Sea Grant Extension teaches students to report invasive species

Students report 30 non-native populations to state hotline in 2010.

With names like solitary sea squirt and zebra mussel, these critters sound cute enough. But they're part of a long list of harmful aquatic animals and plants that aren't originally from Oregon and that inspectors are making sure don't gain a foothold. These invaders can compete with native flora and fauna for limited habitat and food and cost millions of dollars to control.

For example, zebra mussels, which can cling to boats when transported across state lines, clog water-intake pipes and hydroelectric power plants. They haven't spread to Oregon, but if there ever were an infestation, an initial outlay of an estimated $24 million would be needed to protect 13 hydroelectric facilities in the Columbia River Basin from them. Additionally, the cost of establishing boat inspection and decontamination stations at state border entry points is estimated at $2.85 million.

Educating the public is crucial to prevent the spread of invasive species. That's why Oregon Sea Grant Extension's Watershed Invasive Species Education program helped train 12 teachers and more than 770 students in 2010 on how to detect, control and report these biobullies as part of their classroom science curriculum. As a result, they identified 30 populations of terrestrial and aquatic invasive species, including yellow flag iris and false brome. The teachers and students reported them to the online Oregon Invasive Species Hotline. The locations of these species were also added to an online tracking database at iMapInvasives.org to help natural resource managers deal with them. After the project concluded, two of the teachers continued using the lessons plans provided by the program.

As a result of the trainings, students at Al Kennedy Alternative High School in Cottage Grove later helped collect field data for a study to assess the effectiveness of non-herbicide treatment of Japanese knotweed. Also, students at Lane Community College studied the distribution and impact of the invasive American bullfrog and the non-native aquatic plant called parrot feather watermilfoil. Furthermore, an oceanography class at Cottage Grove High School studied invasive species then removed meadow knapweed from a forest.
          
Sources: “Potential economic impacts of zebra mussels on the hydropower facilities in the Columbia River Basin” report prepared for the Bonneville Power Administration; Oregon State Marine Board.