Archive 2008

INTRODUCING

The Nebraska Leafy Spurge Working Task Force

The Nebraska Leafy Spurge Working Task Force was organized in 1987 largely due to the efforts of the Range, Forage, and Livestock Program of the North Central Nebraska RC&D office in Bassett. The task force is made up primarily of landowners concerned about Leafy Spurge and other noxious weeds. Other members of the task force include Nebraska Weed Control Superintendents, researchers, chemical company representatives, state and governmental agencies. The objective of the task force is to “Make all persons and entities of government in Nebraska aware of the problems associated with Leafy Spurge control, and to reduce the economic impact of leafy spurge to a management level within the state.”

Farmers and ranchers are always encouraged to attend quarterly meetings held the first Thursday in February, May and November, which include committee reports from Biological Control, Legislative, Advisory and Public Relations. The task force also sponsors an annual tour and conference held in a different area in Nebraska each year. All meetings are open to the public. Anyone concerned about Leafy Spurge and other noxious and invasive weed control are encouraged attend. Participation in the operations of the organization is vitally important. This organization was created by farmers and ranchers to control the spread of Leafy Spurge. All input from landowners and renters is vital to the success of the task force.

The current president of the task force is Larry Gibbens, Custer County Weed Superintendent, Broken Bow. You can contact Larry at 308-872-2410 or email custer4@kdsi.net.
The Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition
The Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition is an independent organization of ranchers, interest groups, and agencies whose mission is to collaborate on projects that improve the management and health of Nebraska grazing lands and ensure long-term stability of rangeland resources. The NGLC is funded through grants from the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund, the Nebraska Rural Development Commission and the Sandhills Task Force.

Grazing Coalition Brings Nationally Noted Speaker to St. Paul, September 5
Elmwood, Nebraska - Concerned about invasive weeds on your land? Want to improve grazing strategies and improve conservation? On September 5th the Reeves Project Tour was hosted, sponsored by the Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition. The featured presenter and author Greg Judy of Clark, shared his experiences utilizing mob grazing and holistic management. Judy owns and leases 1,400 acres of land on 10 farms and grazes cow-calf pairs along with hair sheep, goats and Tamworth pigs. He is the author of the books Comeback Farm and No Risk Ranching.
In a special presentation, Michelle Wendell of G.O.A.T.S. Inc., discussed the grazing benefits of her 600 goats that were on-site, and participants observed the herd transferred to a fresh patch of leafy spurge.

For a complete agenda of the Reeves Project Tour, visit www.nebraskagrazinglands.org. For more information contact Tamara Beardsley-Choat, Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition Coordinator, at 402.430.3656 or tamara@nebraskagrazinglands.org.

The Weed Science Society of America

The Weed Science Society of America was founded in 1956 and established to encourage and promote the development of knowledge concerning weeds and their impact on the environment.

The WSSA promotes research, education, and extension outreach activities related to weeds; provides science-based information to the public and policymakers; and fosters awareness of weeds and their impacts on managed and natural ecosystems.
The international Society publishes three journals: Weed Science, Weed Technology, and the new journal Invasive Plant Science and Management.

The next annual meeting of the WSSA will be February 9–12, 2009, in Orlando, Florida. To access the official WSSA website, go to http://www.wssa.net.

INVASIVES NEWS

Flying Fish Breaks Arkansas Teen's Jaw
September 07, 2008

Little Rock, Arkansas – It's a fishing tale that packs a wallop so strong it broke the jaw of a southeastern Arkansas teen and covered him in fish blood and guts. Seth Russell, 15, of Crossett, was cruising Lake Chicot on a large inner tube towed by a boat when a Silver Asian carp leaped from the water and smacked him in the face. Seth was knocked unconscious.

"He doesn't remember anything at all," the boy's mother, Linda Russell, said last week. "He was laughing, and the next thing he remembers, he is waking in a hospital." The teen has had oral surgery to wire several teeth together and still experiences back pain that doctors attribute to whiplash from the high-speed collision, his mother said.

