a bag, and freeze them.  Similarly, collect 4-5 leaves from each oak tree, and freeze them separately in a plastic bag.  Collect from as many trees as possible from your property. 
  3. Number caterpillar and oak leaf bags from each tree individually.  So, plastic bags labeled Tree 1 will have caterpillars and leaves collected from that tree, bags labeled Tree 2 will have caterpillars and leaves collected from that tree, etc.
  4. Put all samples together in a small box, and include information about location and date of collection.  Location information should include county and if possible full address so that we can estimate latitude and longitude.  This information will be kept strictly confidential.
  5. You can drop the caterpillars and oak leaves at the local extension office, and send us an email about it.  Or, you can ship the frozen caterpillars and oak leaves (1-day shipping) to the address as follows:
Evelyn Carr
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
180 Green Street
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602

If you are unable to do either of these things, then please contact us to pick up samples.  The samples need to be either alive or frozen so that we could extract DNA from them to determine caterpillar species.  Any assistance with learning more about our native caterpillars will be greatly appreciated!  Thank you for your participation in the project.

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