How Sweet It Is: FWS Teaches Students About Pollinator Conservation

Submitted by: Jeff Chan

On a recent warm, spring day in Olympia, Washington, students at GRuB farm donned space-aged looking suits as they prepared to step into the world of the honeybee. 

Students walk the path to the honey bee hive.  Photo credit: Teal Waterstrat (USFWS)

With the assistance of Teal Waterstrat, a Pathways Technician with the Service, we showed the group the inner workings of a honeybee hive - home to one of our nation's greatest pollinators.

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Mussel

Submitted by: Joe Bartoszek, Ph.D., Resource Contaminant Specialist (USFWS)

This is the 3rd installment of this story. To learn more, read "Mussels in a Desert?!" and “What Happened to Pearlshell Mussels in the Hanford Reach?”

The western pearlshell, once abundant in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River in southeastern Washington, can no longer be found. Although the cause for their disappearance is not known, the long-lived mussel (some individuals have been aged at more than 100 years) may have suffered from releases of contaminants from the Hanford Department of Energy site.

      Pearlshell mussel collected from the Eel River, CA. Photo credit: Dr. Chris Barnhart    

The Hanford Natural Resource Trustees would like to understand what happened to mussels in the river by testing potential sensitivity to contaminants released from the site, particularly hexavalent chromium (the contaminant made famous in the Erin Brockovich movie). 

Meet the New Star of the Bear Education Trailer!

Submitted by: Christina Meister

The Northwest Bear Education Trailer has a new star on the road who's 450 pounds and very furry.

The Northwest Bear Education Trailer's Grizzly Bear Display

With claws the size of your finger and a nose that can smell for miles, this grizzly is a rare sight in Washington but is very common in his native Montana. Unfortunately, this specimen died in a road accident just outside of St. Ignatius but his legacy will live on as a permanent installation in our mobile bear education display. 

Moms and Daughters Hit the Beach – For the Birds

Submitted by: Emily Teachout

Luna Lowsky, Sophie Danner, Brynn Dumbeck, and Maggie Neatherlin extract piles of foam from the dunes.

My daughter, Maggie (age 12), and I participate in a mother/daughter group that wanted to do a community service project. After seeing a series of YouTube videos on marine debris ingestion by albatrosses on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, the girls were really moved and wanted to find a way that they could help locally. To help address the problem at the source, they wanted to get debris off the beach and out of the ocean ecosystem where it poses a direct threat to seabirds and other animals. “I was motivated by the pictures and stories about the dead albatrosses who eat plastic and die,” said Brynn Dumbeck, a girl in our group.

Clean, Drain and Dry! Help Keep Invasive Mussels OUT of Our Waterways.

Note: This is a guest post by Molly Sullivan, intern for the Washington Invasive Species Council

Zebra mussels on a young Higgins eye pearlymussel, an endangered species found in the Mississippi river. (USFWS)

Here in Washington we top the charts in quite a few categories: rain, coffee, and zebra/quagga mussel prevention. Zebra/quagga mussel prevention?! Yes! Washington remains one of the few states that has not been infested with these harmful little mussels. Hitchhikers from Eastern Europe, zebra and quagga mussels have taken over many lakes and streams in the United States and with no natural predators here, they quickly outcompete native species for food, overcrowd habitats, introduce diseases, clog drains and pipes, and reduce biodiversity. Plus, walking on these buggers barefoot will definitely ruin your day at the lake! 

Keeping Washington free from these invaders is no easy task though. Much time and many resources have been used in this battle against the mussels! Various checkpoints for boats and decontamination stations have been set up around Washington by government agencies. But the most important line of defense is…YOU! 

Quagga mussels on a boat motor near Lake Mead (Allen Pleus - WDFW)

Properly cleaning, draining and drying your boat before entering any body of water is the best prevention tool to date. Since zebra and quagga mussels can attach to boats and survive for weeks without a water source, properly and completely drying your boat is a MUST!! As the oncoming promise of spring and summer months continue to taunt us, and we start our prep for boating season, it is always good to remember: CLEAN, DRAIN, DRY your boat and water related equipment, so that we can continue to enjoy all the natural splendors of Washington.

More information on how to protect our waters from invasive aquatic hitchhikers can be found here:

Protect Your Waters - http://www.protectyourwaters.net/

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - http://www.fws.gov/invasives/what-you-can-do.html

WA Invasive Species Council - http://www.invasivespecies.wa.gov/

WA Invasive Species Education - http://www.wise.wa.gov/

The First Annual Foothills Day is Just Around the Bend!

Submitted by: Greg Van Stralen 

Do you know what a group of owls are called or whether snakes have toes?

These are just a few of the interesting and unusual facts that will be available at the first annual Foothills Day on May 11, 2013. Organized by the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust, Foothills Day celebrates the beauty of the Wenatchee Valley while offering a wide variety of fun outdoor activities for young and old. The event is adjacent to the Wentachee Performing Arts Center and runs from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm.

CELEBRATING EARTH DAY WITH THE NAVY

Submitted by Jim Muck

 

 On April 22nd, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Office participated in the U.S. Navy’s Earth Day Celebration in Everett, WA. This year’s theme was “Global Reach – Local Action” which encourages both sailors and civilians to take local action to protect the environment.

Approximately 25 vendors attended the event, each discussing different ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle.  Our office shared a booth with NOAA Fisheries and highlighted invasive species in the Pacific Northwest. The hit on our side of the booth was an exhibit featuring invasive quagga mussels. While we showed off our ‘mussels,’ NOAA was having a ‘whale’ of a time with their 26-foot orca whale display.

The real joy of our day however, was watching our amazing servicemen and women participate in the Earth Day activities. Denise Lesniak, the integrated solid waste manager and a planner for Navy Station Everett’s Earth Day 2013, said it’s important for sailors to participate in Earth Day.

“They can be good stewards in the environment at every level,” said Lesniak. “I think because the Navy as a whole has goals with protecting in the environment, not only when they are out on missions, but also when they are in port.”

 

Both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association would like to extend our thanks to the U.S. Navy for inviting us to their Earth Day event. You are heroes on Earth Day and every day.  We thank you for making the world a safer (and greener) place to live.

More information on Navy Station’s Everett’s Earth Day celebration is available at http://homeportnorthwest.com/.

More information on invasive species is available at: http://www.fws.gov/wafwo/invasive_species.html