Tag Archives: Invasive Species

New York State Invasive Species Awareness Week July 9 – 17

New York Invasive Species Awareness Week July 9-17

New York DEC Encourages Partner Organizations to Host Events for the Week

Event Submissions Accepted through June 26

New York Invasive Species Awareness Week July 9-17

Ariana London, Lake Champlain Steward, completes a boater survey on her tablet computer at the Great Chazy boat launch, (photo by Meg Phillips, State Parks.)

 

New York’s fourth annual Invasive Species Awareness Week (ISAW) will be July 9-15. The annual educational campaign aims to educate New Yorkers about the negative impacts invasive species can have on our environment, economy, and health and empower residents to take action to stop the spread of these destructive pests. DEC is encouraging organizations to partner in hosting an event as part of New York’s ISAW.

“Preventing the spread of invasive species is the most effective way to fight and address the damage these species can cause to our natural resources,” said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos. “Invasive Species Awareness Week is a great opportunity to highlight some of the environmental and economic threats these species can pose and raises awareness of the many ways that all New Yorkers can help protect against unwelcome species in their communities.”

During ISAW, the eight Partnerships for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISMs), DEC, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and other state and local partners will host events to teach citizens how to identify, survey, manage, and map invasive species. Through these events, participants will gain the skills to participate in early detection and rapid response efforts in the places where they live, work, and play.

Natural resource managers depend on the public’s help now more than ever in combatting invasive species in New York. Although there has been significant strides toward controlling populations of giant hogweed, purple loosestrife, and other invaders, the eyes on the ground to detect new infestations as early as possible are essential.

The invasive fungus that causes oak wilt can spread rapidly and kill some types of oak trees in as little as two to six weeks. The aggressive submerged aquatic plant Hydrilla was recently found at a second Finger Lakes location, near the northeastern shore of Cayuga Lake. Promoting awareness of how everyday activities (pruning trees, recreational boating, gardening, camping, etc.) can facilitate the spread of invasive species will help to curb the problem.

State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, “Communities across the State have been instrumental in helping the State keep a watchful eye out for invasive species of all kinds. With their assistance, we have been able to better monitor and, as a result, slow the spread of these invasives that can damage our trees, plants and aquatic habitats, and negatively impact our State’s economy. We encourage citizens to join us during Invasive Species Awareness Week and take part in some of the activities planned to continue to educate New Yorkers on how to spot, identify and protect against these non-native species.”

Last year, partner organizations hosted more than 120 ISAW events in New York State and engaged more than 2,500 participants. These events included guided hikes and paddling events, documentary film screenings, presentations and community discussions, invasive species control projects, and others. If your organization is interested in hosting an ISAW event this summer, visit DEC’s Invasive Species Awareness Week web page to learn everything that you’ll need to know to plan a successful, well-attended event. PRISM coordinators will be accepting event submissions through June 26.

One example of an ISAW event is the iMap Invasives team teaming up with DEC and Finger Lakes Institute staff to host the second annual statewide Water Chestnut Chasers Challenge. The aim of the friendly competition is to fill in data gaps in the state’s invasive species database while teaching citizens how to survey for and report one of our most recognizable aquatic invasive species. If infestations are found early enough, there’s a good chance that a well-organized crew of volunteers can keep their favorite swimming holes and boat launches clear of this invasive floating plant. Prizes will be awarded to the individual who reports the greatest number of observations (including negative observations, i.e. no water chestnut) as well as the PRISM region with the most observations reported during the search window of July 5 through July 19.

The Partnerships for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM), Coordinator in the Lake Champlain Basin is:

Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program, Brenden Quirion, bquirion@tnc.org, (518) 576-2082

 

Find more about Lake Champlain’s invasive species at Lake Champlain Invasives


Lake Champlain

This 128-page softcover book features stunning historical images from the archives of Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and other regional collections, and includes chapters on Patriotic Sites and Celebrations; Commerce in the Canal Era; The Age of Steam; Crossing Lake Champlain; Recreational Boating; Summer and Summer Folk; Hunting and Fishing; and Winter. ‘Lake Champlain’ tells the story of this historic, busy commercial corridor and recreational destination.

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Alewives threaten Champlain salmon restoration

Alewives threaten Champlain salmon restoration

Invasive species causing a thiamine deficiency in salmon, hindering their ability to reproduce naturally

Alewives threaten Champlain salmon restoration

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Zach Eisenhauer holds 11-pound salmon he trapped on the Boquet River during a fish survey.

