Pick Your Poison

The results are in: State officials in Maryland have decided to deal with the Snakeheads (Channa spp.) in a Crofton pond by poisoning the entire pond. After using herbicides to kill the pond's vegetation, the fish-killer Rotenone will be applied. Eradication has its costs, in this case it is the sacrifice of the entire flora and fauna of a pond. Hopefully the Snakeheads won't use their ability to walk on land to escape to a new body of water.

Purple Rage

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this story about a several county effort to document populations of the invasive wetland plant Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) in Wisconsin. Researchers hope to take the survey statewide by next year; the last state survey for Purple Loosestrife was done back in 1987. Be sure to check out the link to a nice graphic showing the current mapped distribution.

Making Money Fighting Weeds

South Africa has started a poverty-relief program where teams of workers are trained to recognize and remove alien plant species. This is part of the Ukuvuka Operation Firestop program, whose goal is to rid the region of invasive plants that are one of many causes of devastating alterations to the fire regime. The workers get paid by the Cape Peninsula National Park to remove pine trees and spray other invasive plants with herbicide. No info on exactly which species they are targeting, perhaps because South Africa has so many of them.

Raising Snakehead Awareness

Yahoo News is reporting that the now notorious Snakehead fish (Channa spp.) has been found in Lake Wylie in North Carolina. It is likely that many other accounts of this species in the wild will start to crop up across the country, now that awareness has been raised. As of right now, it is still legal to import Snakeheads in North Carolina, and in many other states as well. Here are some recipes in case you find one yourself and want to eat it.

The Beetles make a comeback...

...but without Ringo (yes, different spelling, I know). The Chicago Tribune is reporting that a lone Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) was found in Chicago on July 29. Researchers are paying careful attention to this beetle sighting, as they are trying their best to accomplish a very difficult goal: complete eradication of the species from the area.

Lions and Tigers and Hogweed, oh my!

WBZ Radio is reporting today that Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) has been found at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, MA. The plants, which have been removed, were originally mistaken for a smaller, less dangerous relative, Cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris). The state Department of Food and Agriculture has received over 100 reports of sighting of Giant hogweed since the alert went out last week.

Yes, New York, there is a Sandy Claws

A former importer of seafood has been charged with illegally importing over a thousand Chinese mitten crabs (Eriocheir sinensis) into New York last year, according to this story posted at OnlineMariner.com. The crabs now thrive on the west coast of the U.S., but they have not yet established on the east coast. Though it is illegal to import the crabs for any reason other than scientific research, they have shown up in Chinese markets in Queens, New York, where they fetch a high price.

(Thanks to a member of the ALIENS-L listserver for posting a link to this article)