| May 29, 2009 **Note - All Links will open in new windows
A Reason to Cheer!
The key to reducing the spread of invasive species is to get everyone involved in the fight. We all know that following the simple steps of Inspect, Clean & Dry will do a lot to insure that we are not spreading species between waters. However, we also know that as "Clean Anglers" we are part of a tiny minority. The good news is that the word is spreading and those of us that fight for our waters are finding ways to help protect the resources we love. This month we have the opportunity to celebrate how an educated public that cares is making a difference in the fight to reduce spread.
We all owe a debt to an anonymous citizen who called officials in Utah to report a boat they spotted on the Interstate that they suspected of being contaminated with zebra mussels. According to Idaho State Department of Agriculture Director Celia Gould “This citizen report set into motion a series of contacts to authorities and marina owners in the tri-state area, which resulted in the successful interception of the boat in Spokane.”
In a great response effort, officials in Idaho, Montana, Washington and other states quickly geared up to locate the boat. They issued announcements and spread the word and a citizen in Spokane who heard about the boat spotted it parked on a city street. Sure enough, the boat was infested with quagga mussels and has been completely decontaminated. This is a remarkable story of how we are beginning to achieve success in educating the public about the problem and how to prevent spread. There are many accounts of this story on the web - read the full details at Mussel-tainted vessel halted in Spokane or at Suspect boat nabbed before reaching NW waters I'm sure the person who reported the boat never thought that driving down the Interstate they might stop an introduction yet, that is exactly what happened.
Fortunately, people are not just reporting others, but, are also policing themselves. In early May, a Utah boat owner asked the mechanic at his local marina to inspect a boat he had recently purchased out of state and was planning to launch on Flaming Gorge Reservoir. He understood the need to stop hitchhikers and wanted to be sure that he was not part of the problem. Fortunately for us all, his concern prevented an introduction as the inspector found a live zebra mussel on the boat. The owner willing agreed to have it decontaminated and voluntarily agreed to a quarantine period to make sure that the boat was clean. Read this good news story Boat Owner Requests Inspection
These are success stories that show how much is accomplished through individual actions. These introductions were prevented by people who understand the need to protect our waters and acted accordingly. Lets celebrate these citizen victories and use them as fuel for our efforts to encourage everyone to be clean in the outdoors.
Music for the Cause
There are lots of different ways to take the prevention message to people. Most often we think of traditional things like brochures, posters and similar materials. However, education opportunities are all around us and it is often the less obvious things that really catch peoples attention.
One innovative education method is to use music and song to carry our message of protecting our waters. University of Wisconsin professor Bret Shaw has worked with a group of talented singer/songwriters to develop three great songs that carry the prevention message in a very effective way. Bret has put together a web site of ANS songs that tells the full story of the music and the effort. There are three songs and each is in a distinctive style.
The Ballad of Aquatic Invasive Species is a folk song that reminds listeners about the importance of cleaning boats when moving them between bodies of water.
One Bait, One Lake is a rock song that focuses on never transferring bait from one water to another. It's upbeat tune that is sure to have you rocking.
Clean Boats, Clean Waters is a toe tapping rockabilly-inspired country song that offers some straight-forward advice for protecting the future of our lakes - it's easy - just clean your boat when moving from one body of water to another.
In addition to these songs featured in Wisconsin, we also have the great song Didymo from the singer/songwriter Bob Skowronski of the band Wind That Shakes The Barley. For this song they have added extra musicians to form the "Didymo Blues Band" and together they have produced a great song that really rocks.
These songs are all top quality efforts in terms of message and music and are great additions to the ANS effort.. Listen to the songs and download them to your computer. You will find lots of different ways in which you can use them to help spread the word.
Get Your Fishing Photo Published - Support Our Fight
This Is Fly, the leading on-line fly fishing magazine, is preparing to publish their first printed book, a beautiful volume featuring the best of the photos submitted to them by anglers. They have committed to donating the proceeds to one of three conservation organizations and the Center or Aquatic Nuisance Species is one of the recipients. However, the percentage of the proceeds we receive will be based on the number of photo contributors that select Invasive Species as their desired recipient.
