Invasive Species

[ipetrus]

My I suggest that those so inclined take a look at the actual source for all federal agencies and departments of the United States. The official defintion according to the Executive Order 13112 and a clarification white paper of which I am one of the authors can be found:

Beck, K. George and Kenneth Zimmerman, Jeffrey D. Schardt, Jeffrey Stone, Ronald R. Lukens, Sarah Reichard, John Randall, Allegra A. Cangelosi, Diane Cooper, and John Peter Thompson. ISAC 2006. Invasive Species Definition Clarification and Guidance White Paper. [Online] ISAC 2006.

I would be most interested in the continuing discussion as I am off to a federal meeting on invasives next week.

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by ipetrus

My I suggest that those so inclined take a look at the actual source for all federal agencies and departments of the United States. The official defintion according to the Executive Order 13112 and a clarification white paper of which I am one of the authors can be found:

Beck, K. George and Kenneth Zimmerman, Jeffrey D. Schardt, Jeffrey Stone, Ronald R. Lukens, Sarah Reichard, John Randall, Allegra A. Cangelosi, Diane Cooper, and John Peter Thompson. ISAC 2006. Invasive Species Definition Clarification and Guidance White Paper. [Online] ISAC 2006.

I would be most interested in the continuing discussion as I am off to a federal meeting on invasives next week.

Thanks. Looking forward to your return. Here's the Executive Order page in the mean time: >> Invasive Species: Laws and Regulations - Executive Order 13112

[ipetrus]

invasivespeciesinfo.gov/docs/council/isacdef.pdf the invasive species defintion white paper & clarification document may be found here

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by ipetrus

invasivespeciesinfo.gov/docs/council/isacdef.pdf the invasive species defintion white paper & clarification document may be found here

Roger. Got it. http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/d...il/isacdef.pdf

I see I have a loccal group going after garlic mustard down by the Columbia.

Full Release - News Releases - Clark County Washington

Vancouver, WA – Want to volunteer to help the environment and your community?

On Saturday, May 2, Clark County will be conducting a volunteer project to get rid of garlic mustard, an extremely invasive biennial herb usually found growing in shaded woodlands and near streams.

The garlic mustard removal event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Washougal River Greenway, 3010 NE 3rd Ave., Camas (near the boat launch and closed bowling alley). Please bring a sack lunch, work gloves and boots, and dress for the weather with layered clothing. ...

[Turtle]

Reading ipetrus' White Paper , I see that the livestock we listed is not to be considered invasive in regards to policy decisions by government agencies. The paper clarifies the justification for this classification.

http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/d...il/isacdef.pdf

Summary
Invasive species are those that are not native to the ecosystem under consideration and that cause or are likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human, animal, or plant health. Plant and animal species under domestication or cultivation and under human control are not invasive species. Furthermore for policy purposes, to be considered invasive, the negative impacts caused by a non-native species will be deemed to outweigh the beneficial effects it provides. Finally, a non-native species might be considered invasive in one region but not in another. Whether or not a species is considered an invasive species depends largely on human values. By attempting to manage invasive species, we are affirming our economic and environmental values. Those non-native species judged to cause overall economic or environmental harm or harm to human health may be considered invasive, even if they yield some beneficial effects. Society struggles to determine the appropriate course of action in such cases, but in a democratic society that struggle is essential.

[ipetrus]

I have written and spoken about invasive species for so long that I sometimes forget that most folks have no idea about what I am speaking. Because those who are "in the know" so to speak about invasive species issues are divided neatly into two major camps, I find it beneficial to explore the underlying philosophies that seem to direct and drive the parties.

For those with an "environmental" predilection, the precautionary principles provide the matrix for decisions and goals, while the constituencies that are more “traditional” seem to be directed and guided by the proactionary principles. Finding common cause between the two is both difficult and necessary prior to making actual progress towards some agreement. The two outlooks also color a prior the definition of invasive species as well as most of the technical jargon such as early detection and rapid response or control and management. All of this creates a classic wicked problem which I have written about on my blog and call the wicked inconvenience of invasive species. The entire world of invasive species meets the definitions of a wicked problem and causes no end of grief for those who do not recognize it.

