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The
Latest On Felt Bans
In our last issue
we reported that the Montana and Oregon legislatures would be taking
up felt ban bills. In each case, it seems that
the proposals will not move on to become law. In Montana, the bill was
tabled by the sponsor and was never debated in committee. The
fact that the bill was introduced generated a lot of debate
about felt, invasives and cleaning and got the attention of a
lot of anglers who had been unaware of the threat.
The Oregon proposal was heard by the House Agriculture and
Natural Resources Committee. Curt Melcher, the deputy director of the
Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department said the agency wouldn't take a
stance on the bill. He agreed that felt was a particularly effective
carrier for invasive species. But he also said that his staff preferred
felt soles to the rubber alternatives in terms of traction. After the
meeting, Co-Chair Brian Clem said he'd be "surprised" if the bill
received a second hearing. Read more
Meanwhile, legislators in Idaho are considering adopting a
resolution that would highlight aspects of the threat and response. In
part, the bill would "congratulate those fishing tackle manufacturers
that offer alternatives to felt soles, for their foresight and efforts
to offer products that reduce the threat and potential transfer of
aquatic nuisance species". Read more
Both Maryland and Vermont are close to implementing their
felt
bans and there continue to be indications that others are looking at
bans as well. We have put together a new resource that tracks
the status of the felt ban proposals in the US that we are aware of.
We will keep this updated to provide a single source for information
about felt. Status
of Felt Restrictions in the USA
Asian Carp Offer New
Commercial Opportunities
Dr. John
Holden, a reproductive endocrinologist, was convinced that there had to
be something that could be done about the Asian carp invasion and he
set out to see if he could find it. As part of his background research,
he learned that Asian carp are an extremely oily species,
which means that they contain a lot of Omega 3 fatty acid — a very hot
commodity these days, as the oil is believed to reduce the risk of
coronary heart disease and to have anti-cancer effects. This got Dr.
Holden thinking that perhaps there could be a commercial opportunity.
“I thought,
‘Oh, so I guess they’re not a worthless fish,’” Holden said. “So I
Googled ‘fish rendering for fish oil’ and found out that it is a dirty,
smelly process that no one wants in their backyard, and it uses a
4,000-year-old process.” Holden did not accept this as the
final answer and believes that his new rendering process will
revolutionize the industry. He and his partner are building a plant in
Illinois to begin commercial production of processed carp and they
expect to grow the business very rapidly. Read More
New Science About Invasives
Invasive plant species
present a serious environmental, economic and social problem worldwide
as their abundance can lead to lost native biodiversity and ecosystem
functions, such as nutrient cycling. Despite substantial research,
little is known about why some species can dominate new habitats over
native plants that technically should have the advantage. Read More
New research into the
encroachment of exotic species into mountain areas, that have so far
largely escaped biological invasion, is giving cause for concern. About
1,000 different imported plant species (neophytes) have already been
found in mountain regions around the globe; however, their species
richness is greatest at lower to intermediate elevations. The variety
of neophytes declines rapidly with increasing altitude. In mountain
environments above 1,500 meters altitude, most species are no longer
able to become established. The few species that have managed to do so
are sufficiently specialized to survive under the extreme conditions of
high mountain environments, it was previously assumed..Read
More
A new study into the movement of invasives on boots and
waders has been conducted in the Mediterranean. The researchers report "This
study provides evidence that dispersal via footwear and motor vehicles
may result in frequent dispersal of aquatic invertebrates on a local
scale, and we presume also occasionally over longer distances. Given
the rapid spread of invasive zooplankton species (e.g. Artemia
franciscana encountered in this study), we promote caution
and recommend cleaning before transport of any equipment which comes in
contact with water or aquatic sediment.". Read More
Just One Step From School
Project To New Invasion
Invasive crayfish
represent a serious threat to many waters. They will
quickly out compete and eliminate native species and eat fish eggs,
invertebrates and even small fish.