Please help us earn royalties by submitting one or more photos for consideration. If selected you will be rewarded by seeing your photo in this special book and will help us to continue our work by increasing their donations to us. Pass this on to anyone you know and ask them all to select us as their recipient organization. The process is easy just check out the fly fishing photo submission information.
Going Fishless?
We all know that invasive species can threaten our favorite fisheries and we all want to have as much good fishing waters as possible. However, in our effort to produce more and better fishing opportunities we often forget that many of our favorite sport fish are themselves invasive species. In many cases the fish we most love are significantly harming our native ecosystems. In a posting titled "Wanted: Fishless Lakes" our friends at Fly Fishing in Yellowstone Park have done a great job of reporting about the ecological consequences of planting fish in fishless lakes. They go on to advocate that Yellowstone Park should manage rainbow, brown and brook trout as invasives in most Yellowstone waters. This a thoughtful and thought provoking article and it is likely to be at the forefront of what may become an increasingly common sentiment in the future. Read the article and give it some thought to see what you think is right.
The impacts of invasive sport fish is a global problem and is currently a topic of discussion in Argentina where the native ecosystem is being altered by introduced trout. An article titled Trout – Fishers’ Delight - Threaten Biodiversity gives an excellent overview of the impacts of trout on the environment and the complex issues surrounding them.
Natives as Nuisance?
One problem that is especially difficult to deal with is what to do about native species that, for some reason, become a nuisance. While we all work toward the goal of preserving and enhancing our native ecosystems we have to recognize that at times our native species can present very real problems. One excellent example of this is the algae Didymo which is native to the northern latitudes of the US. However, for some reason this otherwise unobtrusive algae has exploded to become a major problem in some waters. There are many other examples of native species that can become a serious problem and the current situation in Michigan highlights another problem with native species impacting the environment. The double crested cormorant is a fish eating bird that has been expanding its populations across the country And in an effort to protect fish populations Michigan wants to double its cormorant kill. Read the article for a great overview of a problem that is rapidly spreading across the country as anglers in other states are beginning to advocate for cormorant and pelican control.
New Didymo News
Didymo continues to invade new areas across America. Here is a roundup of some of the latest discoveries
In West Virginia, there has been a new discovery Didymo found in Seneca Creek near its confluence with Whites Run
Oklahoma has been invaded with a recent discovery of Didymo in Lower Mountain Fork River, Oklahoma's premier trout fishery
Idaho has joined the list of states with Didymo following the discovery of Didymo in the South Fork Boise River
Meanwhile, the spread of Didymo into the Northeastern US has triggered great concern in that part of the country. In an effort to reduce the spread of rock snot, anglers and agencies are working cooperatively to install wader cleaning stations for anglers. These stations combine recommendations for careful cleaning with the use of a saltwater solution to kill the Didymo cells. We applaud the concern and partnership being shown in this effort but hope that everyone involved understands and teaches others that the salt solution is specific to Didymo and is not an effective treatment for any other species.
An End To Live Bait? Please Help This newsletter, the Clean Angling Pledge and all of our efforts to prevent the spread of ANS are financed by donations. Please help us with a tax deductible donation of any amount.
The use of live minnows as bait is a long cherished tradition among many anglers. However, as invasive species threats spread new bait restrictions are leading some to question how long live bait use will be allowed. The Minneapolis Startribune.com site has a couple of interesting articles addressing this issue. On May 5, they featured a story on Minnesota's bait import ban authored by the state's Chief of Fisheries. The following day, columnist Dennis Anderson followed with an in depth look at the new live bait alternative coming from major lure manufacturers. Titled Is Live Bait Dead, this article offers hope that there will soon be such effective alternatives that anglers will not miss using live bait. As anglers we all need to be aware that the fight against invasives will impact our sport but the companies that we depend on will be bringing new technologies to bear to help us continue to enjoy great fishing.
