Investing in Invasives

 I recently wrote a paper for a Climate Law class. I wanted to write about invasive species, as I find this to be intriguing. The consequences of cultural exchange, global trade, and colonialism are another sort of devastating conquest, an ecological invasion. This is an old problem, dating back to ancient times, and yet, it appears to be even more of an issue lately. I wanted to study this in depth. Has climate change played a role in making invasive species more prevalent, and more dangerous? Below is my abstract, followed by a summary of my paper. 

Abstract: Invasive species have been a harmful issue to both ecosystems and economies for hundreds of years. Invasives can both take advantage of and cause stress to environments. Climate change is one of the biggest stressors to ecosystems in the last 30 years and has been accelerating invasive species behavior, exasperating the issue. It became clear, through research, that many of the goals for combating invasives mirror those of combating climate change. This is good news, as policy can be built together that will solve both issues. 

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), invasive species and climate change are two of the four driving forces behind biodiversity loss. Since climate change and invasive species population surges have been linked, both driving forces, as described by the USDA, can be seen as one larger connected driving force. This paper will explore this idea and analyze the legal underpinnings of invasive species regulation and determine if United States law is adequate to meet this challenge to our ecosystems and reliant economies during this climate change crisis. 

Climate Change, while not a new phenomenon, is at the moment an important global issue. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) not only specifies that climate change effects are causing consequences right now in water, energy, transportation, agriculture, and human health, but ecosystems are also experiencing shifts in seasonal timing due to unusually warmer summer seasons and shorter, warmer autumn and winter seasons.

Warmer seasons make extreme heat waves more likely. Studies in 2018 concluded the likelihood of an extreme heat wave will increase from 1 every 20 years to 1 in 4 by 2050. Winters, by comparison, will continue to warm, and produce up to 12 times fewer extreme cold days. This temperature disparity will impact snowpacks, reduce soil moisture, and greatly increase severity of droughts.  These droughts can then lead to perfect conditions for wildfires. 

Not only are the seasons changing, and extreme weather becoming more likely, but the composition of ocean water has changed acid levels. This affects marine ecosystems. In addition, rising sea levels increases risk of shore erosion, and surges in salt content to inland waterways. This affects wetlands ecosystems. 

All of this, due to manmade increases in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the ocean water acidity, the salt, the rise in temperatures, the increase in probability of extreme weather events, shifting in seasons all contributes to stress on ecosystems. 

Ecosystem stress is discussed in a paper published by The American Naturalist. “The ecosystem-level distress syndrome is manifest through changes in nutrient cycling, productivity, the size of dominant species, species diversity, and a shift in species dominance to opportunistic shorter-lived forms [. . .] Inability to cope leads to further dysfunctions and, perhaps, to irreversible ecosystem breakdown"  This paper was published in 1985, and included over harvesting, pollution, and extreme weather events as major contributors to ecosystem stress. No doubt, if this paper were published recently, climate change would be at the top of the list. Although climate change is absent, invasive species is on the paper’s list of known stressors. 

Invasive Species are defined as being a non-native species introduced to an ecosystem with the ability to cause harm. Because the existing ecosystems are unfamiliar with the invading species, there are often no natural defenses ready to keep the balance, and control the populations and growth of these alien species. Instead, the new species contribute to system stress, ravage host food sources, outcompete similar species, and alter soil and water compositions.

Invasives can cause harm in three ways: biodiversity loss, disruptions to agriculture leading to food insecurity, and disruptions to infrastructure and sustainability which can harm economies and quality of life. 

Biodiversity is key to sustainable ecosystems. Why is this important to people? Ecosystems are not limited to Natural systems. Biodiversity affects economics, health, and water resources. Therefore, Biodiversity loss will impact poverty, hunger, health and water, and according to the UN, will undermine programs aimed at development targets to fight these issues globally. 

A paper published in Nature Communications studied forest disturbance regimes in Europe. The paper concluded that even though wildfires and windfalls cause more damage, insect damage is on the rise and due to climate warming. 

Stressors reduce ecosystems’ resiliency. Both climate warming and pest populations are high stressors. Ecosystems haven’t high resiliency with alien pests to begin with, and combined with climate stress, invasive insects and plants could damage systems beyond repair. Once established, these alien species then challenge the native ecosystem, creating more stress and more biodiversity loss. 

In fact, according to another paper published in Nature, not only are insect pests positively affected by climate warming, “plant invasion is expected to be boosted by climate change” as well. Up until recently, invasive plant species were kept out of colder climates where frosts and temperate zone winters controlled spread. But warming has drastically altered the range for many plant and insect species.