He's not the only one who's has a run-in with the "flying" Silver Asian carp. "They do not fly, but they are quite good jumpers," said Carole Engle, director of aquaculture and the fisheries center at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. "Over the past year, we have had some calls about fish jumping and causing injuries on Lake Chicot. "Their jumping behavior is a problem, and their population appears to be growing there," Engle said.

Silver Asian carp were first imported to the United States in the 1970s. Catfish farmers brought them here to remove algae and other suspended matter from their ponds. The Environmental Protection Agency started a program allowing cities to use the fish to help clean the water in sewer treatment plant ponds.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,418404,00.html

Angler issues call to arms for sport fishermen to develop a taste for Asian carp
By Andy Whitcomb

The Asian carp which, loosely translated from Greek means, "and you thought the common carp was ugly." The eyes and mouth of the bighead carp and its more acrobatic kinfolk the silver carp seem to have drifted strangely out of place. (Picture the Sloth character from the '80s movie "The Goonies.") "Flying carp" made sensationalistic news a few years ago: There were reports of noisy jet skiers getting hit upside the head with fish. And to think I wasn't even in the area. Thinking I'd check the status of one of our waterways' new inhabitants, I contacted Greg Sass, who directs the Illinois River Biological Station with the Illinois Natural History Survey in Havana, Ill.

He said the range of the Asian carp is "still expanding," which is good news for approximately no one.

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/fishing/news/story?id=3502170

Asian Carp Website

AsianCarp.org is an official web site established to coordinate the implementation of control and management of Asian carps in the United States. Development and maintenance of this web site is supported by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service through a partnership with the University of Texas - Arlington and contains information and resources derived from a variety of other partners and sources.

http://www.asiancarp.org/

Updates by Mitch Coffin, Noxious Weed Program, Nebraska Department of Agriculture

Riparian Projects
Many of the riparian projects approved for this year are gearing up for some control work. Two projects on the Republican River are in progress and three projects on the Platte River are anxiously awaiting the shutdown of irrigation so they can start some helicopter applications. A lot of positive work has taken place to date and credit needs to be given to those Weed Management Areas that are coordinating the work. These folks are going above and beyond to do the right thing. These WMA members are doing extra work that needs to be appreciated by all of us. This has been a positive program that has already produced positive results.

Lake McConaughy Saltcedar Control
I had a meeting scheduled this week in Ogallala and took the opportunity to meet up with Kent Aden to tour the saltcedar control work that took place about one year ago. This project consisted of using helicopters to spray approximately 2000 acres of vegetation in the lakebed. The lake has about 12,000 acres of exposed lakebed which is prime habitat for saltcedar. We toured most of the areas by ground and found very good control. In fact, the control was much better than I expected. Because saltcedar is so tough I expected to see many of the plants to at least be attempting to leaf out. However, this was not the case. There will definitely need to be some follow-up work done to retreat some skips, but generally I was very pleased. Thanks to Kent for driving me around and making a special point of not getting stuck in the sand.

View the Missouri River Watershed Coalition’s map of Saltcedar Presence or Absence

http://www.middakveg.com/headwaters/map/

Reclaimed River
By David Hendee
Omaha World Herald
Red Cloud, Nebraska - The old tree-choked, shrub-infested, island- jammed ditch south of town has a new function this summer. A river runs through it.

For the first time in at least 10 years, the Republican River is reclaiming its channel, flowing faster and virtually unhindered from the Harlan County Dam to Kansas, thanks to a new program to remove invasive vegetation.

"We've got a good thing started here,'' said Mike Clements, general manager of the Lower Republican Natural Resources District. "We need to keep it going.''

The river now easily carries high flows from tributary creeks without flooding adjacent farmland.

Fishing and other recreational activities have increased dramatically, officials said. More than 4,000 people floated down the river on tubes during the Fourth of July weekend. A local cattle-tank float bobbed back onto the summer schedule after several years in dry dock.

