NRCS Alaska News

December 15, 2006

In This Issue

Kenai Fish Passage Project Sees Success

Soil Publication Features Articles by Alaska Staff

AISC Names Invasive “Dirty Dozen”

Personnel Actions

Kenai Fish Passage Project Sees Success

Carrol Martin began his Kenai-area Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) project in 1999 to give juvenile salmon better access to a pond with excellent rearing habitat.  His project endured many road blocks including permitting complications and personnel changes at several of his agency partners.  Despite all the obstacles, the completed project is a success.  Immediately after construction in 2004, Carrol observed juvenile Coho and Chinook using the graded series of logs and cobble.  And last summer the native vegetation provided shade and cover to salmon seen passing through the project.  Many Alaska NRCS employees had input on this project.  Thank you for assisting to provide important Kenai River salmon habitat!

The cut-off date for receipt of signed application form for FY07 financial assistance for both EQIP and WHIP is January 31. More information is available at NRCS Alaska Programs.

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Soil Publication Features Articles by Alaska Staff

Between the table of contents in the front and the subscription information in the back, the bulk of the Summer 2006 edition of the Soil Survey Horizons is dedicated to unique conditions related to Alaska soil survey.

Alaska Soil Survey Project Leader Mark Clark authored an article titled “Effects of Climate Change on Alaskan Soils” where he describes evidence of warming as observed by soil scientists working on the landscapes of the state. The article helps provide an explanation for the advanced rate of warming in the arctic as compared to lower latitudes, and reports how warming has affected the people and ecosystems of Alaska.

NRCS Alaska’s Soil Data Quality Specialist Dennis Moore and MLRA Project Leader Dennis Mulligan teamed up with Mark Wilson, NRCS research soil scientist, to author “Sampling Gelisols in the Alaskan Interior,”  an exploration of the logistic and mechanical processes of sampling soils that are at least partially frozen.

Soil Survey Horizons is published quarterly by the Soil Science Society of America.  Soil Horizons does not post articles on their website, so for additional information please send an email to NRCS public affairs at cassandra.stalzer@ak.usda.gov.

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AISC Names Invasive “Dirty Dozen”

The Alaska Invasive Species Committee (AISC) has named Alaska’s “Dirty Dozen”-- the twelve highest-ranking invasive species of concern in Alaska.  These species pose a threat to native species and to the social, economic and agricultural conditions in Alaska. 

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Atlantic salmon are native to the east coasts of Canada and the US. They are also found in the streams of other countries tributary to the Atlantic Ocean.  Although there were some early attempts to release Atlantic salmon on the West Coast, most if not all Atlantic salmon now in the wild are escapees from commercial aquaculture facilities operated in Washington and British Columbia.  More than one million Atlantic salmon have escaped from net pens as a result of storm events, equipment malfunction, vandalism, or predators (seals, sea lions) tearing at the netting.  Successful reproduction of escaped Atlantic salmon has been documented in Alaskan waters.  These fish compete with native salmon and steelhead for spawning and rearing habitat and food resources.  Atlantic salmon that have escaped from aquaculture facilities may carry disease and parasites that could infect native fisheries. 

Amber-Marked Birch Leaf Miner (Profenusa thomsoni)

Most likely introduced from Europe to the northeastern United States in the 1920s, this birch defoliating insect has spread throughout southern Canada and into Alaska. It was accidentally introduced in Anchorage during the mid-1990s, most likely on ornamental birches.  These pests are especially damaging in Alaska where they have no natural enemies. The larvae of the amber-marked birch leaf miner defoliated more than 30,000 acres throughout the Anchorage Bowl in 2002, have been found in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, and were detected in 2002 in the birch-abundant area of Fairbanks.  The urban paper birch is hardest hit by leaf miner damage. Chemical treatment is the only currently available control method (for urban trees); using a certain parasitic wasp as a possible biological control agent is under investigation.

Asian Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar)  

The Asian gypsy moth (AGM) (Lymantria dispar), named for its home continent, is a voracious tree pest and major threat to forest habitats in North America.  The AGM can cause serious defoliation and deterioration of trees and shrubs, and has a broad host range that includes larch, oak, poplar, alder, willow and some evergreens.  AGM females are active fliers and their ability to fly long distances (up to 20 miles) makes it probable that the AGM could quickly infest and spread throughout the United States.

Bird Vetch (Vicia cracca L.)

Tufted vetch is a perennial plant with multiple vine-like stems that grow up to 1.5 feet tall. Stems are branching with small tendrils and leaves comprised of eight to ten leaflets. Purple flowers are bilaterally symmetrical and are arranged in a one-sided spike. Fruit are borne in dehiscent pods.  Many varieties of vetch were introduced as forage crops from Europe.  The elimination of perennial plants requires depletion of nutrient reserves in the root system, prevention of seed production and prevention of dispersal. Vetch seeds disperse by the ballistic action of drying seedpods helping infestations grow rapidly.

Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) belongs to a group of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). TSEs cause brain degeneration in deer and elk. CWD was first detected in deer in 1967 in Northern Colorado. While to date CWD has not been detected in Alaska wildlife, it has been found in CO, IL, KS, MN, MT, NE, NM, NY, OK, SD, WY, WI, WV, UT, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Deer and elk infected with CWD show changes in behavior and may exhibit extreme weight loss, excessive salivation, stumbling and tremors. CWD takes at least 17 months to develop in an infected deer or elk, and these signs may depend on the length or extent of infection. CWD is 100 percent fatal once signs develop. The mode of CWD transmission is not known with certainty. It is thought to be passed from animal to animal, possibly via saliva, feces and/or urine.

European Green crab (Carcinus maenas)

The biggest concern for the Green crab is its ability to displace native species through competition and predation. For example, they pose a direct threat to shorebirds because they have similar diets.  In invaded areas, the Green crab occurs principally along sheltered embayments. It normally requires planktonic (larvae) dispersal, usually by human assistance or unusual oceanographic events such as El Ninos, to expand its ranges between embayments. The pattern of invasion and range extension for the Green crab appears to consist of periods of stasis followed by rare events of long distance dispersal when conditions are favorable. The importance of this observation is that even though the Green crab has not been observed to have spread further north than British Columbia in recent years, a sudden change in weather patterns and currents can create a condition by which the Green crab can successfully establish itself in Alaska. Even though it has not currently been observed in Alaskan waters, the potential for invasion will always be a possibility in the face of global climate change. There are seven qualities making this crab a perfect invasive species: a high reproductive rate, a high dispersal potential, a rapid growth rate, an extremely broad habitat adaptability, wide temperature and salinity tolerances, an extremely broad diet, and the lack of natural enemies such as parasites.

Fox (Alopex lagopus)

Foxes are the first recorded introduction of non-native wildlife to Alaska. In 1750, Russians brought arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) to Attu Island from the Commander Islands of Russia. The Russians, already hunting sea otters for their fur, wanted an additional fur source. Farming for fur continued until World War II.  Foxes feast on the abundant seabirds, waterfowl, ptarmigan, and songbirds that evolved on these islands without defenses against such voracious predators. They have wiped out some populations of island birds and endangered others. Current eradication programs have eliminated foxes from 40 of 70 infested islands. 

Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. and Zucc.)

Japanese knotweed is a perennial plant that grows from creeping rhizomes. Stems grow four to nine feet tall and feel woody, but die back during winter months. Greenish white or cream flowers are produced in long clusters at the ends of stems and in leaf axils. Japanese knotweed was introduced from Asia as an ornamental plant.  The elimination of perennial plants requires depletion of nutrient reserves in the root system, prevention of seed production and prevention of dispersal. This plant can be an attractive bush. Resist the temptation to purchase it from nursery catalogs.

Late Blight (Phytophthora infestans)

Late blight is caused by the fungus-like organism Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) deBary. Late blight is the disease that caused the Irish potato famine in the mid-1800s and has been a destructive disease of world-wide concern since then.  It can attack potato and tomato plants and other plants in the nightshade family which includes nightshade, eggplant and petunia.  Late blight was seen in the Matanuska Valley in 1995, 1998 and 2005.  In 2005, late blight was also seen in some gardens in Anchorage. Late blight has not been in Interior Alaska or on the Kenai Peninsula.  In 1998, late blight was seen on greenhouse tomatoes in the Matanuska Valley. In 2005, late blight was seen on greenhouse and outdoor tomatoes in the Matanuska Valley and Anchorage.

Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus)

In 1780, rats escaping a sinking Japanese fishing boat landed on a western Aleutian Island later named "Rat Island." This incident began a series of "rat spills" that proved more deadly than oil spills to island ecosystems. Rats have been particularly damaging to island-nesting birds because they crawl into nesting burrows and along narrow cliff ledges to steal eggs and kill chicks and adults.  Rats continue to be a plague on island wildlife today and have invaded 30-some Alaska islands.

Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria L.)

Purple loosestrife is a perennial plant that produces up to 50 stems from each root. The stems are erect and grow six to eight feet tall. Flowers are deep pink in color and form long spikes. Leaves are non-serrated and narrow. Purple loosestrife was introduced from Europe as an ornamental plant and bee forage.  The elimination of perennial plants requires depletion of nutrient reserves in the root system, prevention of seed production and prevention of dispersal. This plant has attractive deep pink flowers. Resist the temptation to purchase it from nursery catalogs. Root fragments can sprout, so remove as much plant material as possible.

Spartina (Spartina spp.)

Spartina, commonly known as cordgrass, is an aggressive, noxious weed that severely disrupts the ecosystems of saltwater estuaries.  It out-competes native vegetation and converts mudflats into monotypic Spartina meadows that destroy habitat values for migratory shorebirds and waterfowl. By building up soil, Spartina meadows increase the threat of floods which, in turn, would severely impact the state’s shellfish industry. Spartina spreads by both seed production and below ground root growth.

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Personnel Actions

Promotion

• Jeff Rypka, Civil Engineer, Kenai, to GS 12

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