Tag Archives: invasive species

Scientists trying to thwart kudzu bug

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Macon Telegraph; 1/27/2013
Excerpt:        “MACON, Ga. — At last, the “Vine that Ate the South” may have met its match.

To most longtime Southerners, it sounds great: a bug that loves to eat kudzu and can kill off half an infestation of the tangled vine in a couple of years.

What’s not to like?  A lot, it turns out.   The bean plastapid, commonly called the kudzu bug, also likes to eat soybeans as well as wisteria and some ornamental plants.     …….”

Read entire article at http://www.macon.com/2013/01/27/2331874/scientists-trying-to-thwart-kudzu.html

Forestry group hopes for positive audit outcome

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Tuscaloosa News 1/7/2013
Excerpt:     “MONTGOMERY | The Alabama Forestry Commission is still hoping for a positive outcome from a lengthy federal audit that will determine whether it will have to repay millions of dollars in alleged improperly spent federal money.

An audit by the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been ongoing since last year, when Alabama disputed the agency’s claim that the state owed $14.4 million for grants that were allegedly not used for their intended purpose.      …..”

Read entire article at http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20130107/NEWS/130109860?p=all&tc=pgall

Judge calls for compromise Wallowa herbicide plan

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Capital Press; 11/16/2012
Excerpt:        “A federal judge said he plans to impose limits on an herbicide spraying project aimed at fighting invasive weeds in an Oregon national forest.  Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Michael Simon ruled that the U.S. Forest Service violated environmental law by insufficiently studying the cumulative effects of the program.

The agency argued the herbicide project in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest should nonetheless remain in effect to prevent further damage from invasive species.   An environmental group countered that allowing the herbicide project to proceed unimpeded would harm sensitive fish.     ….”

Read entire article at http://www.capitalpress.com/oregon/mp-wallowa-herbicide-111612

Partial Win in Challenge to Fed Herbicide Project

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Courthouse news Service 7/3/2012
Excerpt:   ”  PORTLAND, Ore. (CN) – The U.S. Forest Service did not consider the collective effects of spraying herbicides in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest in Eastern Oregon, a federal judge ruled.
In 2010, the League of Wilderness Defenders/Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project challenged the Forest Service’s plan to increase herbicide spraying to control invasive plants in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.
The Eastern Oregon forest stretches across 2.3 million acres from the Blue Mountains to the Idaho border, an area bigger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined.     …”
Read entire article at http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/07/03/48063.htm

US Forest Service Research Used in New, Invasive-Plant Software

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PRWEB; 2/22/2012
Excerpt:   “U.S. Forest Service research and funding have led to the development of a free software application that will help people identify and control destructive invasive plants in Southern forests and grasslands.
Development of the application is part of the Forest Service’s multi-faceted strategy to reduce the impact of nonnative species – animals, pathogens and plants.
These foreign invaders deplete water supplies, poison wildlife and livestock, and damage property in urban and rural areas at a cost of about $138 billion annually…..”
Read entire article at  http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9218786.htm


Grandfather District gets $605K from USDA; Restoration project one of only 10 funded across country

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Asheville Citizen Times; 2/6/2012
Excerpt:   “A surprise announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture will allow John Crockett, Grandfather District Ranger, to speed up improvement of forest health by setting prescribed fires and beating back invasive plants and bugs.
The district in the northern reaches of Pisgah National Forest was one of only 10 forests in the country awarded a windfall late last week for restoration work.
The Grandfather Restoration Project will receive $605,000 through the USDA’s Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration program, which awarded $40 million in funding for forest and watershed restoration projects nationwide for the upcoming year……
Read entire article at   http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20120206/OUTDOORS/302060032/Grandfather-District-gets-605K-from-USDA

Laurel wilt spreads, adds to worries over butterfly species, firewood use

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The Times and Democrat; 1/23/2012
Excerpt:   “Laurel wilt, a disease that sounds the death knell for redbay trees wherever it appears, has spread to another coastal county – Georgetown.
Researchers with the S.C. Forestry Commission (aided by lab staff of the USDA Forest Service) say laurel wilt’s movement is having a devastating impact not only on redbays, but possibly other plants in the laurel family.
Redbay are ecologically and culturally important to the South. The tree is ubiquitous across coastal urban and suburban landscapes.
And it’s the tree of choice for the caterpillar of the Palamedes swallowtail, a very large black and yellow butterfly that depends entirely on redbays to complete its lifecycle. Laurel wilt’s impact on the butterfly, however, has yet to be determined…..”
Read entire article at  http://thetandd.com/laurel-wilt-spreads-adds-to-worries-over-butterfly-species-firewood/article_74ed54da-4393-11e1-9b55-001871e3ce6c.html

Forest Service unveils new invasive species plan

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Knoxville News Sentinel; 12/12/2011
Excerpt:    “Oriental bittersweet. Japanese knotweed. Gypsy moths and emerald ash borers.
Invasive species like these cost the American public an estimated $138 billion each year, and nowhere are the stakes higher than on the 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
This week the agency published its first national-level plan to fight the invasion. Characterized in the report as a “catastrophic wildfire in slow motion,” the infestation of nonnative plants and animals is a paramount concern among public land managers across the U.S., especially as ecosystems are stressed by factors such as drought, climate change, pollution, and increased wildfires….”

Read entire article at http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/dec/12/forest-service-unveils-new-invasive-species-plan/

U.S. Forest Service Unveils Invasive Species Plan

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World Fishing Network; 12/8/2011
Excerpt:   “The U.S. Forest Service has announced its first-ever national-level direction on the management of invasive species across aquatic and terrestrial areas of the National Forest System.
“Invasive species cost the American public an estimated $138 billion each year. They deplete water supplies, destroy recreation opportunities and damage landscapes across the country.” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “We are taking this bold approach to better protect our nation’s forest and water resources from the threat of invasive species.”
The Forest Service has long had an invasive species program, but this new policy adds requirements for agency-wide integration of invasive species prevention, early detection and rapid response, control, restoration, and collaborative activities across all National Forest System lands…..”

Read more at  http://www.worldfishingnetwork.com/news/us-forest-service-unveils-invasive-species-plan-159775.aspx

U.S. pest invasions date back to early settlers

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Yahoo News; 10/10/2011
Excerpt:   “Foreign pests hitched their first ride to North America aboard ships carrying early European settlers, and many quickly developed an appetite for the continent’s crops and trees.
European earthworms lurking either in the settlers’ potted plants or in the ballast that steadied their ships on the ocean crossing were among those initial invaders.
The slimy intruders found a smorgasbord in the vast northern forests where glaciers had killed off all native worms during the last ice age, said Cindy Hale, a natural resources research associate at the University of Minnesota in Duluth….”

Read more at  http://www.marconews.com/news/2011/oct/10/us-pest-invasions-date-back-early-settlers/?partner=yahoo_feeds