A periodic reassessment of invasive species in the marine environment in New England has revealed…nothing new. That’s good given the list of potentially disastrous introductions that could occur (think Caulerpa taxifolia, mitten crab, or rapa whelk). RINHS was involved in the previous assessment, in 2001, and has been following the current assessment from a distance through its partners, NBEP and RI Aquatic Invasive Species Working Group. Species lists from both assessments will be included in RINHS’s BORIIS database. Get the full story here:

link to story on seacoastonline.com

Okay, we get this question from time to time: why don’t we encourage people to develop a palate for invasive species as a way to control them? The usual answer is that encouraging human uses of invasive species encourages people to move them around, either intentionally, to create new populations for exploitation, or accidentally, because they’re bringing them along to cook later and they escape.

But here’s an interesting example from today’s news: Officials from NOAA are encouraging the development of a market for lionfish meat and a fishery to supply it as a way to control explosive population growth of a highly destructive invasive species.

Story at MSNBC

I’d like to know how they taste dredged through a thick beer batter and fried and served on a pile of french fries and a generous slosh of vinegar.

Volunteers are needed to pull water chestnut from Chapman Pond, Westerly, this Saturday, July 17, from 9 to Noon. Westerly Land Trust and RINHS are organizing a morning sortie to combat the invasive pond weed water chestnut in Chapman Pond. The infestation in Westerly, the third detected in Rhode Island, was found in 2009. It is growing extensively around the northeast corner of the pond. In fall 2009 a similar effort removed over 1,600 pounds of weed. Volunteers with canoes or boats suitable to the shallow, weed choked waters are welcome, but boat-less volunteers are also very welcome. They can sign on as a deck hand in someone else’s boat or help land the catch and put it into the roll-off. Bring life jackets, sun screen and sun hats, drinking water, and gloves that can get wet. Meet at the boat ramp at the north west corner of the pond, off of Rt 91 on the road to the Westerly town dump/transfer station.

View Chapman Pond, Westerly in a larger map

We received this urgent message at the office this morning. For more information on ALB follow the links below or see the other RINHS articles at:
http://www.rinhs.org/category/invasives/

Anyone who’s been to Worcester in the last 12 months knows this is potentially very big news, news that will likely come with a multi-million dollar price tag and change the face of Boston for a century. We will post more information at it is available.

***BREAKING NEWS***

—–Original Message—–
From: Massachusetts Introduced Pests Outreach Project [mailto:pestalert@massnrc.org]
Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 11:51 AM
To: Ellis, Donna
Subject: Asian longhorned beetle found in Boston

This weekend a small infestation of Asian longhorned beetle was found in Jamaica Plain (Boston). The site is at Faulkner Hospital, just across from the Arnold Arboretum. Six infested maple trees were found so far, in close proximity to each other, and have already been removed by USDA/DCR. Surveys will continue this week to determine the extent of the infestation.

It is extremely important that we get the word out ASAP to everyone in the Boston, Brookline and Newton area to be on the lookout for:

1) Adult Asian longhorned beetles (shiny black beetles with white spots and long, banded antennae)

2) ALB exit holes (dime-sized, perfectly round holes, especially in maple, but also in birch, elm, horse chestnut, willow and other hardwood trees.but not oak)

3) ALB egg-laying sites (divots in the bark ranging in size from 1/4 to 3/4 inches across – fresh pits often have oozing, foaming sap)

Anyone seeing anything suspicious should report it immediately at http://massnrc.org/pests/albreport.aspx or call toll-free: 1-866-702-9938. Take photos if you can.

If you are with an environmental group or other organization that needs outreach materials, the Mass. Dept. of Agricultural Resources will provide you with ID cards, fact sheets, etc., for free. MDAR can also provide public speakers for ALB training sessions. Contact jennifer.forman-orth@state.ma.us or call 617-626-1735 for more info.

Spread the word, not the beetle! Get all the latest ALB news at: http://massnrc.org/pests/alb

The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) has published an identification guide to Connecticut’s invasive aquatic and wetland plants. It can be downloaded via the below link (.pdf format, 8.8 MB). It’s dandy, so all you invasive species busters out there should take a look!
Conn. Ag. Exp. Sta. Guide

–WEBSITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION–

Forest Invasive Plant Management Certification: March 5^th & 8^th 2010

The Forest Invasive Plant Management Certification will provide contractors with the necessary technical knowledge to control invasive species in and near forests using best management practices. This certification will also qualify contractors to bid on 2010 and 2011 Forest Health Works Projects.  The March 5^th & 8^th certification combines classroom and field-based training and will cover:

