The Invasive Species Bulletin provides you with all the latest news on invasive species in Montana and the region. Please let us know if you have any suggestions, contributions, questions, corrections, or comments. Email: scriswell@mt.gov
FIREWOOD AWARENESS MONTH
The Don’t Move Firewood and Hungry Pests campaigns are excited to co-facilitate Firewood Awareness Month in October! The goal of Firewood Awareness Month is to raise public awareness about firewood movement as a forest pest and disease pathway.
Resources:
Firewood Month Toolkit and more
Firewood Outreach Coordinating Initiative (FOCI) Newsletter
Feral hog shot dead in East Idaho
Idaho State Journal | Oct. 15, 2020
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office notified the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Jefferson County Senior Animal Control Officer Evan Smith and Idaho Fish and Game conservation officer Devin Skidmore estimated the hog weighed about 150 pounds and was a few years old. It looked like she'd had a litter at some point. Read more.
Photo: A section of grass disturbed by a feral pig on Andrus farm in Jefferson County, Idaho.
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Long been a problem in the United States, feral swine are increasingly a challenge for Canadian wildlife agencies. Credit: USDA-Wildlife Services
Cross-border cooperation nets feral swine boar
The Wildlife Society | Sept. 14., 2020
Cooperation is often the key to successful wildlife management, especially when the species crosses international borders. Feral swine, also wild pigs (Sus scrofa) in the United States are widely accepted as a significant threat to natural resources and agriculture. Our neighbors to the north also recognize this same unfortunate fact and recently reached out to Wildlife Services in New York for help. Read more.
Alien species to increase by 36% worldwide by 2050
ScienceDaily | Oct. 1, 2020
The number of alien (non-native) species, particularly insects, arthropods and birds, is expected to increase globally by 36% by the middle of this century, compared to 2005, finds new research. Read more.
Scientists predict potential spread, habitat of invasive Asian giant hornet
ScienceDaily | Sept. 23, 2020
Researchers have predicted how and where the Asian giant hornet, an invasive newcomer to the Pacific Northwest, popularly dubbed the 'murder hornet,' could spread and find ideal habitat, both in the United States and globally. Read more.
Germany responds to African Swine Flu outbreak
Foreign Animal Disease Preparation Bulletin | Sept. 29, 2020
German pork producers will likely remember Sept. 10, 2020, as the day African swine fever (ASF) was confirmed in a single wild boar near the Polish border in Brandenburg state. Nearly three weeks later in Europe’s largest pork-producing country, that toll now stands at 35 confirmed cases (all in wild boar) and counting. Read more.
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South Dakota is shifting zebra mussel defense
KELO Media Group | Oct. 2, 2020
South Dakota’s battle against zebra mussels and other invasive aquatic species will focus more on defending western reservoirs next year, according to state government’s top fisheries official. John Lott laid out the 2021 plan Friday for the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission. He said the emphasis will be on protecting the large western reservoirs of Angostura, Pactola, Sheridan, Belle Fourche, and Shadehill. There haven’t been any confirmed discoveries of zebra mussels in them. Read more.
Invasive jumping worms damage U.S. soil and threaten forests
ScienceNews | Sept. 29
What could be more 2020 than an ongoing invasion of jumping worms? These earthworms are wriggling their way across the United States, voraciously devouring protective forest leaf litter and leaving behind bare, denuded soil. They displace other earthworms, centipedes, salamanders and ground-nesting birds, and disrupt forest food chains. They can invade more than five hectares in a single year, changing soil chemistry and microbial communities as they go, new research shows. And they don’t even need mates to reproduce. Read more.
Photo: Brad Herrick of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum holds a handful of invasive Asian jumping worms. Two of the three invasive worm species spreading across the United States have been found in Wisconsin: Amynthas agrestis and A. tokioensis. UW–Madison Arboretum
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AIS Pass required for nonresident hunters with boats
FWP reminds nonresidents hunters planning to bring their watercraft into Montana that they must purchase a Vessel AIS Prevention Pass (AISPP) before launching on state waters. The Vessel AISPP was initiated by the 2019 Montana Legislature to help fund the fight against aquatic invasive species. Nonresidents can purchase the pass at any FWP office or online at http://fwp.mt.gov and click on the License: Buy/Apply bar on the right. Boat owners must carry a paper or digital receipt as proof of purchase. The pass expires on Dec. 31 each year and is not transferable between vessels.