And there's a better chance that water Nebraska releases from Harlan County Lake will make it to Kansas. Nebraska failed in recent years to provide Kansas its legal share of Republican River water, and Kansas is pushing for millions of dollars in damages.

http://omaha.agnet.net/89/nws/2221

Ranking and mapping exotic species at Capulin Volcano and Fort Union national monuments
By Gary D.Willson, James Stubbendieck, Susan J. Tunnell, and Sunil Narumalani
Throughout the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains, exotic plants are jeopardizing the integrity of natural ecosystems (U.S. Geological Survey’s Invasive Species Working Group 2000). The National Park Service has identified management and control of invasive, exotic plants, especially state-listed noxious weeds, as a high-priority resource management issue. Noxious weeds are invasive plants that threaten agricultural crops and rangeland and whose control is mandated by state law. In the Intermountain Region, resource managers in 19 National Park System units have prioritized areas where exotic plants need to be inventoried and their population distribution mapped before effective and efficient management can be implemented (Intermountain Regional Office 2001).
http://www.nature.nps.gov/ParkScience/index.cfm?ArticleID=216

Dawes County Offers Bindweed Mites As Alternative To Spraying
By Chris Fankhauser
08/13/2008

Chadron, Nebraska - Dawes County is one of three in the Panhandle that have been working with bindweed mites to help control the noxious weed. Becky Paulsen, Dawes County Weed Superintendent, said the mites originated in Colorado, where they had success with the program there.

The unique thing about the mites is that they eat only bindweed, and that's it. Paulsen said that they even winter in the roots, so they can pick up where they left off when spring arrives. The microscopic mites are introduced to a bindweed patch by taking a sprig of the weed that is already infested with the mites, and winding that sprig into the patch.

As of right now, these helpful critters are available for free, but paperwork is required so that Paulsen may keep track of where the mites have been introduced, as well as track their progress. For more information, contact Paulsen at 432-3056 or 430-3009.

Leaders Adopt National Plan to Combat Invasive Species
August 1, 2008

Washington D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne convened the National Invasive Species Council (NISC) at which he oversaw the adoption of the new 2008-2012 National Invasive Species Management Plan developed collaboratively by 13 federal departments and agencies and their partners.

Joined by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer, Commerce Undersecretary/ NOAA Administrator Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., USN (Ret.) and other leading officials from the departments and agencies that make up the council, Secretary Kempthorne stressed the importance of the plan.
“The plan we adopt today will be the federal government’s primary ‘road map’ for federal efforts to prevent and control invasive species over the next five years,” Secretary Kempthorne said. “Its significance cannot be overstated because invasive species cause great damage to the nation’s environment, economy and human health—harming fisheries, forests, croplands and natural areas; impairing recreation; and endangering public health through threats like West Nile virus.”

http://www.doi.gov/news/08_News_Releases/080801.html

The Non-Native Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act
July 3, 2008

The United States House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans held a hearing June 26, 2008 to consider the Non-Native Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act (H.R. 6311), a bill introduced by Del. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam) that could protect certain wild animals from importation into the United States.

The bill is designed to prevent the introduction and establishment of non-native wildlife species in the United States that may have a negative impact on the economy, the environment, human health or native wildlife. It would require the federal government to assess the risk of non-native wildlife species proposed for importation and, with public input, decide if the importation of these animals should be allowed or prohibited.

http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/issues_facing_wildlife/wildlife_trade/non-native_wildlife_prevention_act.html

Friendly Invaders

New Zealand is home to 2,065 native plants found nowhere else on Earth. They range from magnificent towering kauri trees to tiny flowers that form tightly packed mounds called vegetable sheep.

When Europeans began arriving in New Zealand, they brought with them alien plants — crops, garden plants and stowaway weeds. Today, 22,000 non-native plants grow in New Zealand. Most of them can survive only with the loving care of gardeners and farmers. But 2,069 have become naturalized: they have spread out across the islands on their own. There are more naturalized invasive plant species in New Zealand than native species.

