Bill seeks to protect Nevada waterways from invasive species
Posted by: Maven on March 5, 2011 at 6:54 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
“A bill aimed at protecting Nevada’s waterways from invasive species is being considered in the Nevada Legislature but is encountering opposition because of fees proposed to establish a permanent boat inspection program.
During a hearing Thursday, Assemblywoman Irene Bustamante Adams, D-Las Vegas, said SB167 would establish an inspection program to prohibit launching of boats contaminated with invasive species into state waters. A similar program is already in place at Lake Tahoe to prevent the spread of quagga and zebra mussels.
It would also make deliberate introduction of invasive species a felony with fines up to $250,000. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
Scientists study control of invasive tamarisk tree
Posted by: Maven on March 3, 2011 at 8:38 amFrom the University of California:
“Simply by eating the leaves of an invasive tree that soaks up river water, an Asian beetle may help to slow down water loss in the southwestern United States.
Two scientists from UC Santa Barbara, working with colleagues from the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, have published the first substantive data showing water savings that can result from using Asian beetles for the biological control of tamarisk, an invasive tree of western rivers. The study is now published online and in print in the journal Oecologia. … “
Continue reading from the University of California by clicking here.
Out Musseled: Fighting quagga mussels
Posted by: Maven on March 1, 2011 at 8:05 amFrom Reno’s KOLO-TV:
“Lake Tahoe is sometimes referred to as the Jewel of the Sierra, with good reason. But, there's an invasive species that threatens the lake including its entire ecosystem called the Quagga Mussel. While it hasn't been found yet, some say its just a matter of time. In Southern Nevada, Lake Mead is known as ground zero for the west in its battle against the Quagga. “
Read the story or watch the broadcast at KOLO-TV’s website by clicking here.
Sunday’s top of the scroll: Scientists discover invasive mussel killing bacteria; California company preparing commercial product
Posted by: Maven on January 30, 2011 at 9:10 am
From the Tahoe Daily Tribune:
“The recent discovery of a bacteria that can kill zebra and quagga mussels has raised hopes for private and public organizations fighting to control the environmentally hazardous species.
New York State Museum researchers Daniel Molloy and Denise Mayer discovered a bacteria strain Pseudomonas fluorescens that can kill zebra and quagga mussels without killing other native species in the ecosystem.
“The eureka moment did not come, interestingly enough, when we discovered the bacteria could kill zebra and quagga mussels, but came when we discovered the lack of sensitivity among non-target species,\” Mayer said in a phone interview. … “
Continue reading from the Tahoe Daily Tribune by clicking here.
Eat for the environment. Eat invasive!
Posted by: Maven on January 3, 2011 at 4:38 amEscar-quagga, anyone From the New York Times:
“There's a new shift in the politics of food, not quite a movement yet, more of an eco-culinary frisson. But it may have staying power; the signs and portents are there. Vegans, freegans, locavores meet the invasivores.
Some divers in the Florida Keys recently held a lionfish derby, the idea being to kill and eat lionfish, an invasive species. Local chefs cooperated by promoting the lionfish as a tasty entree. The idea drew editorial support from Andrew Revkin in a post on The Times's Dot Earth blog in which he also mentioned an attempt by some fisheries biologists to rename the invading Asian carp “Kentucky tuna\” to make it more appealing to diners. And the Utne Reader recently ran an article about Chicago chefs turning their attention to the same invasive fish. … “
Continue reading from the New York Times by clicking here.
Sunday’s top of the scroll: Invasive species pose threat to human health, scientists warn
Posted by: Maven on December 12, 2010 at 7:33 am
From the Sacramento Bee:
“For years, scientists have called the San Francisco Bay-Delta one of the most “invaded” waterways in the world.
More than 240 animal and plant species have hitchhiked here in the ballast tanks of cargo and tanker ships, thriving in waters from Sacramento to the Farallon Islands.
Now scientists are concerned that the exotic critters could pose a growing threat to human health through the transmission of disease and other pathogens. … “
Continue reading from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Invasive species bolstered by climate change?
Posted by: Maven on December 7, 2010 at 7:11 amFrom the Western Farm Press:
“As temperature and carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere increase, growers may see things pop up on their farms that they haven't seen before, said Lewis Ziska, a USDA-ARS specialist in crop systems and global change in Beltsville, Md. Unfortunately, they won't all be good.
