Aquatic invasive species are non-native plants and animals that disrupt ecosystems, harm wildlife, and impact recreation. Learn how they spread, the problems they cause, and safe methods for control and management.
Keeping aquatic invasive species out of Montana bodies of water, specifically invasive mussels, is very important to protecting the native fish and plant species in the area. Researchers said cleaning, draining and drying boats is nearly 100% effective at keeping AIS out of Montana. That is why boat inspections are required in the state. Seaplanes
The Massachusetts’s Department of Conservation and Recreation is aiming to reduce invasive plant species in Lake Whitehall in a plan that calls for herbicides and mechanical harvesting. The reservoir has extensive growth of “exotic nuisance aquatic vegetation,” including fanwort and variable-leaf milfoil, according to a report by ESS Group, a firmed hired by the state.
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is planning to add 100 artificial and natural structures at 37 sites to provide additional fishing areas for the angling public at the Tuckertown Reservoir. These fish attractors are intended to help offset the loss of aquatic vegetation in the presence of sterile grass carp. Sterile grass carp are a practical
According to Nick Brown, DNR invasive species specialist, herbicides used to treat curly-leaf pondweed on Minnesota lakes may not lead to improvements in water quality. Curly-leaf pondweed is an invasive plant found throughout much of Minnesota. The plant grows slowly throughout the winter under the ice, but once the ice has left the lake the
According to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the invasive quagga mussel is primed to make a comeback despite years of slowed growth. The reason? Quaggas can be spread by watercraft, and recent boat sales data from the National Marine Manufacturers Association shows that sales are robust. More vessels are filling state lakes, rivers, reservoirs
According to a Fish and Wildlife study, almost 80 percent of non-native species found on the West Coast were first sighted in California. You might have heard about ballast water. Cargo ships fill their holds with seawater to stay balanced, but that water can also carry invasive species. Since 1999, ships have been required to
In 1909, the United States was suffering a shortage of meat. At the same time, Louisiana’s waterways were being choked by invasive water hyacinth. The solution seemed to be simple, the American Hippo Bill. Hippos could be imported to the United States to eat the water hyacinth and people can eat the hippos. The bill
In the fight against alien animals that invade and overrun native species, the weird and the wired sometime win. Invasive species are plants and animals that thrive in areas where they don’t naturally live, usually brought there by humans, either accidentally or intentionally. Sometimes, with no natural predators, they multiply and take over, crowding out
Aquatic plants, whether invasive or native, can be described as either a mess or a resource. Natural plant growth covers 20 – 40% of the water and includes a diversity of plants. However, invasive plants such as Eurasian watermilfoil, hydrilla and water hyacinth quickly take over a lake covering 60% and sometimes 100% of the