For years, biologists have worked to improve conditions for the native fish in Lake Champlain. They’ve removed old dams to help spawning salmon migrate up rivers and reduced the population of sea lampreys that prey on salmon and lake trout.

Now scientists are trying to fully understand how salmon are impacted by alewives, an invasive species that has become one of the main sources of food for salmon.

Alewives threaten Champlain salmon restorationAlewives were first discovered in Lake Champlain’s Missisquoi Bay in 2003. Since then, their numbers have skyrocketed. They’ve replaced native rainbow smelt as the main forage fish for Lake Champlain’s predators, and they’re likely here to stay.

“There’s not much we can do to manage alewives,” said Lance Durfey, a fisheries manager with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. “They are going to do what they are going to do, and the fish are going to use them as a prey base.”

 

Alewives, which are found from Newfoundland to North Carolina, are a type of herring that grows up to fifteen inches in length. They dwell in the Atlantic Ocean and spawn in coastal rivers. They are categorized as a “species of concern” (slightly at risk) by the National Marine Fisheries Service in their native habitat, but their numbers are high in many lakes where they aren’t native.

 

Alewives threaten Champlain salmon restoration

Lake Champlain alewife die-off

 

Alewives have been spreading to inland lakes, particularly the Great Lakes, for decades. They occasionally die in large numbers when spawning in non-native waters in the spring. At times, the shores on Lake Champlain have been lined with hundreds of the dead fish. Reasons for these die-offs may include weakness from a lack of winter food and the temperature shock of moving from deep, cold water to warmer spawning waters.

 

Alewives threaten Champlain salmon restoration

Lake Champlain alewife die-off

 

Lake Champlain is stocked with salmon, but has not had a self-sustaining population for two hundred years. Scientists are trying to nurture the population back to health, but alewives undermine those efforts by interfering with the reproductive cycle of salmon.

Alewives posess an enzyme that kills thiamine, or vitamin B1, in fish that prey on them. Since salmon consume a lot of alewives, scientists say, they end up with a deficiency of thiamine, or vitamin B1. As a result, salmon have trouble reproducing and maintaining a population naturally.

Salmon that eat alewives may grow large and appear healthy, but a shortage of vitamin B1 in their eggs leads to problems for hatchlings.

“They have development abnormalities associated with the low vitamin B1, and they can’t orient very well in the water column and they get very lethargic,” said Bill Ardren, a senior biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “It can cause really high mortality.”

Ardren said the deficiency can be overcome in hatcheries by bathing salmon eggs in a thiamine solution for thirty minutes.

Ardren also said there is evidence that low thiamine levels impact spawning adult salmon. A recent study on the Boquet River in New York showed that spawning salmon injected with thiamine were more persistent in attempts to get up cascades to their spawning ground than those salmon injected with water, which acted as a placebo.

Some salmon may be able to overcome the thiamine deficiency and the species may evolve to cope with it. Last summer college students found evidence that salmon were reproducing in the watershed.

He also said that scientists have noticed a lot of “redds,” places where salmon lay eggs in gravel, in the Winooski River in Vermont and the Boquet River. “But we are not seeing as many fry [young fish] come out of those redds as we would expect,” Ardren said.

That could be a consequence of the vitamin B1 deficiency. Or it could be the result of another problem yet undiscovered. That seems to be the case with lake trout, another large predator that eats alewives, according to Ellen Marsden, a professor at the University of Vermont at Burlington, who has studied the lake trout in Lake Champlain for twenty years.

She recently challenged the longstanding theory that alewives are interfering with the reproduction of lake trout, noting that it had been tested in hatcheries but not in the wild. “Our new hypothesis is that lake trout could get plenty of thiamine in their diet to make up stuff they are missing in the wild before they need it,” she said.

She said lake trout may get enough thiamine from zooplankton, a type of alga, soon after emerging from eggs, offsetting the deficiency at birth. She noted that the number of juvenile lake trout in the lake seems to have increased in the last few years.

 

Other Articles on the Fish of Lake Champlain:    

 

Judge’s Decision on cormorant control has Biologists feeling helpless

Judge’s Decision on Cormorants Leaves Biologists Feeling Helpless

Judge's Decision on cormorant control has Biologists feeling helpless

Biologists have been working to reduce the populations of the birds in the nesting grounds on the islands in the lake. But a federal judge’s decision suspended efforts to control the bird on Lake Champlain and in 24 eastern states.

Biologists are worried that a federal judge’s decidion to block programs that control double-crested cormorants in 24 states could set back their efforts on the birds, blamed for despoiling islands in Lake Champlain where they nest.

