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From: OPB.org: This month, OPB begins a year-long campaign to counter the environmental and economical threat of invasive species. The campaign will include the hour-long documentary special, THE SILENT INVASION, a series of television awareness spots, an online invasive species 'reporting' hotline, a GardenSmart guide to non-invasive plants for your garden, a statewide volunteer Take Action calendar, and educational materials aimed at giving Oregonians the resources they need to join the fight to protect Oregon's natural environment.
"The television spots, FIELD GUIDE episodes and the SILENT INVASION special scheduled airing April 22 are just part of collaborative campaign by OPB, SOLV, the Nature Conservancy, and the Oregon Invasives Species Council to raise awareness of this growing threat and to encourage Oregonians to take action and make a difference," said Jeff Douglas, station manager of OPB TV. "We want to make our audience aware of how they may be unintentionally introducing highly undesirable plants and animals into Oregon. Then we hope to motivate them get out and help rid their yards and Oregon's environment of these invasive species."
Zebra mussels found in California
January 2008. Zebra mussels were reported from San Benito County, from San Justo Reservoir a popular bass fishing location. Previously only the Quagga mussel had been found in California spreading via the Colorado River Aquaduct. (LA Times Article)
Invader Crusader Honor Awarded to PSU Student for Feral Swine Management Plan
Arick "Kit" Rouhe, ESR graduate student, received an award from the Oregon Invasive Species Council at the Council's annual banquet on February 23, 2007. Kit was recognized for his work on the Oregon Feral Swine Management Plan, which established a four-year program to eradicate this invasive species from Oregon. Mark Sytsma, ESR faculty, coauthored the Plan. The plan is available in .pdf form here
Upcoming Conferences at Portland State University
 [August 2006] An updated version of the Oregon Invasive Species Council's 100 Most Dangerous Invaders List has been released for 2006 and one prominant species with the intriguing common name of "Rock Snot" had got people asking questions. The following FAQ was developed to help answer many of these questions and more.
click here for full FAQ
[Photo Credit: New Zealand Biosecurity]
The search for the Chinese Mystery Snail
 [August 2006] The Chinese mystery snail, Cipangopaludina chinensis malleata, is a large freshwater snail that may be more common in the Pacific Northwest than previously reported. In ordet to get a better idea of the extent of this invasive species the Center for Lakes and Reservoirs is actively recruiting volunteer reporting of this species from locations in Oregon and Washington. Click here for more information on this project.
[Photo Credit: Xerces Society]
Oregon Lake Photos Wanted
The Oregon Lakes Association and the Center for Lakes and Reservoirs (CLR) at Portland State University encourage you to submit photographs of Oregon lakes for use in publications by CLR. Our hope is to use them in an on-line reference source on Oregon lakes and possibly for the re-publication of the 1986 Atlas of Oregon Lakes. click here for full request
[Photo Credit: John Reuter]
New sighting of mudsnails in the lower Deschutes system
 On Tuesday October 4, 2005 the Center for Lakes and Reservoirs confirmed the presence of New Zealand mudsnails (NZMS) in the lower Deschutes River. Following up on an anecdotal report of New Zealand mudsnails in the system, two Center for Lakes and Reservoirs employees, Laura Johnson and Steve Wells, passed out NZMS identification information and placed a NZMS sampling device at Heritage Landing at the mouth of the Deschutes River. A few days later, a Ranger Aide named Mark Ernes was talking to a boater and spotted the tiny snails in the runoff from the fellow's pressure washer. Earnes called the hotline and reported the snail.
Upon hearing the news from the hotline, Center for Lakes and Reservoirs employees returned to Heritage Landing where they collected additional mudsnails. Traveling upriver, mudsnails were also found outside the town of Maupin, OR along the Deschutes at the Wapinita Campsite and river access. Surveys were made upriver at the Warm Springs State Park but no mudsnails were found at this site. click here for full story
[Photo Credit: Robyn Draheim]
Freshwater jellyfish found in Josephine County pond.
On July 28, 2005 Brent Crowe of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife was given several specimen of C. sowerbii collected by a teenager who reported "thousands" of medusae in a private pond along Sanitarium Rd., near Merlin, Josephine County. Although not a true jellyfish (Scyphozoan), Craspedacusta sowerbii is a Hydrozoan with a conspicuous umbrella-shaped medusa stage (5-25mm diameter)...
click here for full story
Spartina Training Session --
(July 2005) Two populations of Spartina alterniflora were recently found during routine early detection surveys in the Coos Bay and Siuslaw River
estuaries. Photos and a full summary of these two populations are available
here.
As described in the summary, these are both very small infestations which
have not produced inflorescences. The site on the Siuslaw River appears to
be regrowth from a previous infestation, which was declared eradicated in
1997 (after three years of monitoring following mechanical chemical
control measures). The Coos Bay infestation appears to be linked to the
Siuslaw site: plugs of Carex and Scirpus were transplanted (around 1994)
from the Siuslaw to the Coos Bay site as part of mitigation plan. We
believe that S. alterniflora rhizomes were unintentionally introduced with
these native plant materials. Both sites will be controlled through manual
digging in mid to late August.
We are putting together a training session aimed at Spartina spp.
identification (in conjunction with ODA and South Slough NERR). This
session will consist of a presentation and a field tour of the Coos Bay
site. It is aimed at preserve managers, watershed council members,
shellfish growers, landowners and others interested in the health of Oregon
estuaries.
Spartina Training Session SlideShow:
<<<Click here>>> Spartina.pps (55MB) to download a powerpoint slideshow of material presented at the Spartina Training Session. This is a large file and may take a while to download. If you have trouble downloading this try right-clicking on your mouse over the "click here" link and select "save link target as"...
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