Agriculture is tied to food security. Those "No Farms No Food" bumper stickers aren't just a clever slogan. Agriculture focuses on reproducing certain cultivars in large volumes for higher yields. Not only that, but we’ve spent thousands of years breeding crops with reduced defense systems, and higher tolerances of being planted in high volumes in close proximities. 

The rise of industrial farming has made monocultures very popular. The monoculture, or single mass reproduced species, is beneficial to commercial agriculture. It is easier and cheaper to plant, manage, and harvest single varieties of a product, especially at the quantities required in an industrial business. By removing the complexities of a variety of cultivated species, the business is able to speed up the planting and harvesting process, identify and correct problems in the growth cycle earlier and quicker, and continue to utilize the same land repeatedly for the same product. There is no need for crop rotations, or resting acreage. There are drawbacks, and invasives pose a real threat to this model.

Infrastructure is more than roads. The Invasive Species Advisory Committee published a white paper in 2016 that studied invasives’ impacts on infrastructure. The paper highlights a few species that cause damage to four major categories of infrastructure: Power, Water, Housing, and Transportation. Some of the species highlighted include zebra mussels, which are so damaging, we created an entire Act of Congress to deal with it, a few other mussel species that behave very much like zebra mussels, giant land snails, comb jellyfish, and bufflegrass. These species alone contribute to billions of dollars in infrastructure damage and property loss. 

Speaking of Acts of Congress, since this isn't a new phenomenon, what has the US government done for ecosystem  protections, and non-indigenous species invasions? 

The Lacey Act

The Lacey Act is the first federal mandate on environmental protection, drafted and introduced by John F Lacey, Republican from Iowa, and signed into law by President McKinley. Since its adoption, the act was amended several times since to incorporate more species. This act was originally a response to declines in game populations due to commercial hunting, and built to address this issue.  

The original purpose of the act was to prohibit the poaching of certain species with the intent to trade or sell. The Lacey Act makes it unlawful to “import, export, sell, acquire, or purchase fish, wildlife, or plants that are taken, possessed, transported, or sold” in two ways: if in violation of U.S. or tribal law, or in violation of state or foreign law in interstate or foreign commerce. The act regulates in two ways. Not only does it protect native species from being moved within the country’s borders by limiting interstate trafficking, but it also regulates international trafficking. 

Over time, this act has been used successfully to restrict the trafficking of wildlife across borders, mislabel imports and exports, and cut down on introducing harmful species. It can be used to limit the exotic pet trade, like pythons introduced to the Florida everglades. However, it does nothing to address accidental introductions, like the wooly adelgid, the emerald ash borer, or zebra mussels. 

The National Invasive Species Act

In 1990, the Non-Indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act (NANPCA) was introduced into the House by Dennis M Hertel from Michigan’s 14^th district. Initially, the act gave powers to the Secretary of the Coast Guard to prevent further spread of aquatic nuisance pests into the Great Lakes region. In addition, it set up an Aquatic Nuisance Task Force to study ballast exchange, determine the effects of species introduction on the economy, and “determine need for controls”. The task force includes the Coast Guard and the EPA, but also Fish and Wildlife, NOAA, the Army Corp of Engineers, the Forest Service, the National Parks Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. The act also mandates the secretary to confer with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for international cooperation.

The NANPCA was amended in 1996 as the National Invasive Species Act (NISA). This amendment included more aquatic species, and several other key waterways, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Chesapeake Bay, San Francisco Bay, and Hawaiian and Floridian inland waters. 

NISA does have its drawbacks. Coordinating all those federal agencies into one cohesive group is difficult. Coast Guard funding for ballast control has to be reauthorized every year. But most importantly, NISA has no targets or goals to meet. There are no reduction goals, or a timeline, or even the appropriate population numbers for pest species. They release guidelines, but have no measurable policy objectives. 

In contrast, the IMO does have certifiable standards of enforcement, with achievable benchmarks. But the US has decided to go it alone instead of join the IMO ballast exchange treaty, which has been signed by 78 other nations. 

The Endangered Species Act

The Endangered Species Act was meant to replace the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966. The 1973 edition, signed by Nixon, combined the endangered list created by the 1966 act with comprehensive coverage for habitats, and ecosystems, with a much expanded definition of protected species and classes of fish and wildlife. 

In addition, there were some other new features created within the act that changed pest management. The act created the Office of Pesticide Management within the EPA. This office uses the endangered species list, and protected ecosystems to determine pesticide label restrictions. The 1973 act, therefore, promotes integrated pest management approaches, and reduces reliance on chemical controls. 

Legislation can only go so far. The law can only be as strong as its enforcement. This brings us to a brief history of Executive Orders pertaining to invasive species enforcement and management. 