• Invasive plant ID
• Best management practices for invasives
• Invasive Site visits and control demonstrations
• Bidding Process
• & More (Tentative Agenda coming soon)

Intended Audience: On-Site, Hands-on Contractors

This certification is being offered in conjunction with the CRMC Coastal Invasive Plant Management Certification.   For more information, please contact jbarnes@rinhs.org. Or come to a 30 minute informational sessions about the FHWP projects, bidding process, and certification  Feb 2nd & Feb 8th, 4:30pm at Weaver Auditorium in the Coastal Institute building on URI’s Kingston campus. MAP/DIRECTIONS

The joint application is available HERE.  The fee for the Forest Invasive Plant Management Certification is $100 for 1.5 days of training which includes instruction, handouts, and March 5^th lunch. $80 job training scholarships for contractors are available through the RINHS.  These funds are provided by the U.S. Forest Service through a grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

How to Apply for a Forest Certification Scholarship

To apply please submit:

• The Application
• $20 Check (Payable to RI Natural History Survey — don’t include the full $100)
• A cover letter describing your business, your business goals, and why you would benefit from this training (no more than one page total).

Scholarship spots are limited to the first 15 qualifying applicants. Interested contractors should submit materials by February 19^th.  For more information, please contact jbarnes@rinhs.org.

Volunteers are needed to pull Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) at Burlingame State Campground, in Charlestown, RI, Thursday, August 13th, 2009, at 10:00 a.m.

RI Department of Environmental Management Park Naturalist Neil Anthes will lead the charge against this big-time bad guy of the plant world.

Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum), is an annual grass, native to Southeast Asia. The grass is believed to have arrived in the US in a packing crate of china delivered from Asia, and was first noted in Tennessee in 1919. Since then it has spread north and east.

Japanese stiltgrass can be most readily identified by the iridescent, silvery mid-vein on the upper leaf surface, and the “stilt-like” nature of the roots as they extend down from each leaf node.

In Rhode Island, the grass is considered an “early detection” species, of which there are five known locations throughout the state. The Burlingame site is largest of these, and includes locations within the adjacent Audubon Society of RI’s Kimball Refuge. It is found at camp sites and trail sides throughout the campground.

Japanese stiltgrass is of particular concern in forest environments, as it is well adapted to growing in low light conditions. The grass grows rapidly from July to September, forming dense mats, which cover existing native vegetation. Over the course of two seasons, dense stands of Japanese stiltgrass can out compete, and replace native herbaceous species. The grass is tolerant of moist conditions and so has the potential to spread throughout the wetland habitats surrounding the campground and along the Watchaug Pond shoreline. The seeds are buoyant and are easily carried through drainage ditches and streams. The seeds are also equipped with awns at the tip, which facilitate dispersal. The awns attach to bicycle tires, boots treads, animal fur etc. and then are carried further into the surrounding woodland habitat.

Because it is an annual, pulling before seed-set is an effective eradication technique. Removal of the grass by hand is easy, as it has short fibrous roots. August is the ideal time to pull the grass, as most of the seeds have germinated but most plants are only beginning to flower.

Please bring gloves and plenty of water, insect repellent and a lunch.

For more information and to sign up please contact either Neil Anthes via email at the following address: undefinedrecords@yahoo.com or Hope Leeson at the Rhode Island Natural History Survey (401) 874-5800, or hleeson@rinhs.org

Rhode Island Tree Council Announces Dates for Asian Longhorned Beetle Survey Trainings

Rhode Island’s trees need your help!  Last August, the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) was found in Worcester, Massachusetts, less than thirty miles from Rhode Island. This invasive pest is responsible for the devastation of over 25,000 of Worcester’s city and residential trees. Through a cooperative effort with USDA and Animal Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS), the RI Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) is coordinating a comprehensive outreach & detection program for the Asian Longhorned Beetle and the Emerald Ash Borer, both highly detrimental invasive pests. RIDEM has partnered with the Rhode Island Tree Council to implement this program. Both RIDEM and the RI Tree Council will be conducting outreach and surveillance activities in August, during the peak time of the adult emergence of the Asian Longhorned Beetle, and need your help in the effort to keep Rhode Island ALB free!

The Asian Longhorned Beetle came to the United States in wood shipping crates from China and Korea over ten years ago and has wreaked havoc in New York, New Jersey, and Chicago. This beetle has the potential to wipe out millions of Rhode Island trees if it goes undetected. History has shown that public education is key to detection of this destructive pest.

RIDEM and the RI Tree Council are hosting sessions to provide information on the signs and symptoms of injury of these insects to increase awareness to you and the general public. In addition, we are also seeking volunteers to assist us in the survey activities planned during the month of August.

