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Topic: Invasive species

Overview April 24, 2014

Invasive species

Invasive species, also known as exotics, are plants, animals, insects, and aquatic species introduced into non-native habitats. Without natural predators or threats, these introduced species then multiply.

Often,invasive species travel to non-native areas by ship, either in ballast water released into harbors or attached to the sides of boats. From there, introduced species can then spread and significantly alter ecosystems and the natural food chain as they go. Another  example of non-native species introduction is the dumping of aquarium fish into waterways.

Invasive species also put water conveyance systems at risk. Water pumps and other infrastructure can potentially shut down due to large numbers of invasive species.

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Aquafornia news March 20, 2023 California WaterBlog

Blog: The rapid invasion of Mississippi silverside in California

The Mississippi silverside (Menidia audens[1]) is one of the most abundant fishes in the San Francisco Estuary and in the fresh waters of California in general. As the name indicates, it is not native to the state but was introduced into Clear Lake, Lake County, in 1967, from which it quickly spread widely, via the California aqueduct system and through angler introductions as a bait and forage fish (Moyle 2002). It is a small fish, 7-12 cm (3-4 inches) adult length but typically occurs in large schools. Its impact on native fishes is poorly understood but is most likely negative. This blog tells the story of how it came to be introduced, as a classic example of the Frankenstein Effect, where a well-intentioned, science-based introduction created an out-of-control monster.

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Aquafornia news March 14, 2023 Modern Farmer

To cultivate modern sustainability, a California wine region is turning to very old methods

Ask any of the wine grape growers planting own-rooted stock why they’re farming these massively risky grapevines and they’ll all tell you the same thing: They just want to make really great wine. But there’s another benefit to the gamble, too—unlike most American wine grapes, which are overwhelmingly grown on grafted rootstock, own-rooted vines are especially drought-tolerant, produce a more predictable crop and use significantly fewer resources. There’s a huge downside to using own-rooted vines, though. If they get attacked by phylloxera, the entire crop will die. It won’t be a loss of just one season’s grapes—the entire vineyard itself will be totally destroyed. And the invasive species is present in the soil in vineyards throughout America.

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Aquafornia news March 13, 2023 Arizona Republic

Cold water releases could thwart invasive bass in Grand Canyon

Federal dam managers are preparing a springtime assault against smallmouth bass on the Colorado River, possibly using cool water from deep in Lake Powell to keep the non-native fish from getting entrenched in Grand Canyon. Environmental and river recreation advocates hope the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will pair cold water with a rush of water from deep behind Glen Canyon Dam, both disrupting bass reproduction around Lees Ferry and restoring eroded sandbars farther downstream. That option, officially under study, is politically sensitive because it would cost hydropower production and move water out of a reservoir that has dropped to about a quarter of its storage capacity. The stakes for humpback chub and other native fishes are high. Young smallmouth bass, which grow into voracious warm-water predators, were found between the dam and Lees Ferry last year…

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Aquafornia news March 7, 2023 Newsweek

Invasive fish may swarm Colorado River as water levels decline

An invasive fish species could begin swarming more areas of the Colorado River, officials have warned. In a report released in February by the Bureau of Reclamation, concerns are raised that smallmouth bass—an invasive species established in Colorado River reservoir Lake Powell—could escape into other reaches of the river, below the dam. Lake Powell, formed by the Glen Canyon Dam, is seeing some of its lowest water levels ever. Officials are concerned that the low water levels will cause the smallmouth bass to escape past the dam, which has so far served as a barrier for the fish. When water levels are high, the report said it prevents the fish passing through.

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Aquafornia news March 1, 2023 Division of Boating and Waterways

News release: Division of Boating and Waterways begins control efforts in the Delta for aquatic invasive plants

California State Parks’ Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) announced today its plans for this year’s Aquatic Invasive Plant Control Program in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and its southern tributaries. Starting tomorrow, March 1, DBW will begin herbicide treatments to control water hyacinth, South American spongeplant, Uruguay water primrose, Alligator weed, Brazilian waterweed, curlyleaf pondweed, Eurasian watermilfoil, hornwort (aka coontail), and fanwort. These aquatic invasive plants have no known natural controls in the west coast’s largest estuary, the Delta. They negatively affect the Delta’s ecosystem as they displace native plants. Continued warm temperatures help the plants proliferate at high rates. 

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Aquafornia news February 27, 2023 KNAU - Arizona

Federal officials propose plan to prevent invasive fish from spawning in Colorado River

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is seeking public input on a plan to prevent smallmouth bass from spawning downstream of Glen Canyon Dam. Officials say the historically low levels in Lake Powell result in warm water being released from the dam which creates ideal spawning conditions for the predatory invasive species. The bureau wants to prevent the bass from establishing in the Colorado River between the dam and the confluence of the Little Colorado River and could try to reduce the water temperature and change the flow velocity from the dam. Smallmouth bass are a major threat to native fish including the federally protected humpback chub that live at the confluence.

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Western Water February 25, 2022 Alastair Bland Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Map Layperson's Guide to the Delta WESTERN WATER-With Delta Smelt Virtually Gone in the Wild, A "Hatch-and-Release" Program Aims to Save Them From Extinction By Alastair Bland

With Delta Smelt All But Gone in the Wild, A First-Ever “Hatch-and-Release” Effort Aims to Save Them From Extinction
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Experimental releases of finger-size fish into Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta inspires hope, but also skepticism, about the smelt's future

Crew releases hatchery-raised Delta smelt into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. In the vast labyrinth of the West Coast’s largest freshwater tidal estuary, one native fish species has never been so rare. Once uncountably numerous, the Delta smelt was placed on state and federal endangered species lists in 1993, stopped appearing in most annual sampling surveys in 2016, and is now, for all practical purposes, extinct in the wild. At least, it was.