Executive Orders

In 1999, President Clinton signed Order #13112, which used the Environmental Policy Act of 1969, NISA, the Lacey Act and the Endangered Species Act to create the Invasive Species Council within the Cabinet. This body authorized the creation of the Invasive Species Monitoring Plan, and created federal policy authorizing action needed to identify, and respond to invasive species threats.

The Clinton Order revoked an earlier President Carter Order #11987. This earlier order attempted to address invasive species threats by ordering the DOI and USDA to "restrict introduction of exotic species". The order failed miserably, mostly due to the Reagan Administration failing to enforce it. 

Barack Obama signed Order #13751 in 2016. This order, unlike Clinton's, bolstered the older order, strengthening it, instead of revoking it and attempting to rewrite it. The Obama Order clarified department duties, strengthened cooperation, and most importantly, included provisions for public safety, and climate change. 

With both legislation and executive policy in sync, enforcement of the laws and policy need to be examined. What exactly are we doing to limit invasive species population growth?

Management Tactics: What are we Doing?

The prevailing wisdom for invasive species management is a three-fold response. To effectively manage pest populations, the vectors for entry must be closed, the pest population must be lowered to acceptable, healthy levels, and the environment must be rebuilt to withstand future infestations.

The legal backbone for the management plan and its initiatives appears to be strong enough combined to give the executive branch power to create the policy. A big drawback seems to be how these initiatives go from recommendations and coordinated plans to actual action on the ground. As discussed previously, Executive Order 13751 allows for the task force to set up a fund, and make recommendations on how that fund is used, but doesn’t actually have the power to fund the recommendations. The funding has to come through Congress, and budgets need to be reallocated every year, also as previously discussed in Coast Guard ballast water enforcement.

Real working policy on climate change is going to require investment, global cooperation, and longterm strategies across multiple departments and agencies. This sounds very much like the same requirements needed for invasive species management. The big difference between climate change policy and invasive species policy, is the government framework already exists. We already have coordinated, cooperating agencies mandated through executive orders and supported by settled legislation. The Invasive Species and Endangered Species Acts already give government authorities to adequately combat these problems, both domestically and with foreign cooperation. 

So, then, what is missing? How can we best invest and act on these existing legal frameworks? Recently, Congress introduced a resolution pledging investment, restructuring, and longterm strategies aimed at combating climate change. This resolution should also include invasive species management.

What Exactly is The Green New Deal Anyway?

In 2019, the 116^th Congress submitted the Green New Deal in House Resolution 109. Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, and House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced this resolution to Congress. The idea for a Green New Deal actually dates back to 2007 when Thomas Freidman coined the term as a solution to Climate Change. He realized that this issue could only be solved with money, effort, and upsetting of norms not seen since Roosevelt’s New Deal during the Depression. Since then, the term Green New Deal has been discussed by Barack Obama, Jill Stein, and Howie Hawkins. The Green New Deal was the centerpiece of Ocasio-Cortez’s run for the New York’s 14^th district. It is now a reality.

            

But what is in this resolution? The non-binding Green New Deal is not legislation. It acts more as a framework going forward, guiding principles and goals for future legislation and policy. The resolved contains four conclusions, containing goals for a sustainable future. It calls for achieving net-zero emissions, building economic security for all, building infrastructure to sustain a 21^st century economy, securing clean air, water, providing climate and community resiliency, and access to healthy food, nature, and a sustainable environment.
            

Some of the ways the Green New Deal will do this include investing in sustainable agriculture, restoring ecosystems through afforestation and land preservation, and working with the international community on climate change solutions. These are all also the goals of invasive species management. I propose adding invasive species management as a critical step in achieving Green New Deal aspirations.
            

Currently, in Europe, a similar strategy is being implemented. The European Union proposed its own Green Deal in 2019. Inside this deal is the Biodiversity Strategy. The targets for this strategy include reforestation, recreating free flowing rivers, and diversifying agriculture. There is also a provision for funding, calling for €20 billion a year earmarked for biodiversity, the same biodiversity threatened by invasive species. By collaborating with this European New Deal, the US can start to fulfill the international community outreach provision in the resolution. It is also a provision seemingly ignored in NISA.
           

 By folding invasive species management into the Green New Deal, we can better realize our goals for harmonizing the many enforcement agencies participating in the Invasive Species Management Plan. Shoring up discrepancies between agencies like we saw between the EPA and Coast Guard with regards to ballast exchange will make it more difficult for agencies to issue exemptions, or make deals based on adjacent legislation. In fact, by collaborating with the EU Green Deal, the US can honor its pledge to collaborate with ballast water exchange by joining the IMO’s ballast water treaty.  This would allow the Coast Guard to enforce NISA with real goals and targets, and universally approved systems and standards that align with the rest of the maritime community.  
            