In a session on climate, carbon dioxide and invasive weed species at the 2010 University of Illinois AGMasters Conference, Ziska discussed how rising carbon dioxide levels and rising temperatures may cause invasiveweed populations to change. … “
Continue reading from the Western Farm Press by clicking here.
Climate change a Trojan Horse for alien species invasion?
Posted by: Maven on October 22, 2010 at 8:12 amFrom National Geographic’s News Watch blog:
“Changing climate conditions and the massive invasions of exotic species introduced by human migration and the global economy are two of the biggest factors driving native species and habitats toward extinction. Now a new study finds that the combination of climate change and invasive species is compounding the devastation of ecosystems.
Two of the greatest threats to the natural world–invasive species and climate change–when combined, not only have devastating impacts on the environment but can also cost countries ten per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP), scientists from the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) said today. … “
Continue reading from National Geographic’s News Watch blog by clicking here.
Monday’s top of the scroll: The birds and the bee(tle)s: The end of a controversial tamarisk biocontrol program may be good news for habitat
Posted by: Maven on October 11, 2010 at 8:54 amFrom the High Country News:
“The beetles are dead and gone, shriveled in the heat or eaten by ants, but otherwise the Owens Valley, Calif., research site looks the same as the last time scientist Tom Dudley saw it. Tinemaha Reservoir glimmers beyond a wall of brush. The sharp peaks of the Sierra Nevada decorate the skyline. Invasive Eurasian tamarisk, or saltcedar, trees still freckle the valley floor, their feathery branches casting long shadows across the native sagebrush in the early morning light. And Dudley’s beige beetle cage, the last of a set, still envelops a single tamarisk, as if the five-foot cube of fabric could contain the plant and everything it stands for. Unzipping the mesh, Dudley steps inside with his screwdriver.
It’s time to let go.
Dudley, a wild-haired, gray-bearded riparian ecologist from the University of California at Santa Barbara, is dismantling part of a more-than-decade-long research project on whether an Asian leaf beetle, Diorhabda elongata, can help rid the West of tamarisk. … “
Continue reading from the High Country News by clicking here.
Staving off invasion of troublesome weeds; Natural plants forced to compete for resources
Posted by: Maven on October 8, 2010 at 8:06 am
From the Merced Sun Star:
“All Cathi Boze asks for is one weed a day.
Boze, the agriculture commissioner for Mariposa County, knows how destructive invasive weeds can be, and she works hard to get rid of them.
In Mariposa County, one of the thorniest weed problems is yellow star thistle. The grayish-green plant with yellow flowers and sharp spines originally came from the Mediterranean and is mighty competitive with native plants.
“The worst thing about star thistle is it competes for water, which is our most critical resource,” Boze said. … “
Continue reading from the Merced Sun Star by clicking here.
Photo of star thistle by flickr photographer Rich Dahlgren.
Great Lakes battle of the invasive species: Mussels may leave carp nothing to eat
Posted by: Maven on September 29, 2010 at 8:31 amFrom the Los Angeles Daily News:
“If huge, hungry Asian carp reach Lake Michigan, their long-dreaded invasion may turn out to be less ferocious than once expected because a tiny competitor is gobbling up their primary food source, some Great Lakes researchers say.
The quagga mussel, a thumbnail-sized foreign mullosk first spotted in the lakes two decades ago, has devoured so much plankton in southern Lake Michigan that the entire food web is being altered, federal and university scientists reported in a series of newly published articles.
Mussels have “beaten the Asian carp to the buffet table,” Gary Fahnenstiel, senior ecologist with NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, said Tuesday. … “
Continue reading from the Los Angeles Daily News by clicking here.
Rash on Alameda beachgoers blamed on invading snail
Posted by: Maven on September 29, 2010 at 7:34 amFrom the Contra Costa Times:
“A nasty rash that has been affecting swimmers and waders off Crown Memorial State Beach in Alameda for the past several years is the result of the Bay’s ongoing problems with invasive species, researchers have reported.
The culprit is a previously unknown parasite carried by the Japanese bubble snail, a ¾-inch snail first discovered in the Bay in 1999 and in Alameda by 2003.