It sounds like the makings of an ecological disaster: an epidemic of invasive species that wipes out the delicate native species in its path. But in a paper published in August in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dov Sax, an ecologist at Brown University, and Steven D. Gaines, a marine biologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, point out that the invasion has not led to a mass extinction of native plants. The number of documented extinctions of native New Zealand plant species is a grand total of three.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/science/09inva.html?_r=2&8dpc&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Invasive Species Manager’s Toolkit

Explore opportunities related to continuing education for invasive species management professionals (latest calendar dates listed first). This site includes educational materials and coursework information. A listing of previous opportunities is available on the archives page.
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/toolkit/profeduc.shtml#date

Invasive Weed Impact Calculator
August 26, 2008
USDA. Agricultural Research Service; Montana State University Extension.

This site helps land managers decide which approach is best for their situation when battling leafy spurge or spotted knapweed. It accepts location-specific weed abundance data from land managers and uses these data to estimate weed impacts. The weed impact estimates help managers decide whether or not to use costly weed control measures to battle leafy spurge/spotted knapweed.

http://199.133.173.229/WeedImpact/

Biocontrol Insect Exacerbates Invasive Weed
September 3, 2008

Introduced flies create complex interactions that increase impact of invasive plants
Biocontrol agents, such as insects, are often released outside of their native ranges to control invasive plants. But scientists in Montana have found that through complex community interactions among deer mice, native plants and seeds, the presence of an introduced fly may exacerbate the effects of the invasive plant it was meant to control. The authors report their results in the September issue of the journal Ecological Applications.

Spotted knapweed, a flowering plant native to Eurasia, was first discovered in the United States in the late 1800s. This broad-leaved plant has an advantage over native plants because its natural enemies, including insects such as European gallflies, do not naturally exist in North America. Thought to have hitched a ride with hauls of alfalfa, knapweed is now widespread in western North America and has become a serious problem in the U.S. across Washington, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana and in Canada across Alberta and British Columbia.

As early as 1971, U.S. scientists began releasing gallflies in an effort to reduce populations of the invasive weed. Like all biocontrol agents, the gallflies were selected because of their specificity to their host plant, leaving little risk of direct harm to other plants.

http://www.esa.org/pao/newsroom/pressReleases2008/09032008.php

JUST FOR FUN

Explore landscapes with Michael Farrell
L. Kent Wolgamott
August 11, 2008

Getting on the backroads in isolated areas, taking a long look to choose just the right view, capturing that image on film, then printing it with evocative skill, Michael Farrell has created an exquisite suite of photographs of the rugged, little-seen natural beauty of western Nebraska.

That suite of photos, together with groupings of landscapes from Colorado and Wyoming make up “Hinterlands: NE WY CO,” Farrell’s breathtaking solo exhibition that is on view through Oct. 31 at the Great Plains Art Museum.

http://journalstar.com/articles/2008/08/11/living/gz/performances/doc48a0603624a28655906132.txt

Going Native: Urban Landscaping for Wildlife with Native Plants
August 26, 2008
North Carolina State University.

The website contains multi-layers of information, an interactive native plant database, recommendations for ID and management of select invasive plants, and a 10-minute video.

