The thumbnail-sized zebra mussel, an aquatic invasive species, forms such large populations that they clog pipes and drains and have been responsible for shutting down hydro-electric power plants. (Photo by Michael Massimi, Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, Bugwood.org.)
BATTLING INVASIVE SPECIES Article by TAMRA BOLTON
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ince the 1500s when the Conquistadors brought us the feral hog, invasive species have been trying to take Texas. Others such as the Chinese tallow tree, which was imported by colonists in the 1700s as an ornamental, and salt cedar, (which arrived in 1823 as potential erosion control) have escaped their original boundaries and spread like wildfire over the Texas landscape. The good intentions of man sometimes have a way of backfiring, especially when it comes to introducing non-native species. Texas now has more than 800 documented invasive species, and that list is growing every year. While the economic impact of the damage caused by these hundreds of invasive species is anyone’s guess, some estimates are “many billions of dollars,” said Jerry L. Cook, Ph.D., Sam Houston State University.
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Cook cited a study completed over a decade ago at Texas A&M University which attempted to calculate the cost of just one species, the red imported fire ant. The study estimated the ants cost Texans over $100 million annually. Many in the science community think this figure is too small, and the cost has certainly grown over the last 10 years. As landowners in Texas, we can help in the ongoing battle against many of these harmful intruders and hopefully reduce the massive economic losses forecast for the future and save our state’s incredible biodiversity. WHAT IS AN INVASIVE SPECIES? Many people call any plant that is fast-growing and a nuisance “invasive,” but according to Cook, invasives have to meet two
