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Terrestrial
Weeds Are An Angling Problem
By now, all anglers should be aware that aquatic weeds
represent
a direct threat to our fishing by damaging the ecology or by preventing
access. However, most anglers don’t realize that terrestrial weeds can
cause significant problems for fish and aquatic habitats. Most
fishermen have long considered terrestrial weeds to be an agriculture
problem and they are certainly a major problem. However, we need to
understand that terrestrial weeds can have significant impacts in the
water as well.
Just because the invaders provide vibrant
green shoreline vegetation, they do not provide the same ecological
benefits that native plants do. In fact, when the native plants are
displaced by invasives there is a distinct possibility that the water
will be significantly impacted by the weeds. Let’s take a look at some
of the problems these weeds cause. Read
More
Tell
The President That Invasives Matter
President Obama has
launched a national dialog about conservation in America to learn
about the places you love, your community’s efforts to protect them,
and how we can better support modern-day land conservation efforts
happening in communities across the country. Through a series of
listening sessions around the country and through the use of an open
forum web site, all Americans are being asked to offer their opinions
on how the government should be encouraging outdoor recreation and how
to best care for our lands.
This is a great
opportunity to speak up in support of invasive species programs. If you
can attend a local listening session please comment on the need for
additional resources for invasive species programs. For most people the
best option will be to register at the official web site and offer
comments or vote for comments already made. Note that when you visit
the site you can read everything without registering but to vote or
comment you must register using the tab at the top of the page. There
is currently a comment about invasives on public lands that needs to be
supported. So please take a minute to visit the site, register and add
your voice to those calling for enhanced invasive species efforts. Read More
When
Rules Collide
 Wyoming is the newest
state to implement mandatory invasive species boat stickers for all
boats on WY waters. Billings
Gazette Outdoor Editor Mark Henckel has discovered that
one of his local waters is a real problem. Big Horn Lake lies on
the Montana/Wyoming boarder and offers great fishing in each state.
However, the combination of boat ramp locations, state
specific bait regulations and the Wyoming sticker have created a real
mess for anglers to understand. Henckel has done a great job of
summarizing this unique situation. It is almost comical to imagine what
some anglers have to keep straight. Read More
A
Bounty On Rainbow Trout?
Trout
Unlimited and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game have teamed up in a
unique effort to protect native cutthroat trout from an invader.
However, in this case the invader is rainbow trout and the management
objective is to get anglers to kill as many rainbow trout as they
catch. As an extra incentive to kill the fish, Fish & Game has
inserted tiny tags into the noses of 571 rainbow trout in the South
Fork of the Snake River. On the last Friday of each month, Fish
& Game officials will scan all harvested rainbow heads and any
angler who brings in the head of a tagged fish will receive a cash
prize ranging from $5.00 to $1,000 per tagged fish.
Read More
The
Latest News About Waders
New Hampshire is the
latest state to begin action to ban felt soled boots. At a May meeting,
the Game & Fish unveiled their proposal to institute a
statewide
ban beginning in 2011 Read More
Dave Kumlien, Executive Director of the Whirling
Disease Foundation is the primary author of Trout Unlimited's call for
the elimination of felt. in an interview with the Billings Gazette,
Dave explains the motivation for their efforts. Read More
Tom Chandler at the Trout
Underground
has published an excellent review of rubber soled wading shoes. He has
extensively tested a number of brands and offers his opinions. What
might surprise many is that he concludes that the reason to switch from
felt is not because of regulations but because the new boots are
better! Read More
State
by State
Illinois - An
extensive fish poisoning effort near Chicago in search of Asian carp
has yielded more than 100,000 pounds of dead fish but no Asian carp.
This is good news as there was concern that the carp had moved above
the electric barrier designed to keep them from the Great Lakes.
Read
More
Minnesota - In an
effort to prevent spreading the deadly VHS virus to inland waters,
Minnesota has banned the use of smelt and cisco from Lake Superior as
bait.
Read
More
Colorado
- The Colorado Division of Wildlife has
released
information on the 2010 Mandatory Boat Inspection program Read
More
Utah -
An adult mussel that is likely a quagga mussel has been discovered in
Sand Hollow Reservoir in southern Utah. The mussel was found beneath a
boat dock by a diver inspecting for invasives. Read
More
Montana
- Glacier
National Park has announced new rules for motor boat use in the Park.
All motorized vessels will be required to obtain a free permit before
they can launch. Read
More
California
- Officials have decided to keep Lake
Tahoe's Emerald Bay open to the public this summer despite the
discovery of invasive Asian Clams in the Bay.
Read
More
New York
- Didymo has been discovered at a
popular fishing site on Kayaderosseras Creek.
Read
More
Wyoming
- Although the state is just beginning
to implement the new ANS law, some residents are already asking if the
new effort is enough.
Read
More
Bass
Clubs Called On To Fight Invasives
"Once upon a time, the rampant spread of hydrilla and milfoil was
viewed upon favorably by bass fishermen. The common belief was more
plants meant more habitat and better bass fishing. It didn’t take long
for Mother Nature to defy that well-intending theory." These are the
opening words of an excellent article for bass fishing clubs that was
published in the Bass Club Digest. The author points out that it is up
to every boater to do their part and that clubs need to work to keep
waters invasive free. Read More
 New
ANS Pocket Guide
Grand Teton National
Park is
taking the threat of aquatic invasives very seriously. Recently they
have produced a new pocket guide to aquatic invasives that provides a
brief description of many of the species that could show up in the
waters of the Park. The guide is available as a download. Read More
Colorado
Boat Inspections Common and Effective
Anglers and boaters in Colorado
are being cautioned that they should expect to have their boats
inspected when they launch in the state this summer. Now in their third
year of boat inspections, the state will operate more than 200
inspection locations. In 2009 more than 400,000 boats were inspected
and 3,300 decontaminations were conducted. 19 boats that had invasive
mussels attached were stopped from launching. Read More
A
Video and A Podcast
Harry Murray from Murray's Fly
Shop has produced a short Podcast about invasives and proper gear
cleaning. Harry focuses on cleaning for Didymo which is a serious
threat to the waters he fishes in Virginia. Listen Here
An excellent video from the
American Museum of Natural History discusses the ways in which aquatic
invaders get moved globally and how they move from the Great Lakes to
inland waters in the US. Watch Here
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