Eastern Hemlocks are not schoolgirls, but they are the state tree of Pennsylvania

This article from The Morning Call has a silly introduction, but is worth a read. Pennsylvania, refusing to let their Eastern hemlock trees (Tsuga canadensis) die a white, crusty death via the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae), is releasing tens of thousands of beetles (Pseudoscymnus tsugae) in the hopes of controlling the nasty creatures. Here's wishing the tiny beetles good luck, and please don't eat anything native!

California Caulerpa Kaput...almost

Efforts to remove the invasive algae Caulerpa taxifolia from the Agua Hedionda lagoon in San Diego have been very successful, according to this SanDiegoChannel.com story. Smart state and federal officials will continue to monitor the lagoon and deal with any flare ups over the next several years.

Swan Song?

An annoying Mute swan (Cygnus olor) frequenting the Eel River in Plymouth, MA is being given one last chance to learn to avoid humans before town officials vote to ship it off to a wildlife sanctuary. According to this story in the Boston Globe, the swan is a danger to people using the river for activities like boating and fishing. Plymouth will have to get approval from the state to move the swan; it appears that euthanization is the preferred method of dealing with aggressive wild animals.

Go to Hells Canyon

From the Voice of America website comes this story about the weeds that threaten Hells Canyon. The canyon, located between Idaho and Oregon, is being overrun by species like Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) and Yellow star thistle (Centaurea solstitialis). Scientists and local officials have armed themselves with an arsenal of weapons to fight back, including herbicides, biological controls, and GIS.

Beetle Mania

The state of Washington is serious about preventing the spread of the recently introduced Citrus long-horned beetle (Anoplophora chinensis). Homeowners that live near the nursery where the introduction occurred are serious about protecting their trees, which state officials want to cut down as a precautionary measure. The resulting clash has made its way to court, where a judge will decide whether the state has the right to enter private property and chop down the trees. Read the whole story from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Massachusetts is Going Hogweed Wild

Possibly convinced that this is the next Snakehead, local media outlets are going crazy today announcing the "arrival" of Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) in Massachusetts. Describing the species as "evil", this story from the Boston Globe describes the accidental discovery of a plant growing on farmland in Granville, MA. What makes this species more troublesome than most other well-known invasives is that its sap is phototoxic, meaning that if it is on your skin, when exposed to sunlight you will break out in a nasty blistering rash.

And now for something Completely Different...

Are weeds a form of terrorism? Well, probably not, but they make a good analogy for terrorism in this interesting article from the National Review Online. See, Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense) is like the al Qaeda, and the U.S. Army is like thousands of gardeners carrying big tanks of Roundup...