Escaping Ornamentals: A Threat to Natural Area Biodiversity

Escaping Ornamentals: A Threat to Natural Area Biodiversity

State announces grants as part of new invasive species initiative - Michigan DNR

Press Release

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 28, 2014

Contact: Tammy Newcomb, 517-284-5832 or Ed Golder, 517-284-5815
State announces grants as part of new invasive species initiative
At least $3.6 million available to fight land, water invaders

A handbook has been released outlining the scope and guidelines for the new Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program, made possible through funding in Gov. Rick Snyder’s fiscal year 2015 budget. The program is a joint effort of the Michigan departments of Natural Resources, Environmental Quality and Agriculture and Rural Development.

The grant program will devote at least $3.6 million toward projects to detect, prevent, manage and eradicate invasive species on the ground and in the water.

“The long-term health of Michigan’s natural resources is critical to our state’s economy and quality of life,” said DNR Director Keith Creagh. “The Asian carp, for instance, could devastate the $7 billion Great Lakes fishery. These grants will help us link with partner groups to address the significant threat invasive species pose to Michigan.”
The grant program is central to a new invasive species initiative, which brings a multi-department, comprehensive approach to the ongoing problem of harmful, non-native invaders. The initiative is made possible with funding first proposed by Gov. Snyder and approved by the Michigan Legislature. The governor and Legislature devoted $5 million in ongoing funding to invasive species beginning in the 2015 fiscal year. A minimum of $3.6 million of the funding will be devoted to grants, with additional grant funding possible.

Administered by the DNR, the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program targets four key objectives:

• Preventing new introductions of invasive species through outreach and education.
•  Monitoring for new invasive species as well as expansions of current invasive species.
•  Responding and conducting eradication efforts to new findings and range expansions.
•  Managing and controlling key colonized species in a strategic manner.   

The program begins October 2014 and will operate each year that funding is available. Local, federal and tribal units of government, nonprofit organizations and universities may apply for a Michigan Invasive Species Grant for work to be conducted in Michigan. Applications must be submitted by Dec. 5, 2014, and those applicants approved for funding will be announced Feb. 15, 2015. Projects funded through this grant cycle must be completed by Oct. 30, 2016.

Collaborative projects will receive higher scoring than those for individual agencies. The minimum grant amount is $25,000 and applicants must commit to provide at least 10 percent of the total project cost in the form of a local match. Applicants with more than a 10-percent match will receive greater scoring consideration.“The Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program is a critical component of the state’s comprehensive invasives strategy to prevent new invasions, limit the spread of existing invasions and control their associated impacts,” said Creagh. “This program will greatly benefit Michigan’s world-class natural resources.”
Learn more about the new invasive species initiative – including the grant program – at:www.michigan.gov/invasivespecies.    

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The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.

Squirrel Invaders

I love squirrels. To me it doesn’t matter which variety: the persistent greys, the noisy reds, the tufted-ear fox, the flyers, Northern and Southern. I encourage them to steal seeds from my bird feeders. I have nest boxes for winter habitats and when I did wildlife rehabilitation, squirrels were my specialty.

But over the past year, I have read a number of articles discussing the environmental impact from the invasion of grey squirrels on the European mainland and the British Isles. Native to the United States, the grey squirrels were brought to England and Europe as diplomatic gifts. Through accident or intentional release, the grey squirrels multiplied and now threatens the survival of the native red squirrels.

So when I read about a proposed culling to eradicate grey squirrels from Great Britain, I was dismayed and angry. My concern was increased after reading today’s Wildlife Disease News where the feature article is about how the red squirrels of Northern Italy have been wiped out by grey squirrels introduced into the region.  [Wildlife Disease News - October 1, 2012 - referenced to the following article in The Guardian 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/27/red-squirrel-population-northern-italy ]

I am an advocate of the removing of invasive plant species and have participated in numerous work bees where I have pulled out, cut down and herbicide treated glossy and common buckthorn, thistle and the lovely oriental bittersweet. I have no disagreement with the proposed closing of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canel to fence out the Asian and Silver Carp. But when it comes to the killing of invasive animal species, I cannot reconcile my love of animals to the proposed solutions to combat invasive wildlife. In the case of the nonnative Mute Swans, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has an application process where landowners can destroy mute swan nests and eggs. Captured mute swans can be euthanized following protocols approved by the DNR. Feral swine, another invasive animal, can be hunted during any open hunting season by licensed hunters, theoretically every day of the year.

What troubles me is that we humans caused these situations by thoughtlessly introducing animals and plants into areas where they do not belong. Then, when these “invasives” create problems for us and our habitats, our response is to kill them on sight. It is an arrogant attitude that somehow people are smarter than nature and that we are not held to the same natural rules that every other plant and animal must abide by. If there is anything I have learned over the years about nature is that what I know is minuscule to the intricate complexity that is the ecosystem. Does that mean we should do nothing when confronted with an invasive species? No, but I believe the onus is on us to make better decisions about what plants we sow and the practicality of possessing wildlife who really should be allowed to live their lives in the wild where they belong.