The snail is now abundant on Alameda’s beach, according to the report, published in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. … “
Continue reading from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.
Asian carp the new bullies of America’s waterways
Posted by: Maven on September 2, 2010 at 8:53 amFrom the San Luis Obispo Tribune:
“Cold-blooded. Spawning faster than rabbits. Leaping boats in a single swish. Leaving in their wake, dozens of slack-jawed (and several cases of tooth-loosened) fishermen, kayakers, water skiers and anyone else who dares to trespass through their watery world.
Asian silver carp are becoming the new bullies in America’s waterways, said a Missouri fish biologist.
“They’re here, they’re a problem, they’re not going away soon. And they could potentially be life-threatening,” said Duane Chapman, a research fish biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey and national expert on invasive carp species. … “
Continue reading from the San Luis Obispo Tribune by clicking here.
Seeking clues to quagga quandary
Posted by: Maven on August 31, 2010 at 8:54 am
From the San Diego Union Tribune:
“A promising solution to the quagga-mussel invasion that threatens water supplies in San Diego and other parts of the West could soon be tested in open waters for the first time in the U.S., a leading quagga expert said Monday.
That news and other developments in the fight against the invasive species will be shared this week at a San Diego conference about aquatic invaders.
Quagga mussels and their close relatives, zebra mussels, have been particularly challenging to researchers in recent years because they reproduce at alarming rates and clog water supply systems. The critters have been a costly nuisance for water suppliers and harmful to the ecosystem. … “
Continue reading from the San Diego Union Tribune by clicking here.
KQED’s Quest: San Francisco Bay invaders
Posted by: Maven on August 20, 2010 at 8:39 amFrom KQED’s Quest:
“Scoop a handful of critters out of the San Francisco Bay and you’ll find tourists from far away shores. Invasive kinds of mussels, fish and more are choking out native species, challenging experts around the state to change the human behavior that brings them here.”
A fish we can eat into extinction–with clear conscience
Posted by: Maven on August 12, 2010 at 9:24 am
From National Geographic’s News Watch blog:
“Good news for seafood eaters–the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) not only endorses, it encourages the eating of lionfish, a tasty species apparently flourishing in the Atlantic Ocean.
“A new study looking at how to curb the rapid growth of lionfish, an invasive species not native to the Atlantic Ocean, suggests that approximately 27 percent of mature lionfish will have to be removed monthly for one year to reduce its population growth rate to zero,” NOAA said in a news release posted on its website this week. … “
Continue reading this post at NatGeo’s News Watch blog by clicking here.
As one non-native fish bears down on Great Lakes, notorious mussels spread across the West
Posted by: Maven on August 4, 2010 at 8:31 amFrom the San Luis Obispo:
” … Asian carp are just the latest alien species to threaten the [Great Lakes], following other creatures such as the zebra and quagga mussel and the sea lamprey, all of which have found homes in the lakes’ waters.
But the carp have attained a degree of notoriety that has eluded the other species, owing to their size and their distressing habit of thrashing out of the water at the sound of passing motorboats. Politicians have cast the fish as a voracious invader that would annihilate the lakes’ ecosystems and cause the collapse of the $7 billion fishing and tourism industry.
Scientists have disputed that claim, noting that other invasive species already have depleted food sources in the Great Lakes so much that carp could find the waters to be inhospitable. The uproar nevertheless has brought renewed attention to the problem of invasive species, which have been washing into U.S. waters for years thanks to international shipping. … “
Continue reading from the San Luis Obispo Tribune by clicking here.
Discovery Bay water invader not easy to weed out
Posted by: Maven on July 23, 2010 at 6:54 amFrom the Oakland Tribune:
“Edging into a shallow cove, Allen Bellinghausen stooped over the side of his ski boat and pulled up a handful of slimy green tendrils. He was on the lookout for an aquatic invader from South America that often adorns American aquariums but is now wreaking havoc in the Delta.
“It’s like a science project that’s gone bad,” he said. “It’s taking over.”
The plant he was after, Egeria densa, is a tenacious perennial first spotted here 40 years ago. The long, thin plant now covers 12 percent of the Delta, and is one of the two main weeds afflicting the state’s waterways. The other is water hyacinth. … “
Continue reading from the Oakland Tribune by clicking here.