http://www.ncsu.edu/goingnative/

David Jude’s professional and musical career
Research scientist and professor, Jude has been working on Great Lakes issues since the early 70s and is the leading authority on the round goby, a Great Lakes invasive species. While Jude is known in professional circles for his work, he is also known in a different circle - a musical one.
When he graduated from Minnesota University in 1966 his brother gave him a guitar for graduation. “I always used to write poetry when I was young... and then it was a natural jump from writing poems to writing songs you just have to make up lyrics and a melody.” During his career at Michigan State University Jude played with a church band called the Plastic Jesus Band. When he moved to Ann Arbor in 1973 to work for University of Michigan, Jude went solo.
In the mid-90s Jude wrote about something near and dear to his work. “The Galloping Goby Blues” is a song Jude wrote about the round goby. "We got evil fish coming into town/ slippin' in our lakes without a sound/ and unless we stop them cold/ they'll beat our natives down/ there's egg-sucking' fish-bitin' gobies all around” Jude sings. Surely, something to sing the blues about.
Jude has had his songs performed in concert and has also appeared on the student radio show in Ann Arbor playing his music and talking about the Great Lakes.
http://www.greatlakeswiki.org/index.php/Professor_singing_the_blues_about_invasive_species

PHRAGMITES AUSTRALIS

NDA Adds Phragmites australis to Noxious Weed List Under Temporary Order

Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) Director Greg Ibach today announced the statewide designation of non-native Phragmites australis as a noxious weed.  The statewide designation, which takes effect immediately, is an expansion of a temporary designation issued last year for Phragmites australis within the Republican River basin.

Phragmites australis has greatly impacted river systems, choking water flow and increasing flood risk. More information regarding Phragmites australis can be found on the USDA Plants Database and on the Nebraska Weed Control Association website. This has recently been listed as a Nebraska Noxious Weed.

For more information, click here.

LANCASTER COUNTY 2007 WEED REPORT

Check out Lancaster County's 2007 weed report, which includes excellent information on what is being done around Lincoln.

AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY

The Introduced Fish Section of the American Fisheries Society is organizing a symposium for the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting to be held in Ottawa in August 2008.

INVASIVE SPECIES COURSE ONLINE

Southeastern Community College in Whiteville, North Carolina, is pleased to announce the launch of a new curriculum program - the Invasive Species Management Training Program, in early March, 2008. The new curriculum will be a new second year focus of the SCC Environmental Science Technology Program. The program, the first of its kind ever developed, is a unique college level program for training of invasive species management technicians. For more information click here.

CERTIFIED MANAGER OF INVASIVE PLANTS

The North American Weed Management Association offer a certification in weed management at Central Community College, Hastings, NE. For information on how to register, please click here.

FERAL HOGS

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission targeted the largest group of feral hogs in Nebraska. The feral hogs were removed from Harlan County Reservoir in February to keep them from becoming a threat to domestic and wild animals, crops and wildlife habitat. To learn more, click here.

INVASIVE SPECIES CONTROL SUMMIT, MAY 6-8, 2008, SCOTTSBLUFF, NE

This summit promises to provide a unique variety of speakers and topics to complete total invasive species control within highly impacted watersheds. Tours of watershed projects will also be offerred. If you have questions, please contact Mike Sarchet at 308-635-6700. Download the program here.

INVASIVE SPECIES COURSE ONLINE

Southeastern Community College in Whiteville, North Carolina, is pleased to announce the launch of a new curriculum program - the Invasive Species Management Training Program, in early March, 2008. The new curriculum will be a new second year focus of the SCC Environmental Science Technology Program. The program, the first of its kind ever developed, is a unique college level program for training of invasive species management technicians. For more information click here.

AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY

The Introduced Fish Section of the American Fisheries Society is organizing a symposium for the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting to be held in Ottawa in August 2008.

JUST FOR FUN

Check out the fantastic comedy of Tim Bedore. Tim is frequently featured on the Bob and Tom Radio Show. Click here for an entertaining perspective on the wildlife in your backyard.

NEBRASKA FOREST SERVICE INITIATIVE

The Nebraska Forest Service is leading a multi-state initiative to prepare for the emerald ash borer. See the full article here.

RIPARIAN VEGETATION MANAGEMENT TASK FORCE

The Riparian Vegetation Management Task Force is underway and moving fast. Find out more about LB701 funds and the Task Force here.

EDITORIAL

Read an editorial by Dr. Tom Osborne here, on weeds on the Platte River.