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Invasive species wise, our biggest issue, here in N NV, is flora related. A scrub "tree" we call salt cedar. Tamarack is its real name. It has infested our river bottoms, and sucms up an incredible amount of water. Something we can't afford, especily right now. Russian olive is another, that has spread, out of control, and is running out native vegetation. These two, particular specimens, have gone beyond nuisance status, into a serious issue. And, they keep spreading, despite all efforts to control them.
They were, originally, roughy in to grow windbreaks, because of their thick and extremly fast growth. Now, they have taken over many , once pristine, areas. Especially along our rivers, streams, lakes and resivoirs. They offer good cover, for wildlife, but, at the same time, they choke out food sources. Most people are unaware of the issues these noxious weeds cause, and many actually cultivate them for yard ornamentation. Its quite the mess.
On the fauna side, stray and dumped dogs are crossing up , more and more, with the coyotes, and these hybrids are fast moving toward becoming an entirely new and separate species. Larger, stronger, much more aggressive and prone to "thrill killing" than coyotes, and quite unafraid of people. The mixes that are showing up are VERY formidable animals. 20 some odd years ago, coy mixes were usually limited to single specimens, here and there, not seen in company with others of their kind, now, there ate packs of them, which is the biggest issue. Coyotes will pack, but usually don't stay that way on a permanent basis. These hybrids do. Their pack instinct is far stronger than coyotes.
Its all a man made problem. I'm curious about what might be happening , along the above lines, in other parts of the country. Particularly in the hynriding area, but invasive animals like snakes and such, interest me as well. It seems that we heat more and more of this all the time. It keeps my mind wondering how far things will go, and what our "wildlife" will look like in another few decades or so.
Stories, comments, and all information and opinion is appreciated.
Biggest invasive issues aren't sexy but still massively problematic.
Jumping carp or whatever they are have invaded the US river system.
Ash borers are going to kill 95% of the ash trees where I live, which is about 20% of the trees.
Pythons in the everglades will never be contained.
I'm less concerned about the coy-dogs since they can be shot.
Biggest ecological worry in the US at this point IMO is the brown tree snake getting into Hawaii.
Nothing like a venemous snake taking root in a tourist paradise and wiping out all the native species like it did in guam etc.
Squawfish.
There is an annual derby- who can catch the most in numbers, in total weight as well as the biggest single fish. Anything to get rid of them or at least attempt to control the population.
The Squawfish eat the salmon fingerlings.
Yes, squaw fish and carp have torn up some of our best trout fishery too. We gig them, zap them with our bows and provide the hawks, skninks , raccoons and such with a massive repast as much as we can. Another , interesting, issue has arisen at a remote military ammo dump near here as well. Whether it might turn into an issue, nobody know yet. In crates, returning from Iraq, camel spiders were found. Not just a couple , either. We have those here, but they are much much smaller than the ones that turned up from over there. We call them sun spiders, and our native ones are only about the size of an average brown spider.
The overseas specimens ranged from 6" to well over a foot. If any got loose, they would find the area quite hospitable. Can t say as I relish the thought of them breeding in my desert.
I live in South Florida, we have so many non-native species here, it's hard to name them all. The muscovy ducks are so entrenched, they may as well be considered native. There are Cuban anoles by the millions and it's not hard to find an iguana if you know where to look. I've only seen 1 Burmese python, they're not the invading horde the TV would make you think. There are monitor lizards too, although I've never seen one. Green parrots have been released by people and have also established huge colonies.
We don't have as many problems with invasive species here in Nebraska as other parts of the country do, but we do have our share of troublemakers. We're just on the edge of the Emerald Ash Borer's current range, and it's not going to be long before it's here. Phragmites chokes the banks and the sandbars of the Platte River, ruining the habitat that ducks, geese, shorebirds, and cranes need; Rowe Sanctuary is constantly fighting to keep the banks and sandbars on its stretch of the Platte clear of this weed. We've got purple loosestrife in some places, and Japanese honeysuckle. Oh, and non-native carp species as well (though not apparently that horrible jumping species that's proving to be such a problem elsewhere). And zebra mussels showed up in a few man-made lakes; the response in each case was to nuke it by either completely draining the lake to allow winter weather to kill the mussels, or by massive doses of poison to kill them (along with everything else in the lake, unfortunately).
Our biggest problem here in Nebraska is more related to outright destruction of the native grasslands, with the accompanying loss of habitat for plains flora and fauna, than the spread of invasives. But that doesn't mean we can afford to be be complacent here!
These came in about 10 yrs ago from Chinia in a shipment to Allentown PA Have now spread 2 yrs ago my gf in SC was starting to see them in her area.
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