Mussel mayhem prevention: A dispatch from Lake Berryessa
Posted by: Maven on June 23, 2010 at 8:00 am
From the Bureau of Reclamation and the Lake Berryessa News:
“They're small, easily fitting on the surface of a quarter, non-descript as individuals, nightmarish as a group. A phenomenal reproductive rate and an ability to completely overwhelm an environment, making them a lurking menace, a threat that an active imagination could not exaggerate. From the depths of infested lakes and rivers they spread, covering any suitable surface, leapfrogging (with help), over dry land to invade new aquatic habitats. They change each new home they occupy, chemically altering the water, lowering oxygen levels, generating toxic byproducts such as botulism and causing fish and birds to die. People and the fabrics of modern life; boats, docks and dams, are assaulted by their onslaught and seeming disrespect for all things “permanent\”.
The quagga and zebra mussels have made it to the Pacific hinterlands, presenting a unique challenge to The Bureau of Reclamation, an agency charged with “Managing Water in the West\”. In January of 2007, National Park Service volunteer, Wen Balwin, discovered quagga mussels in Lake Mead, the first such report of the invasive mussel in a water body west of the Rocky Mountains. According to Wen, the mussels could have been introduced into the lake many years before and gone unnoticed because of the quagga's tendency to occupy deep, cold substrates initially. As their population expands, however, they move into shallow waters, becoming more apparent and even out-competing the zebra mussel where the two species occur together. No one knows exactly when or how the first mussels made it into Lake Mead but they were probably attached to an infested boat or boat trailer coming west during a period of cool moist air when mussels can survive out of the water for a longer time. Since the initial quagga identification in Lake Mead, over thirty water systems in California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah have been impacted, including the Colorado River Aqueduct System. … “
Continue reading this article by clicking here.
Video: How the quagga mussel endangers California’s water supply
Posted by: Maven on June 22, 2010 at 7:35 amFrom Answers.com (hat tip to LPA Water’s twitter feed):
Metropolitan Water District & quagga mussels: A tiny but formidable foe
Posted by: Maven on May 28, 2010 at 6:59 amFrom the Metropolitan Water District’s Water News:
“The quagga mussel is tiny, but its presence is huge,and hugely destructive. Quaggas are an invasive species and a major problem for Metropolitan. But the district has implemented operational efforts to contain them.
Quaggas attach themselves, like crusty suction cups, to under-water structures such as water-utility pumps and pipes, and begin multiplying rapidly. They clog and impede underwater gratings, pumps and pipes.
Arriving in U.S. waters in the 1980s, traveling from Ukraine in the ballast tanks of ocean-going ships, the quaggas quickly colonized.
The dime-sized, freshwater bivalve mollusk, along with the similar zebra mussel, severely affected water utility facilities in the Great Lakes and Mississippi River before it was detected in Lake Mead on the Colorado River in January 2007. … “
Find out more about how Metropolitan Water District is dealing with quagga mussels by clicking here.
They Came from the Canal!: Asian carp brilliance in the form of a U of C poster
Posted by: Maven on April 25, 2010 at 8:27 am
From Josh Mogerman at the NRDC Switchboard:
“As the entire Great Lakes region awaits a final answer as to whether the U.S. Supreme Court will engage in the ongoing Asian carp crisis, there was some much needed levity interjected in the public debate this week from, of all places, the University of Chicago.
It was love at first sight the moment I spied the blood-red letters of “They came from the canal\” screaming from the top of the U of C's Earth Week poster in faux-classic horror movie style. Having spent so much time on the Asian carp issue, I was totally hooked by the mock hysteria evoked by the gloomy graphics and a pitchfork-wielding bighead carp. Completely brilliant. I had to have one. … “
Continue reading this post at the NRDC Switchboard blog by clicking here.
Univeristy of California combats invasive species
Posted by: Maven on April 1, 2010 at 7:54 amFrom the University Newsroom:
“Some of California’s biggest challenges come in the smallest packages: tiny insects, weeds and other pests that can destroy crops, clog waterways and threaten ecosystems.
These invasive pests cause an estimated $3 billion a year in losses to California agriculture alone and larger damages loom, as seen by the latest quarantine in Napa Valley for European grapevine moth, a pest that threatens grapes and other fruit.