Minnesota is not the only state implementing new bait restrictions. In mid May, the Ohio Department of Agriculture implemented a new ban on transporting fish, bait fish and fish eggs in areas around Lake Erie. These restrictions are designed to reduce the spread of the fatal VHS fish virus. Needless to say, the new restrictions are being severely criticized by the local area bait dealers.
Whirling Disease Update
Are our wild trout developing a natural resistance to whirling disease (WD)? This is a question that a lot of people have been asking as trout populations in some areas are recovering nicely despite no decline in the presence of the disease. When WD first hit Montana, the Madison River rainbow trout population was decimated with declines in the range of 90% being documented. However, today the population of Madison River wild rainbows have increased dramatically. Researchers believe that this rebound is directly attributable to a natural resistance being developed by the fish of the river. A new article from Montana State University titled Whirling disease researchers optimistic about Montana's trout tells the full story. Lets all hope that this natural resistance spreads to all wild rainbow and cutthroat trout.
Quick Hits - A brief roundup of stories of interest
Carp Clobbers Jet Skier Firefighters used a rescue boat to aid a man who was knocked from his Jet Ski by an Asian carp on the Illinois River recently. The 22 year old driver was zipping across the river when he was struck by a large Asian carp leaping high in the air. He was knocked from the machine and was not able to get it restarted. Be sure to read the full story,
In South Africa, anglers are concerned about a whole different Invasive Species problem. There they are concerned that alien species rules may ruin fly-fishing by eliminating the trout that have been introduced and provide high quality fly fishing opportunities. The fact that a species can be both a problem and a resource illustrates the complexity of invasive species problems.
Wisconsin is celebrating Invasive Species Awareness Month in June. "Slow the Spread by Sole and Tread" is this years theme. 2009 is the fifth year for this event and everyone is invited to attend workshops, field trips and lectures throughout the state to learn more about the impacts of invasive species in Wisconsin.
Paying the costs of invasive species prevention and control is a problem that we are dealing with across the country. in Rollin Township, Michigan officials have decided that Lakefront property owners will be assessed for weed control to pay the cost of weed control on Round Lake. They are setting up a special tax district and each lot owner will pay hundreds of dollars in annual taxes to fund the weed control program.
Anglers, biologists and other wild trout lovers are being reminded to "Save The Date" for Wild Trout X, an international symposium that celebrates the wild trout that we all cherish. The conference will be held in West Yellowstone, MT on Sept. 28-30, 2010 and will attract experts from around the world. Be sure to mark you calender and plan on attending Wild Trout X.
Texas state fish under threat The official state fish of Texas, the Guadalupe Bass is being threatened by hybridization from non native bass and people are worried about their persistence. Once common in many streams and rivers, it is now rare to find pure strain fish in many habitats. Hybridization is also the major factor in the decline of many cutthroat trout stocks and is a problem with many other popular native fishes including bull trout, sauger and others.
While boat inspections are usually not too popular they are effective. This was really brought home over Memorial Day Weekend when Six boats decontaminated for mussels at Lake Tahoe Officials at Tahoe have instituted a very strict inspection program and it is hoped that they can prevent the transport of invasives to this magnificent treasure.
To weed or not to weed is the question facing hundreds of Michigan lakes this year. For the first time in many years the state has received a reduced number of applications to treat lakes for weeds. They suspect that there are a variety of reasons for the decrease but note that the problem continues to increase.
Texas is being invaded by a host of invasive species and increasing numbers of anglers are concerned about the potential impacts on fishing. Here are two stories that give a sample of the problems and reactions. Invasive plants catch trailer rides to East Texas lakes Giant salvinia threatens area water bodies
The Clean Angling Store
Be sure to visit the Clean Angling Store and see the new products we have added. When you purchase Clean Angler merchandise you show others that you are committed to doing your best to protect our waters from invaders and we will make a small profit that will help us to continue to do our work.
The Clean Angling News is regularly produced by the Center for Aquatic Nuisance Species. If you have questions, suggestions or would like to learn more about ANS please contact us:
Center for Aquatic Nuisance Species
P.O. Box 1429
Livingston, MT 59047
406-220-2059
info@stopans.org |
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