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Extreme cold may wipe out high percentage emerald ash borer larvae By Paul Huttner Minnesota Public Radio Here’s one resident who may welcome the extreme cold wave headed for Minnesota. Your local ash tree. The extreme temperatures moving in with Sunday’s arctic blast may kill off a significant percentage of emerald ash borer larvae, according to one of the premier forestry experts in Minnesota. Read the full story at link .

Myths lie at root of native, exotic plants Written by Yew Dell Botanical Gardens Amur honeysuckle, burning bush, ‘Bradford’ pear ... a few poster children for the invasive exotic plant debate. The debate has raged for decades.  But it is often myth that fuels the dissension. But before we dispel some myths, how about a few definitions? Continue reading at link. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Conn. trying to contain tree-eating borer By QUANNAH LEONARD, Republican-American of Waterbury MIDDLEBURY, Conn. — Piles of ash bark cushioned the feet of state workers inside a state garage on Middlebury Road on a recent day. The men and women used draw knives to slowly peel back bark on bolts of ash trees, looking for signs of a tiny green beetle. Their work began at the beginning of February, and will continue for at least one more session this month. They want to determine just how long and far the emerald ash borer has infested the...

Invasive species threaten Wisconsin trees  By Sarah Eucalano The Badger Herald Madison has begun testing trees for emerald ash borers, an invasive Chinese insect that has been devastating much of North America’s ash trees. Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said around 25 percent of Madison’s trees are ash trees, adding it will cost the city millions in order to fully cover the incurable disease, which causes ash trees to slowly rot and die. ... Ken Raffa, a UW etymology professor, said the main emerald ash borer infestation is in Detroit and has been in the United States for 12 years. Having infested the southeastern part of Wisconsin, including parts of the Milwaukee area as well as areas surrounding the Mississippi River. Raffa said in China the insects do not kill healthy trees, but only sick or old trees that do not have defenses. He said China’s ash trees have good defenses against emerald ash borers, which North American ash trees do not have. “There is no evidence any of the a...

EMERALD ASH BORER CONFIRMED IN TIOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK EAB Found As Part of DEC’s 2012 Trapping Program The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) in Tioga County has been confirmed by the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens confirmed today. The EAB was found in a DEC-deployed trap two miles from the Pennsylvania border and six miles from the Chemung County border in the southwestern corner of Tioga County. Chemung County and all of Pennsylvania are under state and Federal EAB quarantine. A single adult EAB was found in one of the thousands of purple detection traps that are placed around the state this summer. “With this year’s EAB detection trapping season rapidly coming to a close, we are working closely with our sister-agency, the Department of Agriculture and Markets and other stakeholders to examine the information derived from this year’s trapping to determine appropriate quarantine boundarie...

NYDEC Begins Emergency Rule-Making for Hydrilla Infestation Treatment ALBANY, NY (05/09/2012)(readMedia)-- The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation adopted an emergency rule to allow for herbicide treatment to combat hydrilla, an invasive plant species that has plagued parts of the Cayuga Inlet since last summer, the agency announced today. "Immediate action is necessary to stop the spread of hydrilla to preserve native plants and indigenous aquatic ecosystems throughout New York state," said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens. "By amending the regulation to allow the use of fluridone pellets, DEC is helping control the infestation of a destructive species that threatens the Finger Lakes economy and habitat." The emergency regulation allows the use of fluridone pellets in waters less than two feet deep for 90 days. Upon expiration, DEC intends to renew the temporary, emergency regulation until a permanent rule is in place. The rule amends 6 NYCRR 326.2(...

National Invasive Species Awareness Week February 26 - March 3, 2012 Washington, DC A week of activities, briefings, workshops and events focused on strategizing solutions to address invasive species prevention, detection, monitoring, control, and management issues at local, state, tribal, regional, national and international scales. Here are 10 ways to observe NISA Week . Learn more at link . -------------------------------------------------------- Florida considers controversial cure for polluted Lake Apopka: Let hydrilla spread By Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel 9:17 p.m. EST, January 22, 2012 The sickly Lake Apopka has been healing at a snail's pace despite undergoing some of the more costly environmental rehabilitations in Florida history. So a state agency is thinking about speeding up the process by encouraging an aggressive, aquatic weed — hydrilla — to take root in the lake. It's a hotly contested idea that appears to be leaving little room for compromise. Those who want...