“Could you imagine California without grapes, citrus and avocados” said Mark Hoddle, director of UC Riverside’s Center for Invasive Species Research. “All three of those crops are under threat by invasive species.”
Exotic pests are attacking all corners of the state, from farms to forests to lakes. The University of California is a key player in educating the public about invasive species, identifying pests and finding better ways to manage them. Often partnering with industry and government agencies, UC has developed solutions that save Californians millions of dollars a year. While state budget cuts have led to a 20 percent cut in UC’s Integrated Pest Management Program, the university remains committed to helping control invasive pests, making it one of its agricultural division’s five strategic initiatives. … “
Continue reading this article from the University of California Newsroom by clicking here.
Asian-carp threat stirs rethink of century-old feat: Great Lakes states want to effectively undo a historic project and cut link to Mississippi River to fend off invasive fish
Posted by: Maven on February 16, 2010 at 8:03 amNot California-related, but this story is a big deal, and it has a lot of themes in common with California. Like invasive species devastating ecosystems. Like big stakeholders on all sides with something significant to lose. Like no easy answer, especially one where nobody has to take a hit. From the Wall Street Journal:
“CHICAGO,More than a century ago, this city reversed the flow of its eponymous river, connecting the Great Lakes with the Gulf of Mexico and defining itself as the can-do capital of the American heartland.
Today, that engineering feat is coming under growing scrutiny, as scientists and politicians intensify their battle against a voracious flying fish that has been traveling up the Mississippi for 20 years. Amid signs that Asian carp have breached the last defensive barrier, calls are mounting for a massive do-over.
“We know these barriers aren’t working,” said Joel Brammeier, president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes and the lead author of a 2008 report that laid out how this project might look. “An ecological separation is the only permanent solution.”
Six Great Lakes states and the Canadian province of Ontario have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to separate the water basins in a last-ditch effort to prevent the Asian carp from decimating the $7 billion Great Lakes fishing industry. The Army Corps of Engineers has launched a $10 million, five-year feasibility study of the idea. And the plan became the focus of a hearing on the Asian carp problem on Capitol Hill last week. … “
Read more from the Wall Street Journal by clicking here.
Tough choices follow in wake of invasive species
Posted by: Maven on February 2, 2010 at 8:11 amFrom the Washington Post (hat tip to the Sisweb):
“Which is worse Closing two locks on a waterway that’s used to ship millions of dollars’ worth of goods from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi basin Or allowing a voracious Asian carp to deplete the food supply of native fish sustaining a Midwestern fishing industry that nets $7 billion a year
And how do you put a price tag on the damage caused by the Burmese python and other constrictor snakes that are strangling the precious ecology of the Everglades
Invasive species, long the cause of environmental hand-wringing, have been raising more unwelcome questions recently, as the expense of eliminating them is weighed against the mounting liability of leaving them be.
Those questions became more urgent Tuesday when a team of scientists led by the University of Notre Dame disclosed that silver carp dominating stretches of the Mississippi River and its tributaries had infiltrated Lake Michigan. The federal government had spent $22 million on electric barriers in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to keep carp out, but it clearly wasn’t enough. An additional $33 million is going into the effort next year. … “
Read more from the Washington Post by clicking here.
Why the Great Lakes fears the brutal Asian carp: “I feel like I was in a [bleeping] prize fight\”?
Posted by: Maven on January 15, 2010 at 7:12 amFrom Josh Mogerman at the NRDC Swithcboard blog:
“Folks outside the Midwest might be scratching their heads wondering what all the hubbub is about with these Asian carp\”¦ Here on Switchboard, we've talked a lot about the ecosystem, legal, and infrastructure issues around the problem. But we haven't really talked much about their impact on quality of life—that's the easiest part to show.
I ran into the clip below on the TwentyNow blog's posting entitled, “Why is this boater wearing a helmet\”¦\” That question is answered in the first 90 seconds of this video (but be warned, you might want to turn off your speakers at work or around kids)… I love the “That was like a [bleeping] right cross to the chin!\” comment\”¦ ”
Read more from Josh Mogerman at the NRDC Switchboard blog by clicking here.
