Back in Bass

Two years ago, biologists "reclaimed" Maine's Durepo Lake from introduced populations of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) [translation: they poisoned the lake, killing all fish]. So you can imagine their outrage at the recent discovery of introduced smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) in the same lake. According to this report from the Bangor Daily News, at least 3 of the fish have been found so far. It is illegal to introduce any fish into any body of water in the state of Maine.

If you can't burn 'em, poison 'em

Researchers in Scotland think they've finally come up with an effective way to fight the invasive shrub Rhododendron ponticum, a Eurasian species thought by some to be the most invasive plant in the UK (what about knotweed :-)). As reported by The Scotsman, field tests have shown that injecting herbicide directly into the plant's stem can kill it within six months, at which point the dead growth can be easily removed. This method of managing infested sites is relatively inexpensive, which is sure to make it a popular choice in the years to come. The ISW fisrt posted about R. ponticum back in November 2003.

Alewife Arrival

Biologists are fairly sure that they've discovered the alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) in Lake Champlain, according to this report from TheChamplainChannel.com. It is suspected that the non-native fish traveled from a known population in the St. Lawrence River, via the Richelieu River. This would be the second body of water in Vermont in which the fish has been discovered, the first being Lake St. Catherine in the late 1990's (read a management report here (.pdf)). The alewife, while native to the Atlantic coast of the U.S., has been accidentally or intentionally introduced to many freshwater lakes.

Not-So-Rapid Assessment

NatureServe and The Nature Conservancy recently produced a tool to assess the invasiveness of non-native plant species. From the main web page, you can download .pdf versions of the documents, including instructions, data forms, and example assessments. They also released the ranked results of their own assessments (300+ down, only 3200 to go!).

Thanks to a member of the Yahoo! group ma-eppc for posting about this great new tool.

Sakhalin Sweet

Giant knotweed (Fallopia sachalinensis), Japanese knotweed's gigantic congener, just doesn't get the attention of its dimunitive cousin. So it was interesting to find a whole article focusing on giant knotweed, and even more interesting that it was written in Japan. The Japan Times published this article about the towering herb, discussing its propensity for invasiveness in the U.S. and Europe. The article also briefly touches on Japan's apparent lack of concern for environmental health.

East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet?

Officials in Alaska are sounding the alarms again, after the capture of yet another Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), this time in a gillnet at a commercial fishery near Thorne Bay. The press release has a photo of the actual offending fish, along with instructions on how to identify Atlantic salmon and what to do if you catch one.

This story reminded me of when my husband and I traveled to Seattle back in May. After a long, direct flight across the country, my Great Aunt and Uncle picked us up and took us straight to lunch. We were greeted by an incredibly perky waitress, who smiled at us and announced that the special of the day was Atlantic salmon. At this point I started laughing hysterically, probably in part because I hadn't slept in about 22 hours. But it just seemed really funny to me that anyone on the West coast would ever want farmed Atlantic salmon. Especially after we dined on wild caught Pacific salmon later that week.

The ISW first posted about this subject back in May 2002.

Bigger, Better Bounty

In what may be the best bounty hunting program ever, the Maryland location of Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World has announced that they're offering "Snakehead Reward" gift cards for any snakeheads (Channa spp.) caught in Maryland waters or the Potomac watershed. The bigger your snakehead catch, the better the giftcard, with a $50 card for fish over 24 inches. As an extra bonus, winning fishermen also get a "Snakehead Wrangler" cap from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. This faq implies the program is for northern snakeheads (Channa argus) only.