The upcoming dates of the training sessions are as follows:
9:30am-12pm, Thursday, July 16th at George Washington Management Area in Chepachet
9:30am-12pm, Friday, July 17th at The Warwick Public Library, small conference room
9:30am-12pm, Saturday, July 18th at Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, 399 Fruit Hill Ave., N. Providence
6pm-8:30pm, Monday, July 20th at The Warwick Public Library, large conference room

Surveys for beetles will be held in Warwick and Cranston in August, dates to be announced.

If you are interested in the trainings or surveys or you have any questions or need additional information visit www.ritree.org or contact the RI Tree Council’s ALB coordinator, Kate Sayles, at 401-764-5885 or albfreeri[at]gmail.com (make the usual substitution of [at] for @).

Have You Seen This Plant?

Two new observations of Mile-a-Minute Vine (Persicaria perfoliata, syn. Polygonum perfoliatum) were made in Rhode Island in September 2008, resulting in a total of three known locations, in three Rhode Island municipalities.

Mile-a-Minute Vine was first reported growing wild in Pennsylvania in the late 1930’s, and has spread north from there. Connecticut has eighteen known locations; most of which occur in the southwestern part of the state. Massachusetts has two locations. No sites are known for New Hampshire, Maine or Vermont. For this reason, land conservationists are pushing to eliminate Mile-a-Minute Vine in New England before it becomes pervasive. Experience from Connecticut has shown that while seeds are dispersed by natural means (birds, rodents and water), the primary mode of distribution is through humans moving soil or plant material that contain the seed.

Mile-a-Minute Vine is a highly invasive herbaceous vine that is native to Eastern Asia. The name, Mile-a-Minute Vine, comes from the plant’s ability to grow as much as 6 inches in one day; making Black Swallowwort seem like a slow-growing lichen. By the end of the growing season, plants form dense mats over existing vegetation. Although the species is an annual, vines persist through the winter giving new seedlings an ample armature on which to grow. Successive years of growth result in the death of underlying shrubs and herbaceous vegetation. The plant has been dubbed, “the Kudzu of the north”.

Mile-a-Minute Vine is tolerant of many growing conditions, with a preference for sunny, moist soils. The stem is covered with numerous downward pointing prickles, which give the plant its alternate common name, “Asian Tear-thumb.” The leaves are 1″ to 3” wide, forming a nearly perfect equilateral triangle. Prickles also occur along the mid-vein. A distinctive, saucer shaped leaf encircles the stem at each node. Seeds germinate in early to mid-May, with vines growing throughout the summer. Small white flowers appear in late August, and by September, the plant produces bright metallic blue berries which are fed on by birds and rodents. The fruits are buoyant, so preventing spread along water courses is of primary concern. The dense, barbed growth greatly impairs access to areas for people and wildlife, and some have nick-named Mile-a-Minute Vine “The Velcro Plant” because of the clinging nature of the stems.

Control of small populations is best achieved by hand pulling plants throughout the growing season, before fruit is set (generally mid-June to late September). Seeds remain viable in the soil for about seven years, so sites need annual attention to eradicate the plant. Herbicides, in the form of pre and post-emergent sprays, have also been effective, but must be used with a surfactant, and in accordance with the Label and state pesticide regulations.

Please help find and control this invasive plant. Click on the images above to enlarge the Mile-a-Minute Vine photos taken by Kim Gaffett on Block Island last fall. For more information, or to report a citing, call the Survey office at: (401)874-5800, send an email to: hleeson@rinhs.org, or go to the “RI Invasive Species Portal” at www.rinhs.org; and follow links to “contribute data”.

Several web sites can provide useful information on control and photographs of the plant to aid in identification: www.hort.uconn.edu/cipwg and www.nps.gov/plants/ALIEN/fact/pepe1.htm. 

Here’s an idea from Jung Seeds & Plants, a nursery outfit in Wisconsin. This picture is from the cover of their Spring 2009 catalog:

Is your local land trust having a problem keeping the fields clear of bittersweet? Having trouble getting beyond a certain fundraising threshold? With bittersweet going for $16 a plant, now you can solve BOTH problems! Earn $10, $20, even $30,000 a month just by digging and mailing. Request a catalog from Jung yourself and find out how!

Or better yet, email your state representative and ask him or her why Rhode Island doesn’t have invasive plant legislation similar to Conn. and Mass. to make it illegal to sell plants that someone else is only going to have to eradicate? Is this some scheme to ensure full employment for herbicide manufacturers? You won’t know if you don’t ask.