Invasive species threaten US biodiversity: As 2010, the UN’s International Year of Biodiversity, gets underway, a fight against some of the most damaging invasive species in US waterways is heating up
Posted by: Maven on January 5, 2010 at 8:13 amFrom the guardian.co.uk:
“As 2010, the UN’s International Year of Biodiversity, gets underway, a fight against some of the most damaging invasive species in US waterways is heating up.
The UN says some experts put the rate at which species are disappearing at 1,000 times the natural rate, and invasive species : which consume the food or habitat of native species, or the native species themselves : are one factor contributing to this acceleration. Climate change is another major factor.
“Often it will be the combination of climate change and [invasive] pests operating together that will wipe species out,” says Tim Low of the Australia-based Invasive Species Council.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature says that 38% of the 44,838 species catalogued on its Red List are “threatened with extinction” : and at least 40% of all animal extinctions for which the cause is known are the result of invasive species. … “
Read more from guardian.co.uk by clicking here.
Search for Tahoe mussels extends to reservoirs, other lakes
Posted by: Maven on January 4, 2010 at 7:58 amFrom the Reno Gazette-Journal:
“The hunt for invading mussels that could pose an ecological disaster for the region will extend beyond Lake Tahoe to other threatened lakes and reservoirs.
Donner and Independence lakes and Boca, Stampede and Prosser Creek reservoirs will be searched for the possible presence of quagga or zebra mussels. Boats launching into these water bodies could soon be inspected to ensure mussels are not attached to their hulls.
“We want to help these other lakes at risk,\” said Kim Boyd, invasive species program manager for the Tahoe Resource Conservation District that has led the 2-year-old boat inspection effort in the Tahoe Basin. … “
Read more from the Reno Gazette-Journal by clicking here.
Beetles on the move; a cure worse than the disease?
Posted by: Maven on October 22, 2009 at 8:42 amFrom Arizona Star Reporter Shawn McKinnon’s Waterlogged blog:
“Biologists have found the first tamarisk leaf beetles along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.
By itself, that could be good news: The beetles eat tamarisk, or salt cedar, an invasive tree species that resource managers have been trying to eradicate along many Western river banks. Let the beetles in and maybe the tamarisk — another non-native import — will die off.
But this isn’t good news. The tamarisk leaf beetle was released in Colorado
several years ago as a biological control agent, a sort of natural weed killer. Biologists said the beetle couldn’t survive the climate south of about Lake Powell.Instead, the beetles have spread downstream on the Colorado and at least one of its tributaries, the Virgin River in southwestern Utah and southern Nevada. The concern now is that the little bugs have started to adapt to different environments.
Most at risk is habitat for the endangered Southwestern willow flycatcher, a migratory songbird that nests and breeds in riparian areas of Arizona and New Mexico. The birds like to make homes in — wait for it — tamarisk trees. …”
Read more from Waterblogged by clicking here.
The high costs of ballast-water stowaways
Posted by: Maven on September 6, 2009 at 7:32 amFrom the San Francisco Chronicle:
“The St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959 to great fanfare. The system of canals connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the five Great Lakes cut a lucrative international trade route through the heartland and gave the United States a refuge and staging ground for ships and submarines in case of war with the Soviet Union.
No one expected the seaway to become the key player in a different war, the invasion of nonnative aquatic species into the Great Lakes, which has dramatically altered ecosystems and costs hundreds of millions of dollars a year. About a third of the 186 invasive species in the Great Lakes are thought to have entered on oceangoing ships in the ballast water they take on for stabilization when carrying little or no cargo.
Zebra and quagga mussels from the Black Sea clog intake structures for municipal water systems and power plants. The mussels also gobble plankton so voraciously that little is left for other organisms. Round gobies and other invasive fish beat out native fish for food supplies, harming the lucrative commercial and sport fishing industries. Ballast is even blamed for the emergence of viral hemorrhagic septicemia, often called “fish ebola,” resulting in large fish kills in the past several years. …”
Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
Mussel invasion feared at South County lakes; Boats may face inspection next year
Posted by: Maven on September 4, 2009 at 9:16 amFrom the Monterey County Herald:
“This may be the last Labor Day weekend without vessel inspections at two Monterey County-owned lakes that are popular with boaters.
