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In This Issue
January 29, 2009**Note - All Links will open in new windows State ANS Plans need your help! As aquatic invaders continue to spread across the US it is vital that we all work together to combat them in the most effective way. Recognizing that all individual state efforts needed to be coordinated with each other, the US government established a program for approving and funding state plans. The ANS Task Force has been given the responsibility of approving all plans and they have done an excellent job of promoting the development of plans and of supporting those plans already approved. Read the Status of State ANS Management Plans report to see if your state has a plan and to learn more about this great program. When the State Plan program was created by Congress, they authorized up to $4 million annually to be distributed as grants to those states with approved plans. However, the actual appropriations for this program have remained at about $1 million despite the rapid increase in the number of approved plans. In 2009 the funding received by each state will drop to less than $35,000 and as more plans are approved this will drop even further unless additional funds are provided. The Center for Aquatic Nuisance Species (the parent organization for the Clean Angling Pledge and this newsletter) is calling on Congress to fund this vital program to the fully authorized level of $4 million annually. Read our Full Funding Needed for State ANS Plans call to action and join us in asking Congress to provide the funds needed to continue the fight. Our New Web Sites Please join us in giving special thanks to Robin Cunningham of web-wrx for the complete redesign of all of our web pages. Robin has brought fresh designs and the latest programming techniques to our sites and we look forward to adding new content to the new look sites. Be sure to check out our main site at www.stopans.org Please
Help
This newsletter, the
Clean Angling Pledge and all
of our efforts to
prevent the spread of ANS are financed by donations. Please
help us with a tax deductible donation of any amount.Robin has donated all of this work to us in support of our mission, a perfect example of how you can help us by contributing your skills and abilities. If you need web design work be sure to check with Robin. He does a great job and is easy to work with. If you want to learn more about how you can help our efforts send us an email at info@stopans.org Local Communities Demand Protection from ANS Increasingly the citizens of communities around the country are demanding that their elected leaders do more to protect them from the impacts of ANS. While officials in Cazenovia, NY work to find solutions for combating Eurasian water milfoil, residents presented the Town Board with a petition demanding a review of boat launching policies on Cazenovia Lake. Expressing concerns about ANS introductions, the petition calls for the complete closure of the public boat ramp unless the officials can guarantee that every boat launched will be inspected. At the same time, in Minnesota, the Lake Minnetonka Association has called for an annual budget of $600,000 to inspect the boats being launched on this popular Twin Cities area lake. Of course, finding the money to pay for this program is a problem and the citizen committee is calling for a new ANS Boat Inspection Fee to be assessed on every boat launched. The group has recommended a fee of $5 - $10 for each boat launch. All of the money raised would be used to improve ANS programs on the lake with the goal of inspecting every one of the approximately 100,000 boats launched each year. These are just a couple examples of the increasing calls for restricting boat access. Each of us needs to spread the word to everyone we know that we must be Clean Anglers - Inspect, Clean and Dry after every trip to avoid spreading invasives. If we fail to act we will certainly see fewer or more restrictive fishing opportunities in the future. A Look at Salvinia - Giant Salvinia is an invasive aquatic weed that comes from South America. It is similar to the common Duck Weed that floats on the surface of many ponds and lakes but can be a very nasty plant. Salvinia reproduces at incredible rates and can quickly grow to form a solid mat covering the surface of a lake. The plant reproduction doesn't stop when the surface is covered and a thick layer of Salvinia can build up that will block all light from reaching the water. Of course, the absence of light causes significant ecological impacts and the thick mat of plants makes recreation impossible. Salvinia is not a cold hardy plant and it used to be assumed that temperatures below freezing would kill it. However, new information shows that Cold has little impact on Giant Salvinia. This report from Texas says that a water must be ice covered for at least 72 hours to achieve a kill of Salvinia. This is bad news for many areas in the Southern US as it means that many more water than previously expected may be at risk. The impacts of Giant Salvinia are very dramatic. Louisiana's Lake Bistineau offers us a great look at the impacts of this aggressive weed. If you are not familiar with this plant I urge you to visit the Lake Bistineau Salvinia Page to learn more. for a very quick lesson in Salvinia impacts, view this one minute long Lake Bistineau Salvinia Video video. Writers, Photographers, Designers - We need your help! We want to improve this newsletter by adding new stories, pictures and information. If you are able to help with this we would love to hear from you. Send us stories (or even story ideas), photos, links, videos or any other materials you would be willing to let us publish. We also want to develop new Clean Angling products but to do so we need people with design talent to send us ideas for T shirts, and other products. Put on your creative cap on and send us your images, slogans or computer graphics. Send your stories, graphics, ideas or comments to Newsletter@stopans.org. New Didymo Discoveries Didymo continues to spread across the US, especially in the East. In January we have word of three new discoveries in Southern Vermont. The Batten Kill Watershed Alliance has been monitoring waters for Didymo since it was first discovered in 2007. Read about the New Didymo Discoveries in Vermont and learn what steps they recommend you take to avoid spreading this nasty algae. Mussels Thrive in Western Waters When Zebra and Quagga mussels were discovered in western reservoirs scientists wondered how they would respond to the environmental conditions that are so different from those in the Midwest. Now we know and the news is bad. Scientists from the National Park Service have reported that their studies of the Mussels in Lakes Mead and Mohave show they are reproducing at rates far higher than those ever recorded in the Great Lakes. In fact, after only two years many areas of these lakes are suffering from higher concentrations of mussels than develop in more than a decade in the Midwest. This is very bad news as we get new reports of mussels being discovered in the west. Promote the Clean Angling Pledge The Clean Angling Pledge is a personal statement of action to help protect our waters and we need your help to make sure that every angler is aware of this important program. The simple actions of Inspect - Clean - Dry can be done easily at the end of every trip and make a huge difference in reducing the spread of invasive species. You can help promote the pledge in a variety of ways and we have been working on providing some direct support to those who want to promote the pledge. Please help us grow the number of people working to protect our waters Promote the Clean Angling Pledge  The
Clean Angling News is regularly produced by the Center for Aquatic
Nuisance Species. If you have questions,
suggestions or would like to learn
more about ANS please contact us:
Center
for Aquatic Nuisance
Species
P.O. Box 1429 Livingston, MT 59047 406-220-2059 info@stopans.org |