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Thanks to OPB and all the other organizations out there doing their level best to educate and inform the public about invasive species.

As a biologist for Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District in Beaverton, I have worked many hundreds of hours on 'managing' invasive species, both plant and animal. At times this seems an uphill battle, but I've seen positive, measurable results from all the work that has been done on this front. Most of this work has been done in partnership with various agencies and non-profit organizations, such as Clean Water Services and SOLV, respectively.

One project in our district has resulted in the removal of over 40 common snapping turtles from a pond in one of our parks that is less than 1/8 mile from Fanno Creek. Notably, these non-native, predatory turtles are healthy and reproducing in the pond, yet in the four years while the project has been going on, and for at least a decade prior, no native turtles have ever been seen in the pond. This, in light of the fact that pond turtles are living in the Fanno Creek system less than a mile away, is both surprising and dismaying. We can't say for certain that the snapping turtles are the primary reason we aren't seeing our native turtles in the pond, but the evidence is pretty damning. But we are having an effect and, once the snapping turtles have been removed completely, we hope to see basking pond turtles in the pond sometime in the near future.

At another site about a mile upstream we are using a variety of integrated pest management techniques to battle three especially problematic weeds: purple loosestrife, meadow knapweed, and yellow floatingheart. Yellow floatingheart is an aquatic weed that was discovered in an ephemeral pond about three years ago, and this was the first discovery of this species in the state of Oregon. Quick action with our partners at the Oregon Department of Agriculture has resulted in a reduction of approximately 90% of the population. The other weeds are under management methods including mechanical, chemical, and biological control coupled with cultural changes in how our organization manages the infested area. In each of these cases, it has taken a combination of pro-active, integrated management techniques, implemented quickly and aggressively, to get these weeds under control.

Garlic mustard is one of the latest invaders in the Portland area, yet many organizations have pitched in to attack and control the spread of this insidious invader that has the potential to change entire ecosystems. This is yet another example of what individuals, working together, can accomplish.

Yes, the battle against such invaders as English ivy and Himalayan blackberry are ongoing, and, yes, the battle at times seems uphill and never-ending, but the positive results I've seen from our efforts on these and other species is very encouraging. I strongly feel that if each of us does a consistent amount of work, even if it seems a small amount overall, we can get these weeds under control.

posted 5 years ago
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