Invasive Species Are Devastating The Great Lakes Region

Intrusive species are increasingly making the news nowadays. Across the world non-native species of plant and animal life are upsetting the ecology and destroying great amounts of acreage. It’s a problem the general public knows small about and presidency appears unable to address. It is a problem that needs immediate action before it is too late to reverse the horrendous damage occurring by these aggressive species every year.

And perhaps the area of the U.S. That’s most aggressively being attacked nowadays is the Great Lakes area. The states bordering Lakes Michigan, Huron, Superior and Ontario and being overpowered with a variety of invasive species that are threatening woods, waters and wetlands. Millions of dollars in damage is being done to the environment, agriculture and tourism because of these quickly accelerating invasives.

There are the Asian carp that are threatening the Great Lakes. The Zebra mussels have recently established themselves in the great lakes too. Other invasive grasses are also taking hold and are threatening the wetlands of the Great Lakes area too.

Here are 3 of the many invasive species that are threatening the Great Lakes.

One. Asian Carp. There’s been plenty of talk about this intrusive fish. They’ve been found in the Illinois brook which links the Mississippi brook to Lake Michigan and all of the Great Lakes are connected. These fish grow quite large and reproduce quickly and they pose a major risk to the area. These aggressive fish can grow up to 100 pounds and over four feet long. They would significantly interrupt the food chain with their ravenous appetites and could damage the populations of other fish. This would bring heavy environmental and cheap damage as the fishing and holiday maker industries would be damaged.

Two. Phragmites. Many individuals have driven past this aggressive plant and never spotted that it poses a real challenge to the Great Lakes area. Phragmites, often referred to as common reed is a perennial wetland grass that will grow up to 15 feet tall. There’s a native form of this plant, but an intrusive variety has assertively taken hold along the wetlands and Great Lakes coast. Phragmites crowd out native plants and animals, block the views of shorelines, reduce swimming, fishing and hunting area and create a significant fire jeopardy.

Three. Emerald Ash Borer. These are a little, inch-long, green insect species that are native to China and Eastern Asia. They will feed on all varieties of Ash trees with the exception of mountain ash. An infestation will kill the trees within 1 to 3 years. In 2001, there were more than seven hundred million ash trees in Michigan. Every one of them could die off as a consequence of the emerald ash borers. They can live anywhere from the woods to urban environments. One of the most vital things you can do to stop the spread of this aggressive species is to not move firewood. This is a way the insect can travel and infest a new area and kill off the ash trees.

there are lots of more, but these are three of the worst intrusive species in the Great Lakes area today. Help stop intrusive species by learning more on what species to search for and how you can help to stop them. But dont stop there, also share what you learn with your chums because it isn’t too late to stop these aggressive species from changing the environment of the Great Lakes area as we know it.
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