Scuttlebutt Magazine - June 2008 - (Page 26)

Page 26 • June 2008 www.scuttlebutt.com Refuge system battles invasive plant and animal species Invasive plants and animals introduced to the lands and waters of the United States from foreign shores continue to plague national wildlife refuges. Some efforts to stem this threat are already in place and beginning to take hold. But there are other steps people can take to help by slightly altering their routines. About 2.4 million acres of the 98-millionacre National Wildlife Refuge System are currently infested with invasive plants, according to the 2007 Refuge Annual Performance Plan. Additionally, 4,423 invasive animal populations occupy refuge lands – from the brown treesnake overrunning Guam National Wildlife Refuge to the more common nutria, a species that has spread to many states that was brought from South America when its fur was highly marketable. National wildlife refuges spent more than $11 million last fiscal year in fighting this problem, which has become pervasive. During each of the past four years, the Refuge System has treated an average of 14 percent of the acres infested with invasive plants. Five Invasive Species Strike Teams have been mobilized to respond rapidly to the detection of new and threatening infestations. They are working in Arizona, New Mexico, the Upper Missouri/Yellowstone/ Upper Columbia River basins, south Florida, North Dakota, and Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. In the near future, a team led by biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be gearing up to rid Rat Island, part of Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, of its namesake invader. More than 200 years ago, Norway rats came ashore to Rat ––––––––––––––––– eradicated Island when nutria. But Learn how to fight the battle is a Japanese ship ran invasive species – never-endaground. The ing, and the rat spill refuge’s changed the nutria-free island from a status now predator-free depends sanctuary for largely on ground-nestneighboring ing seabirds landowners into a death to control trap. There nutria on are virtually their lands. no seabirds Today, an left. intensive The team trapping will hit every and detecpotential rat tion proterritory on gram is the island, maintained including all on 130,000 vegetated off- ––––––––––––––––– acres of shore rocks and islets. coastal marsh surroundAnd areas that can’t be ing and including reached by helicopter, Blackwater Refuge. such as overhanging Citizen support is key cliffs and coastal areas, in the battle against invawill be visited by biolosive species. The Refuge gists on foot. System has worked for On the Eastern Shore the past three years with of Maryland, Blackwater the National Wildlife National Wildlife Refuge Refuge Association, The became a beacon of sucNature Conservancy and cess in 2004, when it the National Institute of Invasive Species Science on a program that has enabled about 2,750 volunteers to inventory, treat and restore more than 211,000 acres of Refuge System land. Many of these refuge volunteers are called upon to wage hand-tohand combat with invasives. At Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, the New England Invasive Plant Group – a network of agencies and organizations working with the refuge – fought the water chestnut. The aquatic invasive floats on the water’s surface and displaces native plants. The infestation at Log Pond Cove was first detected in 1997, not long after the refuge was established. Once the plant is well established, eradication is next to impossible. Silvio O. Conte Refuge began to show progress in controlling the problem only after it enlisted the help of hundreds of volunteers to hand-pull the weed, year after year. Machine pulling was not doing the job. How citizens can help: Learn how to fight – In collaboration with the Center for Invasive Plant Management, the National Wildlife Refuge System has designed an online training course for volunteers and others interested in joining the army to help fight invasive plant species, one of the single greatest threats to the Refuge System. The new Webbased training course, www.fws.gov/invasives/volunteersTraining Module, includes video, text and photos that provide information about the science and management of invasive plants. In fishing season: • Don’t dump any bait, especially minnows or crayfish, into streams or lakes after fishing. The National Wildlife Refuge System has designed an online training course for volunteers and others interested in joining the army to help fight invasive plant species. INVASIVE PLANTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 29 217 Bowrider In designing the next generation family boat, Caravelle Powerboats built our 2008 boats around your needs as an avid boater. The result is a blend of quality, styling and performance that takes these new models to a level well above its contemporaries. 196 Fish & Ski http://www.scuttlebutt.com http://www.fws.gov/invasives/volunteers http://www.fws.gov/invasives/volunteers http://www.ericksonmarine.com

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Scuttlebutt Magazine - June 2008

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