A cluster of butterflies perching on a pine tree at Monarch Grove Sanctuary in Pacific Grove, Calif., on Nov. 10. The number of western monarch butterflies wintering along California’s Central Coast is bouncing back from population lows in 2020. Nic Coury/AP Photo
By Michael Doyle | 01/06/2022 01:25 PM EST
Monarch butterflies are having a moment — in court, on Capitol Hill and across the countryside.
Some migrating populations are up from 2020’s devastating lows. Congress is kicking in more money. Endangered Species Act legal settlement talks are underway.
And over it all loom the far-flung consequences if the conservation efforts fall short and monarch butterflies end up, after all, requiring federal protections under the ESA.
“Imagine if the monarch is listed,” National Wildlife Federation President and CEO Collin O’Mara told a Senate panel in December. “The impact on farms across the country would be massive.”
An ESA listing, though, remains both a distinct possibility and, for some environmental groups, a goal.
ASSOCIATION OF FISH & WILDLIFE AGENCIES, Washington D.C.: December 8, 2021
Washington D.C. – A new Landscape Conservation Joint Task Force was established during a signing ceremony at the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies Executive Committee Meeting. The establishment of this Task Force is the next step in landscape conservation collaboration to foster even stronger relationships. Long-term collaboration between the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the states will provide the necessary durable foundation for working together more effectively with Tribes, other agencies, landowners, conservation organizations and other partners so essential for balancing and implementing landscape-scale conservation in a sustainable manner for the future. The Task Force outlined in the Charter will examine what is working and what is not and make recommendations to stitch together a collaborative approach.
In 1969, the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland was so polluted that it caught fire, helping to launch the modern environmental movement and prompting Congress to pass the Clean Water Act three years later. It was one of the first laws to safeguard waterways and set national water quality standards.
While the Clean Water Act successfully regulated many obvious causes of pollution, such as the dumping of wastewater, it’s done less to limit more diffuse types of pollution, such as “nonpoint source pollution” that includes agricultural runoff from fields and urban stormwater from buildings, paved surfaces and yards — says a new study from University of Missouri researchers.
Though hard to see, nonpoint source pollution has become one of the main environmental threats to drinking water across the country, said MU researchers who are offering strategies to address the problem.
“Large amounts of nitrates and nitrites, such as those found in fertilizer, can cause negative health effects such as blue baby syndrome,” said Robin Rotman, assistant professor in the MU School of Natural Resources, who led the study. Rotman also holds courtesy appointments in the MU School of Law and the MU College of Engineering. “Nonpoint source pollution can lead to toxic algae blooms; pesticides and herbicides also contain carcinogens that can threaten human health,” she said.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 15, 2021 Contact: DNR Office of Communications DNRPress@wisconsin.gov
The Wisconsin DNR will continue working with neighboring state and federal agencies to reduce the number of invasive carp in the Mississippi River. / Photo Credit: Minnesota DNR
LA CROSSE, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in partnership with neighboring state and federal agencies will take further action to reduce the number of invasive carp in the Mississippi River.
Additional actions include increasing commercial netting operations, tracking tagged carp and ongoing use of the innovative Modified Unified Method (MUM), a tactic that involves driving fish towards a series of smaller and smaller areas until they are netted out of the water.
Continued efforts follow a successful second invasive carp removal effort on Oct. 25-29 in Pool 8 of the Mississippi River near La Crosse in which the DNR, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wild Rivers Conservancy and National Park Service sampled more than 100,000 pounds of fish.
Although seven silver carp were observed jumping out of the sampling area, no invasive carp were captured during the October removal using MUM. Thirty-four silver carp were captured during the first MUM operation in the same locations in April.
“This is potentially very good news about the current status of invasive carp in Pool 8,” said Jordan Weeks, DNR Mississippi River Fisheries Biologist. “Invasive carp captures decreased sharply. We’re hopeful this indicates a decrease in the actual invasive carp population.”
In addition, the October invasive carp removal produced hundreds of native fish in each of five locations along the river. These captures included a healthy number and diversity of native fish, including numerous paddlefish and sturgeon.
While native fish tend to hide and avoid being driven into the nets used during the MUM tactic, some do end up being netted. A subset of those fish are measured and weighed, then released back into the river. Any invasive carp are removed and further analyzed. Invasive carp compete with native species for food and habitat, so a healthy and diverse fishery is a positive sign.
Posted inAsian Carp, Invasive Species|Comments Off on Invasive Carp Removal Efforts In Mississippi River
This is the second time MUM has been used in Wisconsin or Minnesota waters. Thirty-four silver carp were captured in Pool 8 during the first interagency carp removal operation in April. / Photo Credit: Minnesota DNR
LA CROSSE, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) alongside neighboring state and federal agencies are conducting an intensive invasive carp removal effort in Pool 8 of the Mississippi River near La Crosse Oct. 25-29.
The Wisconsin DNR is working with the Minnesota DNR, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) using the innovative Modified Unified Method (MUM). This is the second time MUM has been used in Wisconsin or Minnesota waters. Thirty-four silver carp were captured in Pool 8 (La Crosse and Vernon Co.) during the first interagency carp removal operation in April.
There will be no impacts to commercial or recreational boat traffic on the main channel of the Mississippi River.
Developed by the USGS, the MUM method uses block nets to create compartments or “cells.” The USGS then uses electrofishing boats and boats outfitted with underwater speakers to herd carp from each cell. When a cell is cleared, another net is used to close the cell and prevent the fish from returning.