The Green New Deal will be able to provide funding for crucial habitat restoration projects, repairing areas damaged by invasives, and strengthening systems at risk of being overrun. Biodiversity is crucial to withstanding invasive species degradation, and is also at the heart of the Green New Deal. Ocasio-Cortez has proposed a Climate Corps, a plan to resurrect the FDR era Civilian Conservation Corp using Clinton’s AmeriCorps model, to provide the labor resources for rehabilitation projects. The newly proposed corps would hit many of the Green New Deal goals by providing jobs to complete projects aimed at rebuilding sustainable ecosystems, creating community resiliency, and building infrastructure for reliable clean energy.
            

In addition to civilian jobs corps, there have been, in recent Congresses, proposed legislation to bolster invasive species response. For example, Senator John Barrasso from Wyoming introduced the Federal Land Invasive Species Control, Prevention, and Management Act in 2017. This bill would have mandated the Secretary of the Interior to draw up plans and set management goals to curb invasive species populations on federal lands in coordination with states, and also set annual funding requirements.
           

Peter Welch, Congressman at Large from Vermont, introduced a bill recently to combine eradication efforts with forest restoration. The aptly named Invasive Species Prevention and Forest Restoration Act seeks to amend the Plant Protection Act, expand emergency authorities for invasive species management, and create grants for forest reclamation. 
           

Both of these introduced pieces of legislation are seeking to strengthen environmental protections, introduced by members of both parties. Framed within the Green New Deal, this could be a chance to bring bi-partisan support to solving long lasting problems.

In Order to Summarize

To sum up, both climate change and invasive species create stress to planet-wide systems. Together they compound the stressors and make recovery much more difficult. They go hand in hand and are causing harm to both industry and quality of life. The estimated damage to infrastructure, economic yields, ecosystems, and contributions to flood and fire disasters is priced in the billions of dollars annually. My policy recommendations are to use the Green New Deal resolution and our already existing legal frameworks to harmonize our enforcement. Our agencies need clear goals, and benchmarks to hit with regards to enforcement. Regulation is meaningless without clear expectations.

Because climate change and invasives are so intertwined, policy must also be intertwined. Biodiversity, economic diversity, sustainability, reducing ecosystem stressors, and reducing economic harm are all goals of the Green New Deal and invasive species management, it makes sense to connect them.

I recommend planting Invasive Species Management firmly in the context of a system stressor influenced by climate change and empowered to do more damage because of climate change. If the Green New Deal recognizes invasive species management as a goal that will help reach other goals in the resolution, policy will benefit from already existing legal and enforcement frameworks created for invasive species management. Invasive task forces and management plans, after all, are blueprints for combating environmental stressors and have bipartisan support, which is something the Green New Deal desperately needs.

The Green New Deal resolution can provide long lasting funding packages allowing the new conservation core the ability to support sustainability programs and ecosystem rehabilitation. The philosophy of the IPM plan can be modified and implemented for climate change rehabilitation.

The Green New Deal can make joining the IMO’s ballast water treaty an executive priority. Both climate change and invasive species are global issues. As a global trade hub, the United States must put itself in a leadership role. The Green New Deal resolves to reach out for international support. Joining an already existing treaty meant to decrease global ecosystem harms seems like a good first step. The two predominant executive orders discussed above make invasive species management priorities across all executive branch departments and agencies. Joining a treaty resolved to uphold these same values should also be an executive priority in keeping with those already existing orders.

Energy Futures Won't Explode

It's story time. 

Once upon a time, I was on my High School Debate Team. We played in the Policy Debate format, meaning we were divided into teams of two, I had a partner, and there was one topic, or resolution, for the entire season. Each team prepared to either agree with the resolution and argue to affirm it, or disagree and argue to uphold the status quo. The debate is structured around four 8 minute speeches, one given by each team member, each speech rebutted by a 4 minute cross examination, and then closed with a 4 minute rebuttal closing speech. The debate is mediated and judged by an impartial debate judge, usually an adult/teacher. 

In the late 90's the National Policy Debate Resolution one year was as follows: 

That the Federal Government Should Establish a Policy to Substantially Increase Renewable Energy Use in the United States

My partner and I were both first year debaters. We were persuaded to debate as the Affirmative Team. There are some advantages to that. The Affirmative Team goes first in the debate structure. We get to define the terms of the resolution, and set the agenda for what will be debated and what can be challenged by the other side. Not only does the Affirmative Team have to show why the resolution should be adopted, but also create a plan for implementation. In contrast, the Negative team has to address and defeat each of the opposition's assertions for necessity, but also cast the plan in doubt. 