Montana dive team created to fight aquatic invasive species
Billings, MT - AP | Oct 10., 2020
Aquatic invasive species are like the COVID-19 of streams and lakes. It takes only one watercraft to become a super spreader, introducing an invader like Eurasian watermilfoil or zebra mussels to a waterway. When an invader is detected, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks now has an “A Team” it can call. Last year the group created a six-member dive team pulling volunteers from across its Aquatic Invasive Species staff. Prior to that, the agency used the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s divers for mussel-type events, but it can take time for them to assemble and drive to Montana when time is of the essence. Read more.
AIS inspections wrap up with Governor's Award
The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks AIS team with members covering the entire state, managing 24 inspection stations and 10 offices, just won a 2020 Governor's Award that honors and recognizes exceptional state employees.The Montana FWP AIS prevention team has inspected over 700 boats this year. All watercrafts, motorized and nonmotorized, must be inspected before being launched in Montana waterways.
The Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Team Award was given to Zach Crete, Jayden Duckworth, Jacob Effertz, Sean Flynn, Jessi Gudgel, Garland Hamilton, Russ Hartzell, Kim Howell, Austin Jaynes, Gail Johnson, Liz Lodman, Larry Lytle, Craig McLane, Kathi Montgomery, Beth Morgan-Giddings, John O'Bannon, Stacy Schmidt, and Tom Woolf.
More news:
MT FWP Aquatic Invasive Species Newsletter- Aug/Sept 2020
Federal Task Force Feral Swine News-October 2020
MSU Extension Service Weed Post / Leafy Spurge - October 2020
Western Integrated Pest Management Center News - September 2020
Events
10th Annual Roundtable on the Crown of the Continent - Recorded, Sept. 28
Washington Weed and Invasive Species Conference, Nov. 3-6, Virtual
Upper Columbia Conservation Commission (UC3) Nov. 4,1:30-3:30 pm, Zoom
North American Lake Management Society, Nov. 16-20, Virtual Seminar
MISC Meeting, Dec. 2, Helena/Virtual
100th Meridian Initiative Columbia River Basin AIS Team, Dec. 2-3, Virtual
ANS Task Force Meeting, Dec. 8-10, 2020; Virtual
Innovations in Invasive Species Management Conference Training, Dec. 14-17, Nashville, TN
North American Invasive Species Forum, May 18-20, 2021 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Webinars
Invasive Mussel Collaborative
October 28, 9-10:30 am - Using Boater Data to Inform Risk Models
Please join us for a webinar to discuss the development of invasive mussel risk models informed by watercraft inspection and boater movement data. This webinar will feature the ARMOR model, built in New York to streamline the process of boat inspections for invasive species management, and a predictive model for Minnesota assessing the likelihood of overland transport of invasive mussels on recreational boats. REGISTER.
NAISMA 2020 Webinar Series
Mark your calendars for the 3rd Wednesday of every month.
Any member of the public can register for a webinar and view it when it is live.
MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER
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October 28, 10 am – 2 pm CT - Biocontrol Summit. This summit will bring together weed biocontrol researchers and land managers to share the status of biocontrol research and implementation programs from various regions across the US and Canada as well as updates from our European and other international collaborators.
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November 18, 1 pm CT - The ABCs of Invasive Species Organizations and How They Work Together. Sometimes invasive species organizations can be as invasive as the organizations that they are trying to protect us from and educate us about. This presentation will give an overview of the major national organizations and what their individual focus is. It will highlight their scope, membership and the taxa that they concentration on.
Columbia Basin Cooperative Weed Management Area - Fall Webinar
Thursday, November 12 | 9 am-12 pm pacific time
The Columbia Basin CWMA will share information partner efforts and future activities on flowering rush. State and provincial partners will share progress on flowering rush management. Additional presentations on biocontrol advancements, innovative control techniques, and distribution of molecular strains are included in the agenda.
Please REGISTER for Columbia Basin CWMA Fall Webinar. After registering watch for a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. An agenda will be circulated in the coming weeks.
Jobs
Great Basin Institute, Boulder City, Nevada, United States
Position Summary: Working collaboratively with Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LAKE), the Great Basin Institute is recruiting an Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Research Associate to participate in activities focused on preventing the spread of AIS by recreational watercraft. This position will support the Lake Mead Water Resources group, Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), and Arizona Department of Fish and Game (AZDFG) Aquatic Invasive Species Programs through maintenance of decontamination units, conducting vessel inspections and decontaminations, boater education on AIS, and assisting with research and monitoring aimed at better understanding and managing AIS.
Job ID: 14895. Agency: South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks/Division of Wildlife. Location: Negotiable. Salary: $24.10 - $30.15 per hour, depending on experience. Closing Date: 10/27/2020
Funding Opportunities
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