Many aquatic
invasives
are spread by anglers and other recreationists but experts are
confident that the first releases of these invaders west of the
continental divide are the result of students and teachers
releasing them from classroom aquariums.. Read
the story and watch the video
Clean Angling Featured on
Popular Podcast
Promoting Clean Angling was a focus of a recent
episode of the popular Fish
Schtick weekly fishing Podcast. In a special  stewardship
edition of the show, hosts Teeg Stouffer and Brian Bennett
interviewed Leah Elwell, Program Director for the Center For
Aquatic Nuisance Species, about the Clean Angling movement.
In a wide ranging interview Elwell discusses some of the problem
species, what anglers can do to take personal action and engages in an
interesting discussion of the balance between some of the potential
angling benefits from some invaders. Elwell is the last guest of the
show and her interview begins about 41 minutes into the
Podcast.
Listen
Here
State by State
Michigan -
Mute swans
aren't usually what comes to mind when you think of invasive species,
but they're causing trouble and officials are trying to fix the problem
before it gets out of hand.. Read More
Montana
- Concern that Flathead Lake may have been infected by
invasive mussels appear to be unfounded as further testing shows no
evidence of mussels. Read More
California
- Lake County boaters will face inspections and new fees in addition to
an invasive sticker requirement. Non-residents will have to purchase
stickers monthly.
Read
More
Idaho - The
Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) needs $153,600 in state
money to pay for the state's boat inspection program.
Read
More
Wyoming
- Participants in the "Burbot Bash" fishing contest on Flaming
Gorge removed more than 4,000 invasive burbot from the
Reservoir. Read
More
Missouri
- Didymo is moving closer to Missouri and that has state officials very
concerned. Read
More
Tennessee
- A long time resource manager offers frank comments about the long
term effort to control aquatic invasive plants in TVA waters.
Read More
Louisiana
- The battle against the giant salvinia that covers Lake Bistineau
seems to be never-ending, but biologists might be getting a little help
from mother nature. Read More
Whirling Disease in Montana -
15 Years Later
Fifteen years ago, words like "crisis"
and "devastation" were
used  to describe the expected impacts whirling disease
would have
on Montana's fisheries after it was discovered in rainbow trout in
the Madison River in 1994. Officials called whirling disease the
"single largest threat to
wild, naturally reproducing trout populations in the Rocky Mountain
Region." Within a year of its discovery in Montana, the disease had
spread to 14 streams, and people feared it would kill nearly all of
Montana's prized rainbow trout population.
These are the opening
lines from a Helena, MT Independent
Record article that provides an
overview of the history of whirling disease in Montana. From the
initial concern that wild trout fisheries would collapse,
angler interest has waned and whirling disease is now largely ignored.
This article provides a good overview of whirling in Montana..Read More
Army Corps: "Our Electric Fish
Fence Works, But You Can't See The Study That Proves It"
In this National Resource Defense Council staff blog, Thom Cmar posts a
critical piece that asks a lot of pointed questions about the efficacy
of the electric barrier that is supposed to protect the Great Lakes
from
the Asian Carp assault. Cmar wants to know why the Corps
claims their study shows that the barrier is effective but
will not allow anyone to examine the research data - including the
Corps own Technical Advisory Committee. He reports that
groups have gone as far as filing Freedom of Information requests for
the information. Read More
Potpourri
A selection of stories not
directly related to aquatic invasives.
Oregon lawmakers are considering a ban on
untreated firewood from out of state. Backers of the measure say it
will help prevent invasive species from devastating Northwest forests. Read
More
World Record
Alligator Gar Pulled From Mississippi Lake - Tangled in Fisherman's Net
(8+ ft long, 327 lbs) Read
More
Michigan declares war on feral pigs! Now officially
designated as an invasive species, there are 3,000 to 5,000 feral pigs
in Michigan and they are making trouble.
Learn
More
Stinkbugs are swarming across the country,
expanding into new territories and reaching new densities where they
are already in place. Native to Asia, these bugs have no natural
enemies and are a serious problem. Read More
New research has found that red fire ant
invasions around the globe in recent years can be traced to
the southern U.S. where the nuisance insect gained a foothold in the
1930s. Read More
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