We set to work establishing our argument. While researching renewables, we ran into a few obscure articles on hydrogen fuel cells. At the time, the use of hydrogen fuel had barely begun to make a resurgence, long abandoned after the '40s. The papers, articles, and anecdotes we were able to collect told a story of a very real possibility of a clean burning fuel source, theoretically renewable, able to fully supplant coal and oil in fixed point power plants, but also theoretically replace gasoline in transportation. 

Our plan... 1: Hydrogen captured, burned for energy 2: waste water then collected and split using energy from solar farms. 3: Hydrogen recaptured , burned for energy 4: rinse. repeat. 

The arguments against were predictable. 

What about the waste water? Physically speaking, combustion happens when a substance is ignited, it combines with oxygen and burns, releasing energy. Hydrogen + Oxygen = H2O and nothing else. We found proof that hydrogen fuel waste water was safe enough to drink. 

Where does the energy come from to split the water back into hydrogen and oxygen? Solar power cells at the time would not be able to yield the power needed on a small scale for the continuous electrolysis needed to split molecules. Also, solar battery storage at the time was not good. However, as the Resolved points out, we only need to argue for policy change, and eventually the research and investment will yield future technology. Our sources predicted with proper investment, solar and hydrogen technologies would make leaps in the next 10 to 20 years. 

The biggest set back? Public opinion. 

You see... at the turn of the 20th century, rigid airships were newly engineered transport vessels. These vessels were created from massive fixed metal frames which housed ballasts filled with lighter than air gases, allowing for flight. Helium was the preferred gas used for these things, but due to helium shortages and US trade embargoes, hydrogen became a substitute, despite being more volatile. 

If anyone has some of these stamps, let me know

This volatility became a real public issue when, in 1937, the Hindenberg caught on fire at the Lakehurst Naval Yard in New Jersey. The incident was widely broadcast, famously by Herbert Morrison from WLS Chicago, and documented by newsreel footage. The newsreels, still photographs, and radio broadcast are even now easily recognized. 36 people lost their lives.

As a consequence, zeppelin technology was abandoned, and would have been eclipsed by passenger jet aircraft anyway. Hydrogen as a fuel would suffer the same fate, despite several other issues and factors contributing to the deadliness of the accident.

Anyway, my partner and I understood the easy arguments to dismiss hydrogen as dangerous and outdated, and we worked hard to find information to counter these biases born more than 60 years ago and reinforced by every high school history textbook ever since. 

The gas itself is no more flammable, or combustible than gasoline, and materials used to store this material are far advanced compared to 1930s technology. And, speaking of technology, just like solar tech, these things will also develop over time and become safer and more user friendly. 

During the debate season, we fared pretty well. Not many Negative Teams had prepared to argue against such an obscure fuel source plan. When we were mediated and judged by impartial judges, we usually won. 

Read that again.... "When we were mediated and judged by IMPARTIAL judges...."

Despite the rules for hearing and judging debates, we still ran into judges that awarded the debate to the other side simply due to the fact that they couldn't get past hydrogen as being dangerous and impractical, even when the Negative Team failed at arguing and winning that point based on the rules. Keep in mind, these judges were all either public school teachers, or debate league volunteers, not our high school peers. 

Yes, this still makes me salty. It's been 20 years and I'm still mad. 

Lately, though, my partner and I have been vindicated. 

I have been finding more and more articles from Popular Mechanics, SciTech Daily, and other science and engineering publications about hydrogen fuel cell innovations. In fact, one article, by Fuel Cell Works, specifically details the kind of water splitting fuel cells we hypothesized. 

Below are some more linky links. As you can tell, I'm proud of my teenage self for predicting the future. Also, this is my big F U to those biased judges of the past. 

Fuel Cells Works

Salt Cave Storage

Nanotech Materials

Crossmarketing for Pictures

I realized today that I used to do blogposts here about stuff I would see and take pictures of while working. I don't really do that anymore, mostly because I started using the 'gram. So, I'll link that shit here, and you can follow me there, for all my nature, food, nature food, and stupid selfie pics.

That's No Barren Wasteland

Recently I read a first-hand account of property maintenance in the suburbs. A couple moved from the city into a more rural Ohio suburb and decided to let the property “go natural”. The town zoning commission, though, forced them to mow. The home owner described the experience as “a massacre. I ran over a snake and killed it. I killed a toad. I cut down all of these beautiful native plants and wildflowers”.

Fighting against routine residential property maintenance is probably a losing battle, especially when involving community health and safety, aesthetic, and property values. However, this idea of empty space having value beyond aesthetics deserves attention. Residential property is only one example. Other open spaces in our communities not tied to residential property values do exist and can be better managed.

