Samantha Epstein Hudson river sloop clearwater Steward Livin Samantha Epstein Hudson river sloop clearwater

Things to know Part 575 banned the introduction, transportation, possession, etc. of over 160 invasive plants and animals Various other laws help prevent the spread of AIS Required to take preventative measures for boats at DEC, NYS Parks, and all public boat launches This includes floating docks on lakes As mentioned with Part 575, it is illegal to transport AIS, which means that hitchhikers on boats can lead to a fine *Stewards are NOT here to enforce the laws, but educate about them

4 Types of Plants Emergent Submerged Floating-leaf Free-floating Plants with some portions partially submerged in water, with the other part above the water line growing in the air Example: phragmites Submerged Plants with all parts totally submerged Example: hydrilla Floating-leaf Plants with leaves floating on the surface of the water Example: water chestnut Free-floating Plants that float freely in the water column Example: duckweed, bladderwort

When talking to the public Use common names of species Curly-leaf pondweed, Eurasian watermilfoil, water chestnut, hydrilla, etc. Use words and phrases that are widely understood Wispy, dense, large leaves, fragile, robust Know how to describe: Whorled leaves, rosettes, seeds/tubers/turions/rhizomes, serrated vs smooth margins Be careful using words like eradication Control, management, or “success story” are safer

Things to remember Plants look different in different waterbodies Elodea in the Croton River looks wimpy and wispy because of the salinity, but looks very robust in some inland waterbodies Don’t just use color to identify a species Environmental factors can change the color (shade, nutrients, etc.) Number of leaves in whorls can vary Early in the season or early on the stem, hydrilla can have 3 leaves/whorl Some people LOVE some plants – you can’t change everybody’s mind Piermont: phragmites, Fisherman: hydrilla

When to expect certain species Curly-leaf pondweed: early May Eurasian watermilfoil: late May, early June Water chestnut: late June, early July Brazilian elodea: late June, early July Hydrilla: late July, early August Begins growing earlier, but nearly impossible to identify until later Brazilian elodea: April/May – June/July, September- November/December Elodea: overwinters, very early in the season

Zebra mussels Why people like them: Invasive characteristics: They filter the water very efficiently and clear out all food and sediment (swimmers and ESPECIALLY divers love them), and absorb toxins Invasive characteristics: Reproduce extremely quickly Filter water too quickly Danger to human health (slice feet open) Clogs water intake pipes Damages boats and docks Outcompetes native species

Water Chestnut Why people like it: Invasive characteristics: American eel habitat Good environment for macroinvertebrates Could be a source of food Invasive characteristics: Increases temperature of the water Decreases oxygen levels Blocks sunlight for and displaces native species Decreases flow/movement of water Potential to harm humans (sharp seeds) Cannot eat seeds in Hudson River – they absorb toxins

Eurasian watermilfoil Why people like it: In general, they don’t Invasive characteristics: Restricts recreation (fishing, swimming, boating) Overtakes native species Spreads through fragmentation (easily spread) Spreads very quickly Found throughout the entire state

Hydrilla Why people like it: Invasive characteristics: Beautiful plant Very hardy, easy to take care of/hard to kill Great fish habitat at low levels Invasive characteristics: Grows several inches/day Forms dense monocultures Mats break off and clog water intake pipes Bad fish habitat once dense Impedes recreational activities

Common questions/comments Why are invasive species bad? Displace native species, provide less habitat for fish, decrease water quality, hurt agriculture and human health, compete for food How did invasive species get here? Aquarium trade, fish consumption, bilge water, birds and fish, hitchhiking on boats, live bait I thought that we want to protect invasive species. They think we’re talking about endangered species Why can’t we just eat them? We would have to eat so many of each species just to keep them at a manageable level

Common questions/comments cont. Can we use invasive species for anything else? Yes, but it can get tricky. Some people like to compost plants which is great. But if we find a commercial use for them, people will bring more of them in Don’t they provide good habitat for fish? At first, yes, but then they become too dense and fish can no longer use the area If I see an invasive plant, should I just pull it out? It depends on the species – some spread by fragmentation and will form new populations if broken up Why are we wasting money on this? (Invasive vs Embrasive) The amount of money that would need to be spent to mitigate the impacts of invasive species would far exceed the amount that we spend to eradicate or minimize the spread

Species-specific questions/comments Phragmites protects the shoreline. We shouldn’t get rid of it. True, phragmites acts as a good storm barrier, but it provides ecological benefits for about 5 species, compared to the hundreds that native cattails provide. It also grows so close together that most species can’t utilize it Didn’t zebra mussels clean the water? Yes! They cleared it too much. The Hudson River is brownish-green because of the sediment mixed up from tides and the large amount of plankton in the water, which provides food for a lot of native species. They also displaced the pearly mussels which were important for the ecosystem. Fun fact! Zebra mussels filtered the freshwater part of the Hudson River every 2-3 days, compared to native species which filtered the water every 2-3 months Why can’t we just eat the water chestnuts? Two reasons – we would have to eat so much of it to manage it, and they are absorbing toxins from the Hudson River

Species-specific questions Isn’t it too late to do anything about water chestnut? Water chestnut has reached it’s max in the Hudson River, but there are hundreds if not thousands of inland lakes that are not yet invaded. We are protecting those Is spiny water flea/northern snakehead/Asian carp here yet? Spiny water flea – most likely but not confirmed Northern snakehead – in neighboring rivers and in contained ponds, but not in the river yet Asian carp – will most likely be here within the next 10 years

Croton River Questions Why are we using herbicides for the water when they’re bad for our health? NYSDEC is using 2-4 ppb for 1-3 months each year. To see a negative impact on human health, one would have to ingest over 1,000 ppb every day forever, or 40,000 ppb over one day Herbicides are going to hurt the bald eagles The herbicide does not bioaccumulate in fish or other animals and will not accumulate in bald eagles. If we do not take care of the hydrilla, a cyanobacteria known to kill bald eagles might make its way north Why can’t we just increase the water flow over the Croton dam to lower the temperature and prevent hydrilla growth? DEP regulations – dam construction – at this point it will spread the plant Why are we treating the river when the reservoir is infested? If we wait until something can be done to the reservoir, the river will be too infested to treat. Moral of the story: If we don’t prevent the spread of hydrilla, it will spread into the Hudson River and cause an enormous amount of damage

What to do if… You find a plant that you can’t identify: Take pictures, take a sample, and take a GPS coordinate point Somebody asks a question that you cannot answer: Be honest, and tell them where they can find the information, or give them your coordinator’s phone number Somebody is acting aggressively and you feel unsafe: If you ever feel unsafe, step away from the situation, go to your car, leave the site if needed, and call your supervisor (or 911 if needed) Somebody asks you to help launch/retrieve their boat: Assess the situation. Try to avoid this whenever possible, but use your best judgement You’re unsure about anything: Call your coordinator!