If you have an invasive species news item you would like to submit, please send it to:
fndmj@uaf.edu

RECALL OF PRODUCTS FROM SCOTTS CO.
"The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has issued two recalls of Scotts Co. brand products found to be in violation of EPA regulations. Please read the following notices for details on the products, and information on returning the products.
Calling it a serious violation of its system for protecting public health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered Scotts Miracle Gro Company and its affiliates on April 14, 2008 to stop selling certain pesticides because they are not properly registered and labeled."
FACTSCottsCoRecall_4-08_(2).doc
FACTSCottsCoRecall_4-08_(2).pdf
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered The Scotts Company to stop selling and distributing an additional two lawn and garden pesticide products that were not properly labeled. The U.S. EPA has concluded that the Scotts products are mislabeled/misbranded resulting in an immediate cancellation of EPA registrations for both subject products. Pesticide products must be registered with the EPA and ADEC to protect public health and the environment before they can be sold in Alaska. The EPA registration process provides consumers with assurance that the products are safe when used in accordance with instructions on labels "
RoseScottsCoRecall_4-08_(2)_second_recall4-28-08.doc
RoseScottsCoRecall_4-08_(2)_second_recall4-28-08.pdf

Rats wipe out seabirds on Alaskan island
USA Today article describes wildlife refuge program to prevent rats from getting on ships, shipwreck (rats spill response) and a proposal to eradicate rats from an refuge island. An Environmental Assessment is in preparation and will be made public by the end of the year or sooner.
www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-11-28-rats_N.htm

Radio piece on aquatic invasives
aprn.org/2007/11/01/invasion-of-the-atlantic-salmon/
Link to the APRN radio broadcast audio from November 1. Linda Shaw and Lisa Ka'aihue contributed to the story

Comment period ends September 10, 2008
EPA Draft Effects of Climate on Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) and Implications for Management and Research (EPA-HQ-ORD 2007-0666)

Link to Comment Period Notice with contact information and resource links
Link to the external review draft (EPA National Center for Environmental Assessment): http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=180043

Summary:
This draft report addresses the potential effects of climate change on Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) and consequences for their management, and describes apparent research gaps. The report is intended for managers and scientists working with AIS to provide them with information on the potential effects of climate change on AIS, strategies for adapting their management to accommodate these environmental changes, and highlight further research needs and gaps. The literature review that introduces this report shows that important progress has been made in identifying climate change effects on invasive species, but that our understanding of effects on specific species and interactions of other stressors needs to be improved. Following the literature review is an analysis of existing AIS management plans to assess the capacity of states to modify or adapt their management activities to account for climate change effects. The assessment shows that most states currently do not explicitly consider climate change in their aquatic invasive species management plans, but that many plans can incorporate new information on changing environmental conditions. Finally, this report compares information needs of AIS managers with current research to determine where gaps exist. Overall, more information and research are needed on many aspects of the effects of climate change on AIS.

Alaska Forum on the Environment 2008
Call for Films: Due November 1, 2007
See .pdf document for information about submitting films on invasive species for the 2008 Alaska Forum on the Environment Film Festival.

Additions to Alaska List of Prohibited and Noxious Weeds

Purple Loosestrife and Orange Hawkweed added to the list: Public Notice

Campers asked to leave firewood at home

By DAVID TIRRELL-WYSOCKI -- Associated Press Writer
Published: May 23, 2007
Last Modified: May 24, 2007 at 04:16 AM

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) As millions of Americans pack for their first camping trips of the season this weekend, foresters hope they will leave one thing behind: firewood.

The U.S. Forest Service and state forestry agencies around the country say transporting firewood lets tree-killing insects hitch a ride into the woods, contributing to billions of dollars in damage and needless work each year. "While some insect species might spread 40 miles in a year by natural migration, a person hauling infested firewood from home to camp could move a species hundreds of miles in a single day. It's like making the jump to light-speed for the bug," said Bernie Raimo, the Forest Service's forest health group leader in the Northeast. Officials advise campers to get firewood at or near their destinations instead....
Complete article (.pdf)

Outbreak of Vibrio parahaemolyticus Gastroenteritis Associated with Alaskan Oysters
New England Journal of Medicine article (.pdf)

Article summary (Lisa Ka'aihue, PWSRCAC):
"A recent example of potential invasive species impact occurred during the summer of 2004. Oyster farmers in Prince William Sound suffered an outbreak of human illness caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp). One farm was implicated in the outbreak of 62 confirmed cases, making this the first incident of Vp in the state and the second largest outbreak in United States history. Although this outbreak is still under investigation, the O6:K18 isolate is similar to that found in Puget Sound, and the researchers have not ruled out the possibility that it may have resulted from a ballast water invasion. As long as Prince William Sound keeps receiving vast amounts of untreated ballast water, and continues to experience rising water temperatures in Alaska due to global warming, more such incidents are very likely."