Like what our family from Ohio realized, these manmade grassland areas do create their own unique ecosystems. Land cleared for several different reasons requires routine maintenance to remain open space. These areas include airports, capped landfills, croplands, abandoned lots, and hayfields. If not maintained, open areas grow back into forest. Cultivating small biodiverse habitats within our highly managed and sterile residential environments has its benefits.

Empty lots allowed to “go natural” can seem from the street as desolate, unkempt property. But from the inside, they can be bustling with activity. Plants and wildflowers grow here, attracting bees and other pollinators. Birds nest here, raising their young. Predators stalk prey seen as vermin that use the tall vegetation to hide. Safely maintaining these systems can potentially boost bee activity, encourage bird populations, and manage pest problems. In short, an area kept clear for a pragmatic reason still lives.

The important term is safe maintenance. Mowing, as our Ohio couple discovered, can be extremely devastating to a grassland system. Developing a maintenance plan coinciding with flowering seasons and nesting times, as well as deciding on best practices for maintenance methods helps protect and develop these exciting backyard ecological systems in harmony with our need for aesthetically pleasing suburban communities.

The University of New Hampshire recommends regularly mowing areas like this every three years at six inches or higher, and physically removing shrubs or young saplings. Mowing ought to be done in autumn, after the nesting and flowering seasons, and during the day, as birds roost in the grass at night. In addition, controlled burns may be used as well. Not only does mimicking this natural process enrich soils and spread native grasses, but also provides valuable practice for local fire departments.



Cleared sites don’t have to just sit idle and foster biodiversity either. In addition, grassland areas can work for their communities. These areas can host the space needed for renewable energy sources, such as wind farms, and provide biofuels.

Regularly scheduled mowing does provide waste. Biomass fuel from haying and grass silage provides a cheap energy alternative while dramatically dropping greenhouse emissions and protecting soil and groundwater. The surrounding community benefits from an otherwise wasted space that could potentially keep land values down, and seem unsightly. The funding saved can then be reinvested into the grassland habitat, strengthening the ecosystem.



Invasive plant species thrive in these environments, the one drawback to open spaces. The best way to manage this issue combines targeting these destructive species for removal and fostering a healthy turf stand capable of defending itself. The money saved with biofuels will pay for all of this.

In conclusion, the importance of open space turf areas goes far beyond residential aesthetics. Communities have an opportunity to create their own system within areas like these. A system that can benefit local ecology, fulfill its role as a necessary open space, and also benefit the community’s energy needs is most certainly worth exploring.

You Must be Wondering What Type of Creature am I

This picture is from the "Shit I See at Work" folder. It is common for this guy to rest on objects near the water, or on the ground, which is where I found him. Although, there wasn't any large standing bodies of water around.

The Common White Tail dragonfly, also known as the Longtail Skimmer, plathemis lydia, can be found from the East Coast of North America all the way to the West. I posted about other dragonflies before. The Common Whitetail and August Meadowhawk are from the same Libellulidae family, although the whitetail is at least three times the size, one of the largest in the family. Some classify the Common Whitetail in the genus libellula, but others contend that it is a separate genus and should be classified as genus plathemis.

Check out those cool wing patterns!

Got Milk?

Here is another post in the "stuff I find at work" category. Today's fun new friend is far less terrifying than he looks. This dude is a baby lampropeltis triangulum, or eastern milk snake. Milk snakes are a species of king snake, and can look like corn snakes, fox snakes, and scarlet snakes, but are the only snake that looks like this north of New Jersey.

Young milk snakes, like my friend here, are non venomous and feast on slugs and earthworms, and insects like crickets. Adults mostly eat small lizards, frogs and rodents, but will also go after birds and their eggs and other snakes.

The snake gets it's name because they hang out in barns during the day. Apparently there is no other reason to be found in a barn unless you feed on cows milk... so because people are stupid, we created this myth that milk snakes suck on cow's udders. Idiots.

Feeding Frenzy!

Nature can be terrifying! Look at these monsters, devouring everything in sight! Horrifying! It's a good thing there was a screen between me and these insatiable birds.

These are American Goldfinches, spinis tristis. They don't look very yellow, but it is February, and goldfinches are the only finch to undergo a complete molt. This means they are super bright and yellow in the Summer, and boring and olive colored in the Winter. They like to hang out and feed in groups, like my picture suggests.

I was really hoping these were chicadees, because then I could use a bunch of homonym puns (genuses in the Paridae family are also known as tits or titmice). But, maybe I'll be able to get pictures of that kind of bird another time.

It's February. We're so Eft.

It's February. For such a short month, February takes so long to get through. Lewis Black once said things get so grey in February, that by the end, you just want to slit your wrists to see color.

