A lake in Winfield is the second in Kansas with zebra mussels. The zebra mussel was introduced into the Great Lakes by bilge water from a European vessel. Since then, they have spread on birds and boats from lake to lake.
Upon arrival, they spread and outcompete local mollusks, filtering out food for native fish as well.
That isn't the only threat to Kansas lakes. Most of them were created by the Army Corps of Engineers, and have begun shrinking due to sediment, coupled with dry weather. In the other lake, which was infested in 2003, "The lake's down 5 ½ feet, and you can see millions of zebra mussels on the exposed rocks," according to Kansas Wildlife and Parks specialist Jason Goeckler. There is no way to extirpate the zebra mussels once established. The only option is to carefully control water flow out of the lake, and to clean boats after they've been in infested waters.
Meanwhile on land, the eastern red cedar, a species of juniper, is invading rangeland. Traditionally, cedar growth was limited by regular fires, but modern ranching has made it easier for them to get established. They suck up water in volume, and ranchers who cut cedars can find that springs start flowing again shortly afterward.
Federal grants exist to help farmers and ranchers remove red cedar. Landowners can prevent invasion by regular controlled burns. Mowing or grazing alone would not be sufficient.
- Log in to post comments
I think you may be referring to the Eastern Red Cedar, Josh.
Speaking of the Eastern Red Cedar, there is an organization in the Kansas City area that has a "Holiday Tree" cutting day every winter to try to combat the juniper invasion.
You can even take home the tree you cut down and decorate it for the holiday season!
You can check out their website at:
http://www.kcwildlands.org/
Very true. My mistake, now fixed.
In our neck of the woods, good stewards of the land connect a chain to the back of their tractor, wrap the end around the red cedar trees and pull them out by the roots. They do this systematically so the trees never get very large. It's the first thing I look for in a pasture to determine stewardship. I expect with the introduction of wind turbines, there will be unplanned burning of the mixed grass prairies around here that will aide in controlling the spread of the red cedar, but create other problems.
Planned burns are a very good idea in any event. Prairies developed in a context of regular burns, and regular controlled burns prevent unplanned burns from getting out of hand. Why would wind farms cause more fires?