The inspections would be part of an effort to prevent the spread of quagga and zebra mussels, invasive species that can clog water pipelines and screens, reducing pumping capabilities for power and water treatment facilities.
The mussels can move from infested areas to new sites on watercraft such as boats and Jet Skis that are not properly cleaned. They can live out of water for up to a week.
County water officials have given the go-ahead for staff to prepare and implement an invasive species prevention plan, which could include inspections of thousands of boats launching at Lake San Antonio and Lake Nacimiento each year. …”
Read more from the Monterey County Herald by clicking here.
Grant aims at removing invasive plant along Feather River
Posted by: Maven on August 31, 2009 at 12:59 pmFrom the Chico Enterprise Record:
“Invasive weeds are causing big-time problems for resource managers throughout the Sacramento Valley, and the state, nation and globe.
Several weeds are on the hit list for wildlife managers, including Arrundo donax, tamarisk, purple loosestrife and starthistle. Adding to this growing list is red sesbania. A newly acquired grant through the Butte County Resource Conservation District will be used to try and remove it along the Feather River.
Like many weeds, the plant is attractive, which means people have planted it in their yards. Red sesbania is also known as scarlet wisteria and the Latin name sesbania punicea. The fast-growing vine has tentacles that wrap around other vegetation, smothering it. The seed pods are about three inches long and contain many seeds in each pod.
The weed is a problem because it reproduces quickly and the plants form a dense thicket along river banks. …”
Read more from the Chico Enterprise Record by clicking here.
Phil Dirkx: Mussels place Nacimiento pipeline at risk
Posted by: Maven on August 23, 2009 at 9:53 amFrom SanLuisObispo.com, this column by Phil Dirkx:
“A costly menace now threatens the 80-percent-complete Nacimiento pipeline project. It isn't the menace of lawsuits by disgruntled water-bill payers. It's the menace of damage by shellfish the size of pats of butter.
They are quagga mussels from Ukraine who sneak rides on boats and ships. They and their smaller cousins, zebra mussels, have done billions of dollars of damage to water-works and hydroelectric plants back East.
Their strength is in numbers. One female produces half a million offspring a year. Swarms of them attach in layers to almost any surface, including the insides of pipes and the outsides of docks. They clog intake screens and boat motors.
They devastate the environment. They eat every little thing. In some water where you could barely see 12 inches down, they clear it to 12 feet down. Nothing remains for other creatures. Quaggas accumulate so much toxic material from the water they become poisonous. Many birds that eat them die. …”
Read more of Phil Dirkx column by clicking here.
War’s on against invasive mussels
Posted by: Maven on August 9, 2009 at 8:04 amFrom the San Diego Union Tribune:
“Release the hounds. Pour the bacteria. Deploy ravenous fish. Doable or doubtful, California and federal officials are sizing up diverse strategies in their frantic campaign to contain trillions of quagga mussels, dime-sized invaders threatening water and power supplies in California and across the Southwest.
“While we and everyone else continue to search for a method of controlling them, we haven’t found the answer yet,\” said Curt Brown, director of research and development for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Solutions may be on the horizon, however distant. Most promising and closest to approval is a strain of common bacteria that is safe for humans, but produces a toxin so well disguised that it can sneak past a quagga mussel’s self-defense mechanism of clamming up to protect itself from ingesting anything deadly. …”
Read more from the San Diego Union Tribune by clicking here.
Predators battle bugs, become pests themselves
Posted by: Maven on July 22, 2009 at 7:51 amFrom the Associated Press:
Imported insects have been deployed as foot soldiers in the fight against invasive bugs and plants that cause billions of dollars in damage each year. But some of those imports are proving to be pests themselves that upset the balance of nature and threaten native species.
A weevil released to attack a weed has veered off target and is gobbling up a native plant in Nebraska. A fly that was supposed to kill invasive moths is wiping out native moths in New England. And an insect introduced to combat a pesky weed led to a spike in the population of mice carrying a potentially deadly virus in Montana.
Despite such scattered scientific mishaps, the Associated Press found the federal agency that has approved the importation and release of hundreds of insects over the past three decades seldom tracks their effects on other species and the environment and does not even know whether most of the introduced bugs have died off or thrived unchecked.
