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Updated 12/17 -------------------------------------------------------- Moreau, NY tackles threat posed by invasive plant species By PAUL POST, The Saratogian MOREAU, NY — A local environmental group is taking steps to control invasive plant species that it says threaten habitat for birds and other wildlife. The Moreau Conservation Advisory Council hopes to employ strategies ranging from education to eradication. For example, the town Planning Board could urge developers not to landscape with harmful plants, while the town Highway Department could remove invasive plants found along local roads. “It’s a huge problem not only locally, but statewide and nationwide,” council Secretary Ramona Bearor said. “It affects everything — birds, insects and animals that depend on native plants in some way.” Specifically, she cited three types of invasive species that are causing problems. One is Japanese knotweed, sometimes called “American bamboo.” Found in the wild, it spreads rapidly. One place it...

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas! -------------------------------------------------------- Mussel sightings have raised concerns By Molly Murray, The News Journal A decade ago, scientists in Delaware and Maryland were on high alert for zebra mussels, a creature that reproduces so quickly that thousands could quickly reduce the stream of water through intake pipes to a trickle. But over the years, as zebra mussels stayed to the north, south and west, people here pretty much stopped thinking about them -- until last month, when they started showing up in the Maryland portion of the Susquehanna River. The mussels aren't the only species concerning state regulators. Invasive plants such as rock snot, a problem in the upper Delaware River, can also be a major concern, Miller said. He said some states are looking at banning felt bottoms on fishermen's wading boots. The felt, used to help prevent slips and falls, can pick up potentially invasive plants. Zebra mussels get their name ...