In other areas of the country, cormorants — sea birds with long necks and hooked bills — are blamed for eating thousands of sport fish favored by anglers and preying on fish in farms.

Vermont officials, who this time of year are usually overseeing control programs that include oiling eggs to prevent them from hatching, and shooting the birds or scaring them away, worry that even one year without the control program could see the number of cormorants on the lake increase by 21 percent.

“It will not take very long for that number to double without some active management,” said Mark Scott, wildlife director for the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, which manages about 20 islands and some sections of shoreline that have been known to host cormorants.

Judge's Decision on cormorant control has Biologists feeling helpless

 

The March decision by a judge in Washington determined that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service didn’t do its homework before issuing a pair of orders that let people kill thousands of cormorants each year to preserve vegetation in some areas and protect sport fish in 24 states and farmed fish in 13 of those states.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Laury Parramore said the agency is studying its next step.

Cormorants, which winter in the South and spend summers on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, have nested on Champlain for at least a century. They were brought to near-extinction by the pesticide DDT, and no one is sure why the numbers have increased dramatically over the last quarter-century.

Dave Capan, a retired University of Vermont biologist who is managing a cormorant program on the Four Brothers Islands, estimates there are about 1,600 breeding pairs of cormorants on the lake, down from a peak of about 4,000 about 15 years ago. The islands lie in the middle of the narrow, 120-mile long lake, are owned by the Nature Conservancy and are off limits to the public.

“They nest in very large numbers, and they kill trees on islands in the lake,” Capan said. “There are at least five or six islands in this lake that have lost most of their trees and vegetation.”

Capan disagrees with Scott’s assertion that the birds would increase by 21 percent in one year without control. He said he feels that as long as the control programs resume by next spring, there shouldn’t be any long-term setback to the control efforts.

 

Biologists Working to Save Lake Champlain's Young Island from cormorants

Cormorants have a long history of being hated by humans, said Ken Stromberg, a retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist from Denmark, Wisconsin, who was among those who filed the lawsuit against the service that led to the March decision blocking the control programs.

“A cormorant is a scapegoat for everything that consumers are unhappy about,” said Stromberg, who isn’t opposed to cormorant control programs but feels the Fish and Wildlife Service must do the required studies before issuing orders.

 

Officials Advise on Spiny Water Fleas

Officials Advise on Spiny Water Fleas

Spiny Water Fleas Spur Reminder to Anglers and Boaters on Preventing Spread of Invasive Species

Spiny Water Fleas Spur Reminder to Anglers and Boaters on Preventing Spread of Invasive Species

 

Officials advise anglers and boaters to clean, drain and dry

Recent reports of spiny water fleas becoming snagged on fishing gear used on Lake Champlain have prompted officials to urge anglers and boaters to take appropriate steps to prevent the spread of this and other harmful aquatic invasive species.

“Lake Champlain boat launch stewards have been hearing about spiny water flea sightings by anglers over the last month, and last week we removed the first sample off a downrigger cable during a routine courtesy boat inspection at the Shelburne Bay fishing access area,” said Meg Modley, aquatic invasive species management coordinator with the Lake Champlain Basin Program. “The best method for preventing the spread of spiny water fleas is simply letting them dry out, which of course applies to any fishing or boating equipment that they might attach to.”

Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department fisheries biologist Shawn Good added it’s critical that anglers thoroughly inspect their boats and gear after a day of fishing.

“Spiny water flea can cling to downrigger cables, fishing line, anchor rope and other things, so the first step is to inspect all your equipment and remove any visible globs of spiny water flea,” said Good. “Letting gear dry completely for several days will also kill all life stages of spiny water flea.”

The spiny water flea, which was first confirmed in Lake Champlain in 2014, is a non-native zooplankton roughly one-half inch in length. Spiny water fleas do not bite and pose no risk to swimmers in Lake Champlain. They prey directly on native zooplankton, and compete with other species for food resources disrupting the native aquatic food chains and changing the native aquatic community.

This invasive species originally appeared in North America in Lake Huron in 1984 and has since spread throughout the Great Lakes and beyond. It was found in both the Lake Champlain Canal near Whitehall, New York and in New York’s Lake George in 2012. It is unknown how spiny water flea entered Lake Champlain, though it may have hitchhiked overland on fishing equipment, a boat or trailer, or come through the Lake Champlain Barge Canal or Lake George’s outlet – the La Chute River – which flows into Lake Champlain in Ticonderoga, New York.

