Colorado Crawdads

The USGS reported that rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) were found last year in the Yampa River, Colorado. This is the first record for this East Coast crayfish in Colorado. Read more about Colorado's response at the Western Slope Anglers Forum.

Camel Pose

Forget goats or sheep...or beetles! A Colorado rancher wants to enlist *camels* in the battle against the invasive shrub known as tamarisk (saltcedar, Tamarix spp.).

Rocky Mountain Hi!

Dr. Sharlene Sing sent in this unique summer job opportunity for students with a penchant for destroying invasive species and hiking the wilds of the Western US:

The USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station – Weed Biocontrol Team seeks biological science technicians to support our ongoing field, lab, garden and greenhouse research projects. These positions are available only to students currently enrolled in a college/university degree program who are U.S. citizens. This work is physically demanding and frequently involves working long hours, driving to remote field sites, hiking and working in rough terrain, and exposure to extremes of weather. Lodging and per diem costs will be covered when occasional overnight travel is required. Housing while at the duty station (Bozeman) is not provided. Applicants should have a valid driver’s license, and an interest or prior work experience in weed/vegetation/range/wildlife management, biology, ecology, botany, entomology, horticulture, or related area. Salary is commensurate with training and experience (GS-03 = $11.74/hr, GS-04 = $13.18/hr, GS-5 = $14.74/hr). Please contact Dr. Sharlene Sing, ssing AT fs.fed.us for further information about these positions.

To apply, submit: 1) a transcript (=screen capture image of transcript), 2) a resume (=year, date-to-date employed, where you worked, what you did, hours worked/week), 3) a confirmation letter from your university that you are eligible and/or enrolled for the Fall 2009 term, and 4) the names and phone numbers of three references to Donna Marchwick (dmarchwick AT fs.fed.us) Forestry Sciences Laboratory, 1648 S. 7th Avenue, Bozeman MT 59717-2780 (phone: 406-994-4852; fax: 406-994-5916).

Quaker Notes

Some invasive species are definitely best kept indoors. Take, for example, the Quaker parakeet (monk parrot, Myiopsitta monachus) featured in this Yahoo! News story. The adorable bird, named Willie, recently saved the life of a little girl by screaming "Mama! Baby!" until the babysitter came into the room and realized that the girl was choking. Luckily girl and parrot are both okay. Something tells me Willie got an extra treat that day, and some scratchies, too :-). If this story isn't already sweet enough for you, check out Cute Overload!'s version of the story, which comes with extra shots of cute Quakers.

Coo And The Gang

Residents of Colorado are being asked to keep an eye out for the Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) this season, according to this story in Fort Collins Coloradoan. The request has been put out by Project FeederWatch, an effort from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to track birds at feeders across the USA. The dove, which just a few years ago was considered a rare sight, was detected at more than 20% of Colorado FeederWatch sites in 2007.

Why Not Us?

Back in January 2007, an article in the Denver Post asked an interesting question: Why did the quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis), found in several states in the Northeast USA, seem to skip over Colorado in its spread to the west, and end up in Nevada (in Lake Mead)? Well, ask no more, Denver Post. KOAA.com and others are reporting that the quagga mussel has been discovered for the first time in Colorado, in Lake Granby. The lake is actually a storage reservoir located on the Colorado River, which has already seen quagga mussel incursions via its southern tip...Lake Mead. The quaggas are thought to have arrived in the reservoir via ballast discharge.

Pair this with the discovery of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) in Lake Pueblo in late 2007, and Colorado has no need to feel left out any more!

Post, Nuclear

The Post-Standard is reporting that zebra and quagga mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and D. bugensis) were indirectly responsible for the shut-down of a nuclear power plant on three different occasions last September and October. The James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in New York relies on water intake pipes from Lake Ontario, which is inhabited by both mussel species. While the official cause of the shutdowns was wave action leading to the clogging of the intake pipes with the green alga Cladophora, the mussels are being blamed for the proliferation of algae since 1) they don't eat it 2) their filtering abilities are clearing up the lake, allowing sunlight to reach lower depths and spurring the production of more Cladophora and 3) their waste products act as fertilizer to further enhance algae production. Plant workers have responded by enhancing the screens and other contraptions in place to keep the intake pipes clear.

Update: In related news, the mussels discovered late last year in the Pueblo Reservoir in Colorado have turned out to be zebra mussels - a new species for that state. (If you follow the ISW Twitter feed, you found that out about six hours ago.)

(Tip of the virtual hat to the Protect Your Waters website for linking to the power plant story.)

Hoofin' It

Sounds like hooved beasts are causing trouble in the invasive species world this week. Newswise recently posted this report about new research suggesting that horses are in part responsible for spreading non-native plants along trails in Colorado. Scientists picked through road apples and discovered that the horses were carrying a lot of alien seed in their feces. While there was no particular species that the horses are being blamed for spreading, the research does remind us that horses are potential vectors of invasive plants and should not be overlooked. Kudos to the journal Rangeland Ecology & Management for making the full paper available online for free.

Over in Wisconsin, deer hunting season is about to start, and this year hunters will be helping collect data on invasive plants. Every deer brought in to the Department of Natural Resources for registration will have its hooves checked for invasive plants. Students from Luther College in Iowa will be assisting the Wisconsin DNR in collecting the data. Here's hoping we hear back from them on their findings - they say this is the first study of its kind for white-tail deer (Odocoileus virginianus, native to the US), and the results should be interesting. WKBT.com has the full story.

Thanks to budak for sending in a link to the horse tale. If you have an interesting invasive species story that you would like to share, send it in by clicking on the "Suggest a Post" link in the top right corner.