[ipetrus]

[QUOTE=ipetrus;263297]I have written and spoken about invasive species for so long that I sometimes forget that most folks have no idea about what I am speaking. Because those who are "in the know" so to speak about invasive species issues are divided neatly into two major camps, I find it beneficial to explore the underlying philosophies that seem to direct and drive the parties.

For those with an "environmental" predilection, the precautionary principles provide the matrix for decisions and goals, while the constituencies that are more “traditional” seem to be directed and guided by the proactionary principles. Finding common cause between the two is both difficult and necessary prior to making actual progress towards some agreement. The two outlooks also color a prior the definition of invasive species as well as most of the technical jargon such as early detection and rapid response or control and management. All of this creates a classic wicked problem which I have written about on my blog and call the wicked inconvenience of invasive species. The entire world of invasive species meets the definitions of a wicked problem and causes no end of grief for those who do not recognize it.

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by Moontanman

add to the list

Lion fish
Flathead Catfish
Large Mouth Bass
Earthworms (European species, introduced to the US)
to name a few more

Nice additions but I want to clarify something.
Flathead catfish are introduced depending on your location in the USA. They are native to my favorite river, the St. Croix and the Mississippi.

Same with Largemouth bass (native to N. America, but I am unsure exactly where). It has been introduced into formerly Non Largemouth lakes elsewhere in the USA.

Some earthworms (defining earthworm as all worms except night crawlers) are native to the USA, some are introduced. In Minnesota, all earthworms were introduced. There is some debate as to whether a type of night crawler is native, or introduced. Canadian red night crawler I think (going from memory). I know the introduced to Minnesota worm part was something I did not know until either 2007 or 2008.

[ipetrus]

Welcome to the wild woolly whacky world of invasive species definitions and categorizations. Every species is native to somewhere. Unfortunately for those who like their science in Fox News sound byte size doses, trying to ram a particular species into an arbitrary geo-political space is usually messy in extremis. Gardeners in Maryland purchase purple coneflower because they are told it is native. But native to where? And with climate change superimposed, the new question is native to when? Biome or ecosystems do not have definite edges so placing a species into a particular region is by definition an exercise in futility at some boundary point. Of course we can add the idea of native plants with native animals for native Americans, but unlike 20th century Germans we get hoisted on our own historic petard because we are caught by our definition of native American unless of course you happen to be a native American.

[Moontanman]

[quote]

Originally Posted by Cedars

Nice additions but I want to clarify something.
Flathead catfish are introduced depending on your location in the USA. They are native to my favorite river, the St. Croix and the Mississippi.

Flathead catfish, Pylodictis olivaris, is native to the Mississippi river and it's tributaries. where I live in NC it has been introduced to the Cape Fear River and it is having a negative impact on the native bullhead catfish and sunfish population. My point in adding these fish to the list is that just because a fish is native to one part of North America doesn't mean it is native to another part.

Earth worms from Europe are having a negative impact where they have been introduced in North America, even if they look like the native earth worms. Even something as low as a worm makes a difference. where I live there are introduced flat worms, they are huge, as much as a 1/2" wide and several inches long. They eat Earth worms, I'm not sure of the environmental impact but they are an example of a weird exotic and they came from potted plants brought in for landscaping.

I thought it was necessary to point these examples out because many people seem to think that exotics all come from some far away tropical country. This is not true and it also bears repeating the some of our "native" fish are causing problems in other parts of the world. sunfish, bullheads, and even trout are causing problems in other parts of the world. Most of these released exotics were placed where ever they now are due to someone thinking that these animals would improve things for some reason or other or someone missed the animals from back home an thought it would be nice if their favorite bird or fish was in the local area.

Probably the two worst offenders from the stand point of the fish world are food fish or fish farm releases and recreational fishing releases. silver carp and grass carp both brought her to improve some aspect of the environment and were supposed to be controlled so they couldn't establish themselves here but of course it didn't work out that way.