To help with our collective Seasonal Affective Disorder, I bring you a dash of color. No self mutilation necessary.

This little guy is known as the Red Eft. The eft is the juvenile stage of the Eastern Newt, notophthalmus viridescens. There are four subspecies, since this is New England, his is most likely the red spotted variety. 

They live through three stages of life, the larva tadpole stage, the eft juvenile stage, and the adult stage. The eft, pictured here in its glorious color, is terrestrial, unlike the other two stages of its development. The tadpole will shed it's gills when becoming an eft. They travel in order to spread the species, and then redevelop gills and become an aquatic adult newt. 

The peninsula sub species skips the eft stage altogether, because its boring. Don't be like the penisula newt subspecies. February is boring enough, but just think, Spring is around the corner. I promise. 

... Sitting in a Tree, F-R-O-G-G-I-N-G

Apparently I love frogs. There are only so many different kinds of frogs around where I live, in New England, or as we like to call it, the "Center of the Universe, and your part of the country sucks".

This is the "frogs are cute" post. Peepers are little and can be super annoying. Like babies, and puppies. Here is one of these little suckers...

In case the scale is difficult to tell, the Spring Peeper (pseudacris crucifer) is roughly the size of a gumball, or could sit on a quarter. They are one of several species of chorus frogs found all over the North America. Obviously they are called chorus frogs because they love to sing, and they sing loud and proud.

Killing Machines: the Ultimate Hunter

It is very difficult to photograph dragonflies. They don't sit very long in one spot, and flit around pretty quickly. However, I got this little guy to hang out for a bit. This is a female Autumn Meadowhawk, sympetrum vicinum. It's only a little longer than an inch and a half. From the order Odonata, the dragonfly (suborder anisoptera) is far cooler than its damselfly cousin (suborder zygoptera).

Dragonflies are probably the coolest flying insect ever, and the deadliest predator on earth. The dragonflies, like this one, have a 95% success rate when hunting. For perspective, great white sharks have a 50% success rate, and lions have 25%.

Toads!

I'm such a good photographer. Check these out!

This is an Eastern American Toad, anaxyrus americanus americanus. He's a big fella, about the size of a baseball. They have a pretty unique call, described as a shrill 6 second whistle. This is what is known as a true toad. 

They say that all toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads, but I don't understand this line of logic. Frogs and toads together are amphibians from the order Anura. Within this order are two superfamilies, Bufonoidea (true toads), and Ranoidea (true frogs). Since all the species in the order Anura are considered frogs, then I guess toads are also frogs, but this seems to be based more on informal naming than actual taxonomy. 

Anyway, this dude knew how to pose. 

like a boss!

The Shiny Blue

Wasps are so cool! Probably the coolest insect family there is. I'll explain later.

Today I found something zipping around my apartment. It, like most flying insects, started smashing itself into the window screen, and so I went to take a look, and some pictures. They aren't very good pictures.

It appears to be a Steel Blue Cricket Hunter. A wasp from the Sphecidae family, Chlorion aerarium is related to other thread-waisted wasps such as the mud daubers, and digger wasps. 

They look very similar to Blue Mud Daubers, but I live in the Northeast and Blue Mud Daubers range from Tenessee to Mexico. I live a little too far north for them I think, and therefore I think it's safe to assume there was a Steel Blue Cricket Hunter in my apartment. 

Chlorion aerarium hunts crickets. Like most parasitic wasps, this one uses the crickets to incubate and feed its young. They actually eat sap from plants. Apparently they have been known to sublet Cicada Killer burrows, which I run into all the time.

The good news is I persuaded the wasp to fly out of my window without stinging me. Lucky me, lucky wasp.

Frogs!

The other day this little fella made my jump. Totally unexpected, this guy was just hanging out in a fence post. The hyla versicolor is better known as the Gray Tree Frog, or the Eastern Gray Tree Frog. Despite it's colorful name, this guy is decidedly not colorful at all. Apparently this species does change color like a chameleon, only slower, and on a green-gray scale.

 

Only God can Make a Tree

I pass this tree all the time in my truck. It is pretty epic, and one day I decided to take some time and take a picture.  

This thing is huge.  It's all gnarly and growing out at weird angles, looking like something out of a nightmare.  There aren't too many trees like this in the area.  This is an oak.  Although there are oak trees prevalent in the area, not many get as big.  Most of the wooded areas in New England are much younger forests.  

The sad part of all this is some day soon it will probably be taken down in the name of public safety, or a storm will take it out.  It already appears to have survived several weather events and attempts to keep it from growing into the road.  Bottom line: this tree is a boss.  

The title of this post is from Joyce Kilmer's poem.  

