Rochester Democrat and Chronicle:
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071228/NEWS01/712280369/1002/NEWS
December 28, 2007
Office fights non-native species
Erica Bryant
Staff writer
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation opened an Office of Invasive Species this week. Four full-time staffers will be devoted to controlling non-native species that can harm the environment or human health.
Steven Jay Sanford, a DEC biologist and the office director, said the goal is to coordinate efforts involving state agencies, universities and nonprofit organizations.
The DEC estimates that there are hundreds of non-native plants and animals in New York that threaten delicate ecosystems. Some, such as Sirex wood wasps, attack and destroy trees. Others, like Eurasian milfoil, grow rapidly in lakes and ponds, overwhelming other species in the competition for nutrients.
The rate of invasion has increased with the spread of global trade, according to the DEC Web site.
"The list just keeps growing," said Sanford.
About $5 million of the 2007-08 state budget has been devoted to invasive species programs, and many state agencies, universities and nonprofit groups are working to protect New York's ecosystems from invasive species.
DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis said this new office is important to reduce redundancy and close gaps among the numerous efforts. "We have never had a coordinated system in place to attack the problem, a system that threads together the issues of public outreach, funding and legislation needs and research," he said in a statement.
Besides coordinating efforts within the state, the office also will advocate for stricter federal policy on invasive species. Many of the 180 or so invasive species in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie arrived in the ballast water of ships that travel in international waters. Sanford said stronger federal laws are needed to prevent more invasions.
The office also will aim to eliminate inconsistencies in DEC efforts and state law. Sanford said the government has spent considerable time and money trying to eradicate certain invasive species that are still available for sale in nurseries throughout New York.
An example is purple loosestrife, a flowering invasive species that takes over wetlands, crowding out other plants such as cattails and reducing habitat for waterfowl.
"There's no point in people buying and planting this plant in New York state," Sanford said. "We need a common-sense approach so we don't have contradictions like this."
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