It largely leaves the monitoring of bug releases to states and researchers who critics say have little funding or inclination to track impacts that might not show up for decades.
Read more from the Associated Press by clicking here.
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Aquafornia's Mission
Aquafornia's mission is to educate readers about the complex and often controversial issues surrounding water in California.
Aquafornia is affiliated with the Water Education Foundation, an impartial, nonprofit organization, whose mission is to create a better understanding of water resources and foster public understanding and resolution of water resource issues through facilitation, education and outreach.
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Web Resources
Agriculture
Climate Change & Water
Conservation
Current Conditions
Delta & SF Bay Resources
- Bay Delta Developments
- Bay Institute
- Bay-Delta Conservation Plan
- Delta Atlas
- Delta Protection Commission
- Delta Stewardship Council
- Delta Vision Foundation
- Delta WaterMaster
- Discover the Delta Foundation
- Restore the Delta
- San Francisco Bay and Delta (Access USGS)
- San Francisco Baykeeper
- San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science website
- San Francisco Estuary Partnership
Employment & Water
Environmental Organizations
Fishing Blogs/Organizations
Investing & Water
Landscaping
Legal Blogs
Legislative Committees - State & Federal
- California State Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife
- California State Senate Committee on Natural Resources & Water
- House Natural Resource Committee, Water & Power Subcommittee
- New State Water Legislation Mandates (KMTG)
- Senate Commitee on Environment & Public Works, Water and Wildlife Subcommittee
- The California Channel
Los Angeles River
Maven's Other Websites
News
Public Policy Organizations
Regional Water Associations
Salton Sea
Stormwater & Flood Control
Water Agencies
- ACWA – Association of California Water Agencies
- Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency
- Contra Costa Water District
- East Bay Municipal Utility District
- Imperial Irrigation District
- Kern County Water Agency
- Long Beach Water Department
- Los Angeles Department of Water & Power
- Metropolitan Water District
- Municipal Water District of Orange County
- San Diego County Water Authority
- Santa Clara Valley Water District
- Sonoma County Water Agencies
- South San Joaquin Irrigation District
- State Water Contractors
- West Basin Municipal Water District
- Westlands Water District
Water Agencies - State & Federal
Water Blogs
- ACWA's Voices in Water blog
- Aguanomics
- Alex Breitler's Blog
- American Water Resources Assn. Blog
- Barry Nelson at the NRDC Switchboard
- Bay Delta Blog
- California Water Blog
- California Water Wars blog
- Chance of Rain
- Chronicles of the Hydraulic Brotherhood
- Delta National Park Blog
- EDF's On The Waterfront
- Greed, Green & Grains
- Green Roots Blog (PCL)
- GrokSurf's San Diego blog
- Inkstain – jfleck
- Klam Blog
- L. A. Creek Freak
- On the Public Record
- Peter Gleick’s City Brights blog
- Restore the Delta's blog
- Southern California Water Committee Blog
- Spouting Off – Mark Gold of Heal the Bay
- State of the Planet Blog
- The California Spigot
- Thirsty in Suburbia
- Tom Philp's Blog
- Valley Economy Blog
- Water Cooler Blog
- Water Librarian's Blog
- Water SISWEB
- Waterblogged (Shawn McKinnon)
- Watering the Desert
- WaterWired
Water Information
News Article Archives
- Agriculture
- Aquafornia News & Exclusives
- Central Valley Project
- Climate change & water supply
- Conservation
- Delta Issues
- Desalination
- Development & Population
- Drinking Water & Bottled Water
- Drought Tolerant Landscaping
- Drought, Weather & Snowpack
- Energy & Water
- Events
- Flood Control/Stormwater
- General Water Issues
- Groundwater
- History
- Indian Water Rights
- Infrastructure
- Innovative Ideas
- International Water Issues
- Invasive Plants & Species
- Investing in water
- Legislation – State & Federal
- Levees
- National water news
- Oceans & Beaches
- People in the News
- Politics of Water
- Recycled Water
- Regional Water Issues
- San Joaquin River Restoration
- State Water Project (DWR)
- Storage and supply
- Transfers
- Uncategorized
- Water Agency News
- Water Banking
- Water Quality
- Water Rights
- Weird & Wacky Water News
- Wildlife & Endangered Species