Subject: Montlake fill loosestrife
Date: Jun 13 18:24:33 1999
From: S. Downes - sdownes at u.washington.edu


Tweets,
The following post was very well done, but I was wondering who the author
was? Contrary to the message header I got, it was not sent by me. Is the
sender the Bridget Simon listed at the end of the message?
Thanks,

Scott Downes
sdownes at u.washington.edu
Seattle WA

"Birds don't read bird books. (That's why they are seen doing things they
are not supposed to do)." -Mary Wood


On Sun, 13 Jun 1999, S. Downes wrote:

> Recently a friend of mine partipated in an unusual collecting trip to Moses
> Lake/Winchester Wastelands area. Instead of collecting plant species or bird
> sightings, she collected tiny beetles[4-5mm in length], members of the genus
> "Galerucella". Two species were introduced to this area [and the US] in
> 1992. The beetles are unusual in several aspects, most importantly to those
> of us interested in preserving streams & wetlands is the fact that they
> consume Purple Loosestrife [Lythrum salicaria] and only Purple Loosestrife
> in mass quantities! The plant was probably introduced as seeds in European
> soil used as ship ballast in the early 1800's. It has infested 35,000 acres
> in the Potholes/Moses Lake area alone. If you've sat along Edmonds Way
> [SR104], waiting for a ferry, you've probably seen its attractive lavender
> colored blooms amongst tha cattails along both sides of the road,; quietly
> choking out our native vegetation in the Edmonds Marsh. The State Noxious
> Weed Control Board co-ordinated the three day collecting effort with various
> city, county and park agents and the Bureau of Reclamation which manages the
> area. Boats were used to maneuver through the shallow waterways up to the
> banks that held the defoliated remnants of the Purple Loosestrife. Just two
> years ago, the loosestrife was 8' tall and extended 50' from the bank into
> the wetland for thousands of acres. Now, in much of that area, there's just
> dry, brown stalks and a few stunted living plants--th anks to the appetite
> of the beetles. The effort to introduce them to many more heavily infested
> areas in the state began last year. Now they are happily munching away on
> the loosestrife in the Edmonds Marsh.
>
> For more info. contact Bridget Simon, Wa. State Noxious Weed Control Board:
> E-mail bsimon at agr.wa.gov Ph. [253] 872-2318 [compiled by Bonnie Storm with
> thxs.]