Lifeform of the week: The mystery of the monk parakeets By Alex Reshanov EarthSky Feral green parrots are living all over the United States. Where did they come from? How did they get here? And don’t they get cold in the winter? A friend in Brooklyn, New York, where I was living at the time, first drew my attention to the exotic, bright green birds that occasionally turned up in the neighborhood trees. Various legends fluttered around the misplaced parrots – they’d escaped from the zoo, from a pet store, from a crate bound for a pet store, and had managed to establish themselves in some nook of the Big Apple. The tales portrayed the birds as a single anomalous colony unique to a city itself renowned for uniqueness. Only in New York… But after moving to Austin, I began to notice suspiciously similar birds, slightly better camouflaged against the greener scenery, but still a bit too tropical looking to blend in with the grackles and mourning doves that dominate the local bird-o-sphere. I...

There's trouble in the bat cave By Dan Ashe The Sacramento Bee It's October, which means that bats are once again having their annual star turn, popping up on classroom bulletin boards and store windows across America. But this year, actual living bats in North America aren't so abundant. They are being decimated by a deadly health epidemic. The disease causing this die-off is called white-nose syndrome, and it is infecting hibernating bat populations across the Eastern states. In the four years since it was first detected, white-nose syndrome has spread quickly from a cave in upstate New York, the epicenter, to 16 states and four Canadian provinces. It has killed more than 1 million bats. Biologists in New York first started to notice dead and dying bats with unusual symptoms in 2007. Named for a fuzzy white fungus that often grows on the muzzles, wings and tail membranes of infected bats, white-nose syndrome had never been seen in North America. As winter wore on, more an...

CT Offers Tips to Limit Spread of Invasive Species The Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Lake Zoar Authority will be monitoring local boat launches for the presence of invasive plants and animals, such as zebra mussels. Zebra mussels were discovered in Lake Zoar and Lake Lillinonah in October 2010. This is the first new report of zebra mussels in Connecticut since 1998, when they were discovered in East and West Twin Lakes in Salisbury.... Actions anglers and boaters must take to prevent the spread of invasive plants and animals, including zebra mussels, are as follows: Before leaving a boat launch, clean all visible plant, fish, and animals as well as mud or other debris. Do not transport them home. Drain all water from every space and item that may hold water. At home or prior to your next launch, dry anything that comes in contact with water (boats, trailers, anchors, propellers, etc.) for a minimum of 1 week during hot/dry weather or a m...

Emerald Ash Borer Detected In Buffalo, New York Collaborative Control Efforts Underway to Contain First Infestation Found in Erie County The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced an infestation of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) was found in the City of Buffalo's South Park. This is the first EAB infestation to be detected in Erie County. EAB is a small but destructive beetle that infests and kills North American ash tree species, including green, white, black and blue ash. "The discovery of the Emerald Ash Borer in Buffalo is extremely unfortunate but not surprising," DEC Commissioner Joe Martens said. "Despite multi-state efforts to curtail its expansion, EAB has spread across the northeastern United States over the last decade. DEC is coordinating with federal and local government partners across the state to prevent the further spread of this destructive insect, especially outside of the quarantine areas. Awareness and preparedness...

Invasive plant species threatens shore plants, animals, dunes By TODD B. BATES Gannett New Jersey November 10, 2009 An invasive foreign plant is rapidly making inroads in New Jersey's critical dune systems, and Louise Wootton wants to stop it in its tracks. Asiatic sand sedge ( Carex kobomugi ) — a "scruffy little plant" — threatens to take over the habitat of endangered and threatened species, such as the piping plover, according to Wootton, a biology professor at Georgian Court University in Lakewood. The sedge also can result in lower dunes, lessening their ability to protect communities from flooding, Wootton said. "It changes the ecosystem completely," she said. The Brick resident has enlisted about 25 students from Georgian Court, Marine Academy of Science and Technology on Sandy Hook and Brookdale Community College in Middletown to help study the sedge, map its extent and study ways to get rid of it. She wants government permission to begin eradicating th...

Updated November 6. The latest news is at the bottom of the post. --------------------------------------------------------- More than $1 Million for projects to improve the health of Long Island Sound Funds awarded to control perennial pepperweed (Waterford, Conn. – Oct. 29, 2009) – Gathering together on the shores of Long Island Sound, top federal and state environmental officials announced 33 grants to state and local government and community groups under the Long Island Sound Futures Fund. The $1,011,878 will be leveraged by $1.92 million contributed by the recipients, providing a total of nearly $2.94 million for on-the-ground conservation in Connecticut and New York. [...] This year’s grant program funded 21 large grants (grants greater than $10,000) totaling $943,755. Five grants were awarded for water quality; four for habitat restoration; one for watershed planning; one for invasive species control; seven for education; and three for stewardship projects. [...] The grants incl...