Student Project: Impacts of Invasive Plants and Aquatic Organisms Storymap

In 2020, as part of Dr. Catherine de Rivera’s Ecology & Management of Bioinvasions class at Portland State University, OISC members and invasive species professionals advised students on various invasive species topics. Ashley Newcomb, Ashley Kahl-Placek, Matt Magel, Nick Stockton, Travis Hood, Tyler Chase, and William McDonald created a Storymap about the impacts of invasive plants and aquatic organisms. Information and guidance was provided by OISC Alternate Member Shawna Bautista (US Forest Service). To learn more about the other student projects that were created in this class, please click here.

Storymap: Invasive Species - Impacts of Invasive Plants and Aquatic Organisms

*Note: The views and opinions expressed in the attached file(s) or link(s) are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oregon Invasive Species Council.

The Results are in from the 2020 Great Scotch Broom Census!

Throughout the month of May, those in Oregon and Washington were asked to help collect data on Scotch Broom by submitting sighting reports through iNaturalist as part of the 2020 Great Scotch Broom Census. The iNaturalist project received over 1,000 observations across Oregon and Washington (with hundreds more on the Washington Invasives app) and the outreach campaign had over 150,000 views from social media, news outlets, etc.!

A certificate of appreciation was given to Patrick Birkle, Lynn Jackson, and Shawn Sharrah in recognition for their outstanding dedication to invasive species awareness through their participation in the Great Scotch Broom Census. Thank you to Patrick, Lynn, and Shawn!

The Great Scotch Broom Census was a part of the Scotch Broom Ecology and Management Symposium (June 2nd-4th, 2020), which was hosted online by the Washington Invasive Species Council, in cooperation with the 10,000 Years Institute, Washington DOT, Western Invasives Network, the Oregon Invasive Species Council, and many others.

Pretty Plants Create a Dangerous Threat

Columbia County’s The Chronicle recently published an article about the threat of invasive plants and shared some great insight from Crystlyn Bush, a Riparian Specialist with the Columbia Soil & Water Conservation District. Though this may not be new information to some of us, certain attractive plants or those that provide delicious fruit can be quite dangerous, posing a threat to biodiversity across the country. Specifically in our region, we have issues with Himalayan Blackberry, English Ivy, and Scotch Broom, among others. These plants arrived here by different methods; some came over inadvertently on ships with settlers, while others were intentionally introduced by people who weren’t aware of the long lasting impacts.

These plants not only affect biodiversity, but can have huge economic consequences. “The top 25 invasive plants are responsible for $83 million in costs to agriculture in the form of reduced production, the cost of controlling their spread, and degrading the native environment,” says Bush.

However, Bush gives us hope and a positive outlook on invasives: “There is not a bad plant, just a plant out of place.” While we may not be able to get rid of invasives entirely, we can attempt to keep them from spreading further.

Read the full article written by Morris Malakoff here.

To learn more about invasive plants in Oregon, check out the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Oregon Noxious Weed Profiles page.

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