“The main key for anglers and boaters is to remember to clean, drain and dry all boats and equipment after each use,” said Eric Palmer, director of fisheries with Vermont Fish & Wildlife. “Making sure that your boat and gear is cleaned and dried before launching at another access area is critical to helping to prevent the further spread of any aquatic invasive species, including the spiny water flea.”

Rinsing with 140°F degree water is also believed to be effective in killing spiny water fleas and reducing the risk of spread.

The long tail of the spiny water flea has a number of hook-like barbs which causes it to stick to fishing line and cables trolled through the water when fishing. To reduce the risk of this happening, anglers can use specialty lines designed with specific shape and material characteristics that prevent them from latching onto the line.

For trolling, anglers can spool fishing reels with a heavier weight (larger diameter) main line, and then use a short thin leader to the lure. A heavier main line helps to keep the spiny water fleas from catching the line between their barbs and accumulating, while the smaller diameter leader allows anglers to effectively target line-shy species like trout and salmon.

For more information on preventing the spread of invasive species, visit http://www.lcbp.org/water-environment/aquatic-invasive-species/ or http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/cms/one.aspx?portalid=73163&pageid=195775.

Ghosts and Legends of Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is located between New York’s majestic Adirondacks and Vermont’s famed Green Mountains. Yet despite the beauty of this region, it has been the site of dark and mysterious events; it is not surprising that some spirits linger in this otherwise tranquil place. Fort Ticonderoga saw some of early America’s bloodiest battles, and American, French and British ghosts still stand guard.
Champlain’s islands–Stave, Crab, Valcour and Garden–all host otherworldly inhabitants, and unidentified creatures and objects have made appearances on the water, in the sky and in the forests surrounding the lake.
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Biologists Working to Save Lake Champlain’s Young Island

Biologists Working to Save Lake Champlain’s Young Island

Biologists Working to Save Lake Champlain's Young Island from cormorants

Biologists from Vermont’s Department of Fish & Wildlife have been working to rescue a state-owned island from the brink of destruction by birds.

“It’s quiet compared to the way it used to be here,” said biologist John Gobeille as he stepped from a boat onto Young Island in Lake Champlain. “You used to need earplugs.”

Now grassy and green, Young Island was barren and rocky because its surfaces had been denuded. The island was infested with shrieking ring-billed gulls and cormorants, whose toxic droppings killed vegetation.

Biologists Working to Save Lake Champlain's Young Island from cormorants

“It’s coming back,” Gobeille said, observing plant life on the island.

By applying cooking oil to the gulls’ eggs so they can’t hatch, over the past 15 years the population of ring-billed gulls is less than a tenth of the 15,000 that once dominated the island. They would bully other birds, keeping species away, Gobeille explained.

“The species diversity here had declined to only, like, two [bird] species,” Gobeille said.

For cormorants, the oil work, combined with shooting the birds in a prescribed process more than ten years ago, dramatically minimized numbers on Young Island, accorfing to fish and wildlife officials. Visitors to the lake will see cormorants at many other locations on and around the water.

Now, with the gull numbers down on Young Island, Mark Scott, the wildlife director of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, said birds including the black duck and the common tern have been able to nest on the island again. The common tern, despite its name, is listed as a state-endangered species in Vermont.

Scott and Gobeille noted the department has planted trees and ground-covering plants to replace what the invaders killed. Not only would the birds’ acidic waste prevent plants from growing, but the birds would also defoliate trees and shrubs to build nests, Gobeille explained, turning the island into something resembling the surface of the moon.

Despite the turnaround in Young Island’s appearance, there is a lot more habitat restoration work that needs to be done on Lake Champlain. The department said it is currently watching five other state-owned islands, one private island through financial backing of the landowner, and another private island where the state deters birds that may interfere with nesting of the common tern.

Biologists Working to Save Lake Champlain's Young Island from cormorants

Thousands of cormorants are still damaging other land, boaters and fishermen have reported in recent years. Many sportsmen also believe the cormorants are robbing the lake of fish by gobbling up perch and smelt.

Fishermen have long complained about the cormorants, insisting that more needs to be done to control cormorants.

“The challenge comes down to money; you know, economics,” Scott told necn. “People say, ‘Well, why don’t you just let people go out and hunt [cormorants] on their own? Well, they’re not classified as a game species under federal law.”

Even with more challenges ahead, the transformation of Young Island has left the department optimistic that habitat management can work.

Scott said the department does its gull and cormorant work with just over $40,000 in state funding, but to be more effective, the team would need $100,000 in additional monies from federal grants, state appropriations, non-profit support, or other sources.

Other Articles About Lake Champlain Islands:   List of Lake Champlain's Islands