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[marilyn.monroe]

"significance unclear"
Fracking idiots. It is clear to those not impaired by "science". Tired of these money mongers changing life as you know it forever? Eat your radioactive, mercury-laden Asian Carp and STFU!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/officials-say-asian-carp-dna-found-in-lake-erie-samples-from-last-year-significance-unclear/2012/07/13/gJQAGzNciW_story.html

A U.S.-Canadian report released this week said if the carp become established in the region, they could spread to all five Great Lakes within two decades and cause some native species to decline.

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey reported in January that the Maumee River, which flows into Lake Erie at Toledo, Ohio, is a highly suitable area for Asian carp to spawn.

“This alarming discovery underscores the need for action now to stop Asian carp and other invasive species from devastating our Great Lakes and the hundreds of thousands of Michigan jobs that depend on them,” said U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat.

[sammy]

whut?!

The pacu river beast was first discovered not far from a genetics research facility in South America.  The host of television show River Monsters, Jeremy Wade, went to investigate horror stories from local fishermen, who claimed a fish ‘with the mouth of a human hooker’ were killing male villagers by brutally malling of their genitals.

Why would they take the genitals to the mall? And how, pray tell?

[eriemermaid]

I guess, "What's hanging" should not be said in this thread.

[marilyn.monroe]

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Under the protective gaze of Touchdown Jesus, scientists inside the Life Sciences Center here on the Notre Dame campus were examining water samples from Lake Erie last week, hoping they would never find what they were looking for -- evidence of Asian carp DNA.

Then that troubling moment arrived, when environmental DNA (eDNA) from these feared invasive fish showed up in multiple samples -- those taken in the Ohio waters of Lake Erie in Sandusky Bay and others from northern Maumee Bay in Michigan waters.

"This is just one indication that the carp might already be in the lake, but it's certainly the news we all dreaded hearing," Rick Unger, president of the Lake Erie Charter Boat Association, said Saturday.

Chris Jerde, a Notre Dame researcher who helped develop the eDNA tracking technique used in the studies, is part of a team of biologists, mathematicians and graduate students who had been sleuthing their way through thousands of water samples. Inside a nondescript brick building that sits on the sprawling campus, between that iconic mural on the side of the library, and Notre Dame Stadium nearby, they came across the carp's microscopic markers.

"Our worst fears came true with these findings," Jerde said. "I'm upset about it, but not shocked at all. Nobody wanted to see this day come, but I think we all have to admit it was a real possibility."

http://www.toledoblade.com/MattMarkey/2012/07/15/Asian-carp-DNA-proof-confirms-worst-fears.html

I hope all the aholes that profit off "free trade" rot. It is time they start taxing and tariffing and penalizing the shippers bringing this **** in. Michigan needs to lock this **** down, damn the torpedos.

[marilyn.monroe]

Background
The giant African land snail, believed to be originally from East Africa, has been
established throughout the Indo-Pacific Basin, including the Hawaiian Islands. This
mollusk has also been introduced to the Caribbean islands of Martinique and
Guadeloupe. Recently, the snails were detected on Saint Lucia and Barbados.

Several species of this snail family are capable of becoming agricultural pests in the
U.S., and can pose a serious health risk to humans. The federal Plant Protection Act
prohibits the unauthorized importation, entry, exportation or movement in interstate
commerce of the giant African land snail without a permit from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has recently discovered and confiscated illegal giant
African land snails from commercial pet stores, schools and one private breeder in
Wisconsin, Illinois, and Ohio. Some of these snails have also been discovered in
Michigan. These snails are being used increasingly for science lessons in schools by
teachers who are unaware of the risks associated with the snails and the illegality of
possessing them.

Giant African land snails are illegal in Michigan and the continental U.S. because they
are highly invasive, and can cause extensive damage to important food crops and other
agricultural and natural resources. These snails can also pose a risk to human health.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:GOVOA3JsglsJ:www.michigan.gov/documents/MDA_Giant_African_Land_Snail_Fact_Sheet_92709_7.pdf+giant+african+snail&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgbhh6_ItgK5D2DvnEEGiO8kiuiYoLLoajsgz2gQmM7h2iBeBtNzciYgIoexKizlX-Q3gVbXbjwL8J8_0nOYG3z0eNzKk6po18sjplAVeQlq55HjIv6fCQHNGfFMIobxjBiRCs6&sig=AHIEtbTb6wqK9LdZ8GsNMEu0syA7XVTHBQ






More Than 40,000 Giant African Land Snails Collected In S. Fla.
State agriculture officials said this invasive species of snail eats at least 500 different agricultural crops, can cause damage to plaster and stucco on homes and though rare, can carry rat lungworm, a parasite that can cause meningitis in humans, although no cases have been identified in the US.

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/04/13/more-than-40000-giant-african-land-snails-collected-in-s-fla/

[BigRedDog]

We have some giant American land snails right here on MT

[SidecarFlip]

Reaf in the Blade tonite that the Army Corps of Engineers attended a Chicagoland festival and served filet of Asian Carp.... for free.

