A multiyear effort to remove invasive plants is expected to pay off in a big way by improving the water quality for residents of Topeka, Kansas. In March, KSNT 27 News reported that conservation organization Friends of the Kaw, or FOK, and its partners were wrapping up a two-year initiative to rewild the banks of […]
It was the summer of the cicada — but now, Joro spiders may be swooping in to claim their spot in the headlines. Researchers say these black and yellow arachnids are making their way up from Southern states like Georgia to New York and beyond. Should you be concerned? Here’s what you need to know […]
Giant, venomous yellow spiders have been making their way up the East Coast, and people may begin to spot them in New Jersey, New York and even southern Canada as early as this year. The invasive Joro spider, native to East Asia, was first found in Georgia in 2013. The spiders remain mostly in the […]
Invasive beetles have been spotted in the Carmichael area, Sacramento County announced on Thursday. State and county officials are on the lookout for Japanese beetles, which are considered pests. “Japanese beetles can damage over 300 species of ornamental, horticultural, agricultural and native plants, posing a serious threat to our state’s agriculture, environment, and your backyard,” […]
Jun. 3—Volunteers are needed to help pull frogbit Sunday as one of the state’s Invasive Species Awareness Week events. The state Environmental Conservation and Agriculture and Markets departments coordinate the invasive species week, hosting free public events and invasive species challenges from June 3 to June 9 across the state and online, including daily webinars […]
Invasive plants are everywhere, from the phragmites that clog the sides of streams to the bright red burning bush that lights up the side of the highway in the fall. They don’t simply take up room where native species should thrive, say those whose expertise is in supporting our diverse plant life. They actually make […]
A massive, 5-foot-long lizard, presumed to be an Asian water monitor, was seen scurrying around a busy road in western Florida recently. “He’s huge,” Renee Aland can be heard saying in video she posted on social media of the lizard. “He’s just strutting across the road. He’s heading to the other side of the road.” When […]
A video of the massive reptile has since gone viral on Facebook A five-foot-long lizard was seen in North Port, Florida, casually walking along a busy road earlier this month in a now-viral video. The Miami Herald reported that the lizard, which is presumably an Asian water monitor, is an invasive species. They are typically […]
Throughout the ’70s,’80s, and ’90s, Frank Mazzotti would see many rabbits as he drove down to his study site in Florida’s Everglades National Park. Every hundred meters or so, one of them would be sitting by the roadside — usually a marsh rabbit, sometimes a cottontail. But starting in the early 2000s, they began to […]
Editor’s note: The Travis County District Attorney’s Office corrected the date of the indictment. That correction is reflected in the story below. AUSTIN (KXAN) — The son of a Buc-ee’s co-founder was indicted in connection to accusations that he secretly recorded people in Travis County over the course of two years. The Travis County District […]
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Shipwrecks are preserved better in the Great Lakes than any other place in the world. The cold, fresh water acts to stop the clock on wrecks, making for excellent scuba diving for those hoping to see a living preservation of history. Up until a few years ago, the wrecks in […]
Wildfires in Arizona are burning hotter, faster and more often, in part due to a selection of invasive plant species taking over the desert environment, according to a report by nature experts. The study published in May described a grass-fire cycle that has caused sparse desert landscapes to turn into sprawling grassland that fills the […]