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Beetles released to attack invasive species By KEITH WHITCOMB JR. / Bennington Banner POWNAL, VT -- About two millimeters long and appearing as black specks, the town's newest 379 residents are here to hopefully stay and perhaps eat a few unwelcome newcomers. On Thursday, two people from the Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation released nearly 400 Laricobius nigrinus (small black beetle) onto four hemlock trees on Mason Hill Road, near the Massachusetts state line and next to a tributary to the Hoosic River. Jim Esden, forestry specialist for the department, said he hopes the adult beetles will survive the winter and feed off the hemlock woolly adelgid, an aphid-like insect that has been spreading slowly northward and was reported in Pownal over the summer. The adelgid is an invasive species and threatens the health of hemlock trees, said Esden. The small black beetle, a native of the Pacific northwest, eats nothing but adelgids and follows a similar life cycle, being acti...

No. 1 Deer Predator in Michigan is a Surprise by North American Whitetail Online Staff If you had to guess which predator would be the top whitetail consumer in Michigan, you’d probably guess wolves — and to be fair, that’s not a bad guess. However, biologists say that’s not the case. A study by Wildlife Ecology and Management at Mississippi State University, in association with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, found that coyotes are the top whitetail fawn predators in the western Upper Peninsula, followed by bobcats in second. Wolves came in fourth behind a three-way tie of hunters, unknown predators and undetermined causes. ... Read the full story at link . ---------------------------------------------------------- Swans Gone: Pair of swans killed to protect Fairhaven, MA marsh life By BETH PERDUE SouthCoastToday.com FAIRHAVEN — The killing of two swans to protect restored marshland at Atlas Tack has angered and saddened some local residents many Two swans known to inhab...

Updated August 13 -------------------------------------------------------- Mile-a-Minute vine spotted in Norwalk, CT By ROBERT KOCH, Hour Staff Writer An invasive species of plant has invaded Norwalk, and officials are warning residents to take action. While the Mile-a-minute vine might recall images of ivy-covered buildings, it's hardly an innocuous plant species. "The plant is called the Mile-a-minute vine--or devil's tearthumb--because it prolifically grows up to six inches in a single day, overwhelming other species by blocking the sunlight and by the sheer weight of the weed's leaves and stems," said Marvin Moss, Norwalk Tree Alliance spokesman. "Christmas tree farms are vulnerable. So are seedlings planted for forestry regeneration and even nurseries and farmland." The tree-killing vine has been located on Sheffield Island, on private property on Blue Mountain Road, and in the easement for the power lines of the Connecticut Light & Power Co. su...

Opinion: After five years, government rules out Asian oyster gamble From HomeTownAnnapolis.com It's now official, or at least as official as it's likely to get. There won't be any shortcut on the winding road that may lead to some restoration of the Chesapeake Bay's embattled oyster population. Federal, Maryland and Virginia officials announced Monday that their plans for restoring the oysters do not include introducing the so-called Asian oysters ( Crassostrea ariakensis ) to bay waters. The Asian oysters grow faster, are hardier, and are supposedly resistant to diseases - MSX and Dermo - that devastated the native oysters ( Crassostrea virginica ), whose population is now languishing at perhaps 1 percent of historic highs. Watermen and seafood processors were excited by the idea of importing ariakensis, and the enthusiasm spread to the administration of Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. Of course, with federal and state money involved, the idea had to be studied. An...

Council to remove Egeria densa from lake in New York Written by Matt Dalen, LewisboroLegend.com With luck, the Three Lakes Council will soon have eradicated an invader to Lake Waccabuc. With no public comments objecting to the plan, and permission from all of the landowners involved, the town Planning Board on Tuesday, March 24 approved the council’s proposal to suck the invasive plant species Egeria densa out of Waccabuc Cove on Lake Waccabuc once the weather warms. The town Planning Board had closed a scheduled public hearing on the plan earlier this month after a short discussion of what the eradication of the plant will entail. The proposal, which is expected to start in May and last two to three weeks, would involve divers taking suction hoses to the lake bottom over an area of about two acres, trying to remove any and all plant material that could re-start the infestation. Egeria is capable of regrowing from a small fragment of its stem, a feature that makes it desirable in the h...

Updated 3/26/09 -------------------------------------------------------- Birds in Freefall Living on Earth - http://www.loe.org/ A new large-scale report finds roughly a quarter of all American bird species, in a variety of habitats, are in decline. But there are a few bright spots that point to potential for a turnaround. Living on Earth’s Jeff Young went visit Conn Island in the Potomac River and has our story... ...YOUNG: So what's the role of exotic invasives and bird populations? MEHLMAN: Exotics or invasive species are one of the top threats to biodiversity of all kinds worldwide including birds. Non-native plants come in and can totally alter habitat type so it's unsuitable for use by birds and other wildlife. YOUNG: The report shows invasive species, habitat loss and fragmentation, pesticides and disease all taking a tremendous toll on birds... See the full story at Link -------------------------------------------------------- Wilmington, Delaware CBP outruns invasive b...

Updated 3/13/09 Hemlock woolly adelgid workshop in the Finger Lakes region An insect pest newly arrived in the Finger Lakes region, NY -- the hemlock woolly adelgid – was recently discovered in the Cornell Plantations area of Cascadilla Gorge and in the Beebe Lake natural areas and is threatening hemlock trees and the biodiversity they support. This Asian species has decimated hemlock populations across the eastern United States, where altered habitats – due to the loss of the hemlocks – have caused a cascade of environmental changes for some amphibians, fish, invertebrates and plants in response to increased light and warmer temperatures. The hemlock woolly adelgid ( Adelges tsugae ) causes nearly 100 percent mortality in the native eastern hemlock ( Tsuga cana densis). The small, aphid-like insects feed on the sap at the base of individual needles on the trees; eventually needles yellow and drop, branches die, and trees succumb in about four to 10 years. Hemlock woolly adelgids were ...