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Tour September 9, 2021 - 2:30pm - 5:30pm Nick Gray Jenn Bowles Layperson's Guide to the Delta

Bay-Delta Tour 2021
A Virtual Journey - September 9

This tour guided participants on a virtual journey deep into California’s most crucial water and ecological resource – the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The 720,000-acre network of islands and canals support the state’s two major water systems – the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project. The Delta and the connecting San Francisco Bay form the largest freshwater tidal estuary of its kind on the West coast.

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Aquapedia background May 21, 2020

Nutria

Large rodents native to South America, nutria began causing alarm along rivers and other waterways after being rediscovered in California in 2017.

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Western Water January 4, 2019 Douglas E. Beeman Douglas E. Beeman

Women Leading in Water, Colorado River Drought and Promising Solutions — Western Water Year in Review

Dear Western Water readers:

Women named in the last year to water leadership roles (clockwise, from top left): Karla Nemeth, director, California Department of Water Resources; Gloria Gray,  chair, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; Brenda Burman, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner; Jayne Harkins,  commissioner, International Boundary and Water Commission, U.S. and Mexico; Amy Haas, executive director, Upper Colorado River Commission.The growing leadership of women in water. The Colorado River’s persistent drought and efforts to sign off on a plan to avert worse shortfalls of water from the river. And in California’s Central Valley, promising solutions to vexing water resource challenges.

These were among the topics that Western Water news explored in 2018.

We’re already planning a full slate of stories for 2019. You can sign up here to be alerted when new stories are published. In the meantime, take a look at what we dove into in 2018:

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Tour June 28, 2018 - June 29, 2018 Headwaters Tour Looks at Tree Mortality, Bark Beetle Epidemic & Visits Forest Lab Stantec California Department of Water Resources Association of California Water Agencies California Forest Watershed Alliance Placer County Water Agency

Headwaters Tour 2018

Sixty percent of California’s developed water supply originates high in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Our water supply is largely dependent on the health of our Sierra forests, which are suffering from ecosystem degradation, drought, wildfires and widespread tree mortality.

Headwaters tour participants on a hike in the Sierra Nevada.

We headed into the foothills and the mountains to examine water issues that happen upstream but have dramatic impacts downstream and throughout the state. 

GEI (Tour Starting Point)
2868 Prospect Park Dr.
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670.
View map
  • Tim Quinn
  • John Andrew
  • Tom Smith
  • Dan Segan
  • Jacques Landy
  • Heather Segale
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Western Water June 1, 2018 Space Invaders Gary Pitzer

It’s Not Just Nutria — Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has 185 Invasive Species, But Tracking Them is Uneven
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Delta science panel urges greater coordination, funding of invasive species monitoring

Water hyacinth choke a channel in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.For more than 100 years, invasive species have made the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta their home, disrupting the ecosystem and costing millions of dollars annually in remediation.

The latest invader is the nutria, a large rodent native to South America that causes concern because of its propensity to devour every bit of vegetation in sight and destabilize levees by burrowing into them. Wildlife officials are trapping the animal and trying to learn the extent of its infestation.

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Aquapedia background August 7, 2017 Layperson's Guide to the Delta

Estuary

Suisun Marsh, part of the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary, is the largest contiguous brackish water marsh on the West Coast of North America.Estuaries are places where fresh and salt water mix, usually at the point where a river enters the ocean. They are the meeting point between riverine environments and the sea, with a combination of tides, waves, salinity, fresh water flow and sediment. The constant churning means there are elevated levels of nutrients, making estuaries highly productive natural habitats.

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Aquapedia background December 29, 2016

Quagga mussel

Quagga musselsA troublesome invasive species is the quagga mussel, a tiny freshwater mollusk that attaches itself to water utility infrastructure and reproduces at a rapid rate, causing damage to pipes and pumps.

First found in the Great Lakes in 1988 (dumped with ballast water from overseas ships), the quagga mussel along with the zebra mussel are native to the rivers and lakes of eastern Europe and western Asia, including the Black, Caspian and Azov Seas and the Dneiper River drainage of Ukraine and Ponto-Caspian Sea.  

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Aquapedia background September 1, 2016

Meadows

While less a scientific term than a colloquial one, meadows are defined by their aquatic, soil and vegetative properties.

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

Invasive Species Poster Set

One copy of the Space Invaders and one copy of the Unwelcome Visitors poster for a special price.

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

Unwelcome Visitors

This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, explains how non-native invasive animals can alter the natural ecosystem, leading to the demise of native animals. “Unwelcome Visitors” features photos and information on four such species – including the zerbra mussel – and explains the environmental and economic threats posed by these species.

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

Space Invaders

This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, explains how non-native invasive plants can alter the natural ecosystem, leading to the demise of native plants and animals. “Space Invaders” features photos and information on six non-native plants that have caused widespread problems in the Bay-Delta Estuary and elsewhere.

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Publication April 17, 2014 Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Map

Layperson’s Guide to the Delta
Updated 2020

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the Delta explores the competing uses and demands on California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Included in the guide are sections on the history of the Delta, its role in the state’s water system, and its many complex issues with sections on water quality, levees, salinity and agricultural drainage, fish and wildlife, and water distribution.

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Western Water Magazine September 1, 2013

Two States, One Lake: Keeping Lake Tahoe Blue
September/October 2013

This printed issue of Western Water discusses some of the issues associated with the effort to preserve and restore the clarity of Lake Tahoe.

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