I guess they want people to become accustomed to the new (to the Great Lakes fish) in a gormet way.

I wonder if McDees will serve it up here.  Filet-O- Fish, replaced by Filet-O-Carp.

King Obama could have handled this much differently but he chose not to.  Just another reason to boot the idiot.

[Professor H]

We have a plant "invasive" species - Phragmite...  overtaking the ditches and places where cattails used to be found.   I guess it's been around a while and spreads easily - but until they dredged our "drain" we didn't have it. 

[Maverick]

H
Get on it as fast as you can. It grows like crazy and is very hard to stop. Roundup works partially. but trust me if you don't take care of it now it will be way harder later.

Mav

[Professor H]

H
Get on it as fast as you can. It grows like crazy and is very hard to stop. Roundup works partially. but trust me if you don't take care of it now it will be way harder later.

Mav

Thanks - It's in a ditch by my house and I burned it last fall - burns very hot!   I was debating if herbicides worked if the plant is in water (still have a little)...

[Maverick]

Roundup acts to kill plants at the roots. Phragmaties has such a massive root system that spraying then burning after it is completely dry is the preferred method. You have to do it again the next year because of latent shoots that didn't get the Roundup the first time. You might have to do it several years in a row. They say the best time to spray is in the fall when the plants are actively storing nutrients for the winter. Burning is best accomplished in the winter because as you said it does burn hot and any snow on the ground could the fire to not spread. You can also drown it. It has a hollow tube through the center that lets it breathe. If you cut it off below water level it will drown those plants if they stay submerged 3 days or more.
I learned this at a recent seminar put on by the DNR

Mav

[marilyn.monroe]

Did the DNR mention any scientific studies that link Roundup herbicide to birth defects?

"Weeds" evolve resistance to Roundup. Look in the fields! Wild asparagus and hogweed in Michigan. Who wants to eat food spliced with herbicides and pesticides and viruses? wth.

[marilyn.monroe]

Despite being declared outlaws in Michigan, wild hogs sure seem to be making themselves at home here — and making more of themselves, too.
 
Sightings of feral swine are on the rise around the state and the destructive, omnivorous beasts appear to be living up to their reputation as prolific breeders.
 
“I’d say it’s a problem that is going to emerge. We are seeing more pigs, younger classes of pigs,” said Nancy Frank, assistant state veterinarian in the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. “That is worrisome. We know that.”

Feral swine became an illegal invasive species in Michigan effective April 1 under an order from the state Department of Natural Resources. That means they can be shot on sight by licensed hunters or by property owners who encounter them on private land. But reports of hog problems are increasing, and now include some car-hog accidents.
 
A U.S. Department of Agriculture remote trail-cam recently captured more than a dozen hogs — adults and young ‘uns — in a single frame in Mecosta County, west of Mt. Pleasant.
 
“We have certain hot spots in the state,” Frank said in a telephone conversation this week, “around the Midland area, Mecosta, Bay counties, quite a few in Saginaw County.”
 
While not all reports are confirmed, the DNR has been told of wild hog sightings in 75 of Michigan’s 83 counties, representing 90% of the state. The agency has estimated up to 3,000 are on the loose, escapees or refugees from game farms that imported them for trophy hunters.
 
“People are more aware to watch for them, so we are getting more reports,” Frank said. “They are strong animals, very intelligent … and fairly cautious. They do like swampy, wet areas where you aren’t going to see a lot of people … but they will go anywhere.”
 
And will eat just about anything.

Frank said several captured hogs have tested positive for pseudorabies, a disease which can pose a threat to the state’s pork farms.
 
“It is not transferable to people,” she said. “And it has not been detected in any commercial swine.”
 
The DNR is embroiled in five lawsuits with hunting ranches over its ban on the animals. Spokesman Ed Golder said no further court proceedings are scheduled in any of the cases until October.
 
Meantime, the count of hogs in the wild keeps growing. To help the state get a handle on the problem, sightings can be reported to the DNR using a form available at michigan.gov/feralswine.
 
http://www.freep.com/article/20120822/COL32/120822055/Wild-hogs-Michigan-Photo-captures-state-s-growing-feral-swine-problem?odyssey=obinsite

[Monique]

I'm not real keen on hunting nor eating wild game, but I would like to try some wild boar meat. I've heard it's fantastic!

Deer eat crops all the time, they damage people's flower and vegetable gardens, and cause deadly traffic accidents year round, but there's a specific hunting season for them and you have to have a license and there's a limit, right? I don't understand why the wild pigs should be any different. Killing on sight just to kill them seems wasteful and inhumane.

[The Fuzz]

I'm not real keen on hunting nor eating wild game, but I would like to try some wild boar meat. I've heard it's fantastic!

I've had it several times and can only describe the taste difference to a commercially available boar meat as "gamey".  Maybe stronger is a better word, very hard to describe.

If you have had had wild turkey (not the bourbon) you will understand what I mean by gamey.