I think that I shall never see
a poem as lovely as a tree

A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed
against the sweet earth's flowing breast

A tree that looks at God all day
and lifts her leafy arms to pray

A tree that may in summer wear
a nest of robin's in her hair

Upon whose bosom snow has lain
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poem's are made by fools like me
But only God can make a tree

It Doesn't Matter if You're Black or White

This is one of the coolest pictures I've ever taken from a moving truck!

The ducks in these pictures aren't very remarkable, or rare.  The ducks are domestic ducks raised for food.  Domestic ducks are bred mostly from the anas platyrhynchos (common mallard).  They are usually more common in southeast Asia, where duck is a more common cuisine.  They need more space and yield less meat than chickens, which is why they aren't as popular in the west.

I'm not sure why these particular birds were hanging out in the middle of nowhere, but the recent suburban trend of raising farm animals for eggs, and milk, or just unique pets means there are plenty of strange things wandering around.

I like the colors here, and the monochrome pattern.

 

I Don't Fly Around Your Fire Anymore

I think it's sort of odd that we tend to think of Butterflies as being beautiful and lucky, but moths, which are from the same order as butterflies, are seen as dirty pests.  I don't really get it, as both have a variety of species which can both be harmful and helpful, and plenty that look pretty darn cool.

The other day I found this fella, hanging out, I nearly sat on him, actually, but managed to save him from getting crushed.  This is a moth from the subfamily Catocalinae.  As far as I can tell, it is either the Sweetheart Underwing (Catocala Amatrix), the Penitent Underwing (Catocala Piatrix), or the Dark Red Underwing (Catocala Ultronia).  It is difficult for me to tell, they have similar coloring, and my pictures aren't clear enough to make any sort of intricate distinction.  

Don't Prey on Me

Mantises are cool!  This is the first time I ever saw one outside of the Insect House at the zoo.  The Northeastern United States is known to have two species of mantis, both non-native and introduced sometime in the late 19th century, probably by accident.  However, they are great pest control, and have been encouraged by nurseries and farms throughout the area.  This particular mantis is the tenodera sinensis, the Chinese Mantis.

This one must have been around three inches long.  They can grow as big as four and a half.  I caught it chowing down on what I think used to be a bee.  Mantises will eat anything apparently, which is a good thing if you want to decrease your populations of pests, but not so good if they eat the bees, spiders, wasps and other similarly beneficial predators.  They have also been known to go after hummingbirds, and small rodents, as well as other mantises.  

Mantises share the same order, Dictyoptera, as termites and cockroaches.  They are the suborder Mantodea, and the termites and cockroaches are of the suborder Blattodea.  They are also pretty similar to phasmids (walking sticks), and grylloblattids (ice crawlers).  

Turkey!

This guy is a pet of a man I met during work.  I asked if the idea was to eat it for Thanksgiving, as it was pretty close to the holiday, and I was laughed at.  He's far too old to eat, apparently.

This particular bird is a Narrangansett turkey, which is a rare type of heritage turkey, which are domestic breeds of Meleagris Gallopavo.  This particular breed is a cross between the Meleagris Gallopavo, and the Meleagris Gallopavo Silvestris.

Judging from the picture I took, this could even be a Silver Narrangansett, which is even more rare, as the Bronze, and Narrangansett breeds are far more popular.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Peacock in a Box

This is another post where I just show pictures of weird-ass nature that I see at work. Today, I have one of the coolest mostly flightless birds ever invented. Apparently you can keep peafowl as pets, as evident by these pictures. There are two of them, a male (peacock) and a female (peahen). The male is rather obvious.

There are three kinds of peafowl, these particular peafowl are Indian Peafowl, pavo cristatus, and are probably the most recognizable of the three species. It is also the national symbol of India. These birds are most closely related to tragopans, pheasants, and junglefowl.

Feeling Lucky, Punk?

I think it has been well established now that I work outdoors and see cool nature things all the time.  The other day I found something lucky, which I immediately plucked and took pictures.  After all, the internet says "pictures or it didn't happen".  So, here are your pictures, you weirdo voyeurs.

That is a four leaf clover.  I've actually found a bunch.  Usually they are found in the same patch.  Science says the fourth leaf on a regular trifolium repens (white clover) is most likely a recessive gene found at very low probability.  There are estimated one four leaf clover for every 10000 normal clovers.

According to what we can remember about Druids, they considered clover to be magical, and therefore, rare 4 leaf clovers to be even more so.  They were also thought to be markers of fairy gardens.

Because Christianity borrowed a lot of traditions from other religions, the clover stuff found a new home in the Christian mythos.  St Patrick was said to use the 3 leafs of the clover to teach about the holy trinity.  A four leaf clover looks an awful lot like a cross, and therefore would be extra holy.