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MISC Feb 2025 Bulletin

Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation sent this bulletin at 02/09/2025 04:19 PM MST

February 9, 2025

Invasive Species Day at the Capitol Rotunda February 12, 2025

Agencies and organizations involved with invasive species prevention, detection and control will be at the Helena Capitol rotunda to visit with Montana legislators on February 12th.

69th Montana State Legislature

Information about the session can be found here: Home - Montana Legislature

MISC is following these bills:

HB 57 - Designate quail as upland game bird
HB 74 - Revising private fish pond and commercial take laws
HB 242 - Revise fines related to aquatic invasive species
SB 167 - Provide funding for noxious weed trust

LC bill requests:

LC0306 Generally revise laws related to the department of commerce
LC0158 Generally revise funding for Aquatic Invasive Species Program
LC0159 Generally revise aquatic invasive species laws
LC0160 Generally revise aquatic invasive species laws
LC0161 Generally revise aquatic invasive species laws
LC0164 Generally revise private fish pond fees and penalties
LC0165 Generally revise live fish importation laws
LC0166 Generally revise aquatic invasive live fish importation laws
LC0360 Generally revise aquatic invasive species laws
LC0824 Revise laws related to aquatic invasive species
LC0907 Prohibiting the state from awarding grants to non-profits
LC3036 List quail in game bird definition
LC3768 Establish or revise penalties for drive-by boat check stations - AIS protections
LC3822 Revise penalty laws for transporting aquatic invasive species
LC4151 Revise weed control laws
LC4294 Generally revise aquatic invasive species laws

News

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.

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.

Giant Hornet Removal - Bugwood

Join NAISMA for National Invasive Species Awareness Week (NISAW) 2025, happening February 24th -28th! This year, we’re bringing together leading experts from across the field to deliver a week full of engaging and informative webinars designed to empower you in the fight against invasive species.

Learn More

Registration is open for the Annual NAISMA Conference, taking place this November!

Early bird rates are available, but only for a limited time—register now to secure your spot!

When: November 3–6, 2025

Where: Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, NV

Special Rate: Book your stay at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and enjoy our exclusive discounted rate of $59 per night (plus resort fees & applicable taxes). Spaces fill up fast, so secure your spot early!

Join us for four days of engaging sessions, networking opportunities, and hands-on workshops in the stunning backdrop of Lake Tahoe. With a focus on the latest innovations and challenges in invasive species management, this conference is a must-attend for professionals, researchers, and advocates alike.

Stay tuned—the full conference agenda is coming soon!

Learn More

Research

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.

Take-home points:

Native species, particularly plants, need to move orders of magnitude faster than their current rates to ‘keep up’ with the pace of climate change.
Native species moving too slowly is consistent across taxa and across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems.
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.
Non-native species, particularly plants, tend to have larger ranges and therefore might have more area to expand into with climate change.

Management implications:

Most native species need human assistance to expand their ranges.
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.
Non-native species also have larger areas of potential range contraction, and restoration opportunities could result from these changes.

What Do Your Invasive Species Specialists Do During Winter Weather

Karen Laitala, Coordinator - Powell County Invasive Plants

This time of year it is not uncommon to be asked questions like, “What do you do now that the plants are dormant/frozen/covered with snow?”. Understandably, it is assumed that once plants are no longer actively growing there aren’t many, if any, occupational demands or requirements.

The truth is, much of the field season undertakings are reliant on efforts made during the “off” season. In Powell County, for example, we have loaner equipment to winterize as well as evaluate in terms of current and future maintenance requirements. The Weed Board, its county coordinator, and the board’s finance administrator have a substantial amount of “paperwork” to process.