Tagged: invasive species

Stakeholders in the Rocky Mountain region are in unanimous agreement about what needs to be done about invasive plant species. That’s according to a new study published in the journal Bioscience.

They are common invaders—cheat grass, leafy spurge, salt cedar, yellow toadflax and spotted knapweed. Project leader and UW professor Edward Barbier says that what sometimes begin as attractive lawn shrubs purchased from local nurseries can escape, and proliferate, taking over land, choking out native plants and providing less than ideal grazing material for livestock.

Starting next year, all boats that enter Wyoming will have to be inspected, to make sure they’re not carrying any aquatic invasive species.

Until now, boats had to be inspected if they passed by an open inspection station, or if they had been in a body of water that was known to host invasive species. But Beth Bear with the Game and Fish Department says under that system, many boats went un-checked.

Bear says Game and Fish is trying to make it easy for boat owners to comply with the new rules.

The Game and Fish Department has found a new invasive species in Wyoming. It’s an alligator snapping turtle, which is native to southeastern states and can grow to be more than 200 pounds.

Lucy Diggins with the Game and Fish office in Green River says a fisherman caught the turtle on a lake near Pinedale over the weekend.

“He snagged what he thought was a turtle, using a lure, and quickly realized that this huge, armored turtle, with huge jaws and a long tail, probably was not a Wyoming native species,” Diggins said.