Detection of Candidula intersecta, Exotic Terrestrial Snail
Oregon Exotic Mollusk Survey
USDA - Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service - Plant Protection and Quarantine,
Portland, Oregon
Update Nov 6, 2006
Details and contact information (pdf)

The Department of Natural Resources proposes to adopt regulation changes in Title 11
of the Alaska Administrative Code, dealing with prohibited and restricted noxious weeds...
Please read and distribute. Deadline for comments is December 22, 2006

Invading Paradise: While Hawai'i twiddles its thumbs, New Zealand gets serious   PDF
Paula Warring, principal policy analyst for New Zealand's Dept. of Conservation, gives her
perspective on invasive species management in Hawaii. Article is from the Hawai'i Island Journal www.hawaiiislandjournal.com

Ships dumping ballast water target of ruling

Tuesday, September 19, 2006
By ERIK ROBINSON, Columbian staff writer

   A federal judge Monday called invasive species possibly stored aboard the ballast water of ships an "irreparable" degradation to the nation's coastal environment, and ordered federal regulators to take a much tougher stand.  Full text in PDF

Atlantic salmon caught in Cook Inlet traced to Washington
HATCHERY: First ever in Inlet, but hundreds picked up in Alaska.

The Associated Press
Published: August 23, 2006
Last Modified: August 23, 2006 at 05:49 AM

KENAI -- An Atlantic salmon caught near Kasilof in July had escaped from a private hatchery in
Washington state, according to state wildlife officials.

The fish was the first documented Atlantic salmon in Cook Inlet, but the origin of the fish
remained unknown until lab tests focused on its otoliths -- small, rounded bonelike structures
found in the inner ears. The structures develop unevenly depending on the fish's growth rate,
forming rings like those akin to tree rings.

The fish found off Cohoe Beach had very even growth rings, indicating it had received regular
feedings, like salmon raised in hatcheries and farms, according to Bob Piorkowski, invasive
species program coordinator for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

With the help of the Washington Department Fish and Wildlife, the Alaska agency determined
the fish had likely escaped from a private hatchery near Scatter Creek in Rochester, Wash.

While inspecting the otoliths, Fish and Game discovered what is called a thermal mark,
meaning it had been briefly exposed to higher than normal temperatures that leave a
distinguishing mark on otoliths. Washington requires Atlantic salmon raised in state waters
to undergo such marking to help in identification should a fish escape.

Piorkowski said the mark found on the otolith could have been caused by something other
than the thermal exposure, but it is unlikely.

The Washington hatchery's last major escape occurred in spring 2005 when 4,500 one-
pound fish were released, Piorkowski said. A hatchery official said, however, the salmon
found in Cook Inlet likely escaped in May when fish were loaded onto a transfer barge,
Piorkowski said.

Atlantic salmon can jump higher than Pacific salmon.

Alaska prohibits raising farmed Atlantic salmon, but nearly 600 specimens of the species
have been documented in state waters. One out of every 100 Atlantic salmon raised on fish
farms in British Columbia and Washington escapes, according to Piorkowski.

The concern for many is that Atlantic salmon could spoil native salmon stocks through
colonization, interbreeding, predation, habitat destruction and competition.

The most recent issue of Conservation in Practice has a condensed version of the following paper, which sounds very interesting: ( Submitted by Jeanne Standley, BLM)

John D. Parker,* Deron E. Burkepile, Mark E. Hay. 2006.
Opposing effects of native and exotic herbivores on plant invasions.
Science 311:1459-1461

ABSTRACT
Exotic species are widely assumed to thrive because they lack natural enemies in their new
ranges. However, a meta-analysis of 63 manipulative field studies including more than 100
exotic plant species revealed that native herbivores suppressed exotic plants, whereas exotic
herbivores facilitated both the abundance and species richness of exotic plants. Both
outcomes suggest that plants are especially susceptible to novel, generalist herbivores
that they have not been selected to resist. Thus, native herbivores provide biotic resistance to
plant invasions, but the widespread replacement of native with exotic herbivores eliminates
this ecosystem service, facilitates plant invasions, and triggers an invasional "meltdown."