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REMINDER
AIS Grant Applications Due January 5th
The Montana Invasive Species Council is accepting applications for 2025 Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Grants. The application period is from November 24, 2024, to January 5, 2025.
AIS grants are intended to increase local capacity and involvement to address AIS issues. Projects that focus on these AIS management components are eligible: prevention, early detection, education and outreach, research, and treatment.
This state funded program awards approximately $250,000 each year. Applicants may request up to $50,000 per project.
Grant applicants can be local, state, tribal, or other government entities within the state; and Montana-based non-governmental entities.
Applications are due Sunday, January 5, 2025, before midnight.
AIS Grant Program Guidelines are here: Aquatic Invasive Species Grant Program
The grant application form is here: grants.dnrc.mt.gov. Scroll down to AIS 2025 Grant Application.
Contact Liz Lodman at 406-444-0547 with any questions on the grant and application process. Questions can be emailed to dnraisgrants@mt.gov.
Noxious Weed Trust Fund Grant Applications Now Available
The Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) announced noxious weed grant funding is now available for the 2025 Noxious Trust Fund (NWTF) Grant Program. Established by the 1985 Montana Legislature, the NWTF grants provide funding for noxious weed research projects, development projects, state and community education, and local cooperative - landowner cost share.
To learn more about these opportunities, please visit the Noxious Weed Trust Fund website or contact Greta Dige, NWTF Program Coordinator, at 444-7882 or greta.dige@mt.gov.
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Invasive Non-Native Golden Mussel Discovered in the Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta
Golden mussel (Limnoperna fortunei), an invasive, non-native freshwater bivalve, was recently discovered in the Port of Stockton by California Department of Water Resources staff while conducting routine operations. Suspected golden mussels have also been identified at O’Neill Forebay in Merced County and are currently undergoing genetic testing for confirmation.
This discovery is the first known occurrence of golden mussels in North America. The species poses a significant immediate threat to the ecological health of the Delta and all waters of the state, water conveyance systems, infrastructure and water quality.
In waterways where this species is present, heavy encrustations of golden mussels have blocked municipal and industrial water intakes, necessitated ongoing biofouling removal, harmed native species in the ecosystem, increased water clarity due to intense filter feeding, and diminished water quality.
Golden mussels were likely introduced to California by a ship traveling from an international port. They are likely to spread throughout the Delta and through the water conveyance systems associated with it. Without containment, golden mussels are likely to spread to other freshwater bodies in California, and to other ports and inland waters of North America, and abroad.
Read more here: Quagga/Zebra Mussels News | Invasive Non-Native Golden Mussel Discovered in the Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta
Northern Giant "Murder" Hornets Eradicated
OLYMPIA, WA – After three years without confirmed detections, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have declared the northern giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) eradicated from Washington and the United States.
The eradication success was the result of a multiyear effort to find and eradicate the hornets, which began in 2019. It involved extensive collaboration between state, federal, and international government agencies as well as significant support from community members and groups, especially in Whatcom County.
“Without the public’s support for this effort, it is unlikely we would be announcing the eradication of northern giant hornet today,” Sven Spichiger, WSDA pest program manager, said. “All of our nest detections resulted directly or indirectly from public reports. And half of our confirmed detections came from the public. The people of Washington can be proud that we did this by working together.”
Had the hornets become established in the country, they could have posed a significant threat to honey bees and other pollinators and native insects. Northern giant hornets are able to kill an entire honey bee hive in as little as 90 minutes. They also pose a threat to human health as their sting is more dangerous than that of a honey bee.
Read more
Giant Hornet Removal - Bugwood
As the North American Invasive Species Management Association’s Weed Free Products (WFP) program expands across the country, legal and policy barriers have emerged that limit implementation. To advance the WFP standards, the National Sea Grant Law Center (NSGLC) at the University of Mississippi School of Law is collaborating with NAISMA to create a model legal package for state noxious weed programs focused on pathway prevention through certified weed free forage, gravel, and mulch.
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World of Crayfish - New mapping project puts 427 crayfish taxa and over 100,000 observation records on the first searchable global atlas
The resource will help protect vulnerable crayfish species and manage invasive ones worldwide.
Summary: Understanding species’ potential range shifts in response to climate change involves two main components. First, how fast are species able to move (observed spread). Second, how much space does the species have to move into (potential spread). Faster-moving species with larger ranges to expand into have a higher likelihood of surviving in a changing climate. Researchers and practitioners are concerned that non-native species will have an advantage in shifting their ranges with climate change. Bradley et al. (2024) review observed and potential spread of native versus non-native species and show that these concerns are well founded. In terrestrial systems, species need to move an estimated 3.25 km/year just to keep up with the current pace of climate change. Non-native species are spreading at an average rate of 35 km/year, more than 20 times faster than native species. These numbers illustrate that non-native species should have no problem shifting their ranges in response to climate change. In contrast, many native species, particularly slow-moving taxa like plants, will be unable to keep up without help. However, if native species had assistance like non-native species do, many more native species would be likely to persist with climate change.
In addition to spreading much faster, non-native species also appear to have larger potential ranges than native species, giving them more area to expand with climate change. This is likely due to the broader climatic tolerance of non-native (and especially invasive) species as well as their release from natural enemies. Species with large potential ranges currently also tend to have large potential ranges with climate change, which means that they have more area of expansion and more area of contraction. Area of expansion can be interpreted as risk from range-shifting species; area of contraction could create potential for restoration, but the loss of invasive species due to climate change has not yet been documented on the ground. Collectively, this review underscores the clear advantage that non-native species have in a changing climate.
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Native species, particularly plants, need to move orders of magnitude faster than their current rates to ‘keep up’ with the pace of climate change.
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Native species moving too slowly is consistent across taxa and across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems.
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Non-native species across taxa and systems are readily keeping pace with climate change, likely due to human-mediated spread combined with faster natural spread rates.
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Non-native species, particularly plants, tend to have larger ranges and therefore might have more area to expand into with climate change.
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Most native species need human assistance to expand their ranges.
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Non-native species, and especially invasive species, tend to have broader climate tolerance and therefore will have larger areas of potential range expansion with climate change.
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Non-native species also have larger areas of potential range contraction, and restoration opportunities could result from these changes.
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