For our final episode of our invasive species season we have something a little different: we're sharing the recording of an invasive species livestream we hosted on Facebook with Chris Evans, answering your invasive species questions! Get the answers to your questions about managing different species, communicating about invasives, regulations, and more.

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Was there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question or share your everyday nature observation with us at go.illinois.edu/EEconnect, and we may share it in a future blog or podcast.

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo aeg9@illinois.edu, Erin Garrett emedvecz@illinois.edu, Amy Lefringhouse heberlei@illinois.edu

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After decades of draining the land for agriculture, restoring water to The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve helped recreate high quality wetland, lake, and marsh habitats that were once common along the Illinois River. Maintaining these high-quality habitats requires monitoring and effectively managing invasive species. This episode's discussion will focus primarily on our efforts to better understand and manage the common carp population at Emiquon to reduce negative impacts on water quality and vegetative habitats.

Resources mentioned:

• Emiquon Preserve
• Ramsar sites
• Emiquon Preserve Monitoring at Forbes Biological Station

Share your own Everyday Observation

Was there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question or share your everyday nature observation with us at go.illinois.edu/EEconnect, and we may share it in a future blog or podcast.

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo aeg9@illinois.edu, Erin Garrett emedvecz@illinois.edu, Amy Lefringhouse heberlei@illinois.edu

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Abigail and Amy chat with Aishwarya Veerabahu, a mycologist and PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She enlightens us with the issues surrounding the golden oyster mushroom, a representative of the fungi kingdom , one kingdom we haven't discussed. We explore the rapid spread of the golden oyster mushroom across eastern North America, what happens when an invasive fungus moves into native woodland ecosystems, and why mushrooms growing on dead trees can tell us a lot about forest health. Plus, we somehow end up debating the difference between a rock pigeon and a mourning dove, so, bird experts we need your help to clear up the discussion about rock pigeons vs rock doves vs mourning doves in our Everyday Observations.

Resources

• Research publication: Invasive golden oyster mushrooms are disrupting native fungal communities as they spread throughout North America
• University of Wisconsin Pringle Lab Golden Oyster Mushroom project
• Golden oyster culinary background and how best to cook it from Chef Alan Bergo

Share your own Everyday Observation

Was there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question or share your everyday nature observation with us at go.illinois.edu/EEconnect, and we may share it in a future blog or podcast.

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo aeg9@illinois.edu, Erin Garrett emedvecz@illinois.edu, Amy Lefringhouse heberlei@illinois.edu

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Join Steve Butler, Biologist at the Kaskaskia Biological Field Station, as he discusses invasive carp (silver carp, bighead carp, grass carp, and black carp) and their reproducing populations throughout much of the Mississippi River basin. This set of fish have altered the structure and function of aquatic food webs, thereby impacting native fish assemblages. Due to concerns about the impacts of invasive carp on aquatic ecosystems and the risks of these species spreading into the Great Lakes via the Illinois River and the Chicago Area Waterway System, considerable efforts have been undertaken to understand the ecology of these invasive fishes and implement management strategies to limit their continued expansion and mitigate their ecological impacts.

Resources:

• Invasive Carp Regional Coordinator Committee
• Managing Invasive Carp from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Invasive Carp Canada
• Non-indigenous Aquatics Database: Silver Carp, Bighead Carp, Grass Carp, Black Carp

Share your own Everyday Observation

Was there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question or share your everyday nature observation with us at go.illinois.edu/EEconnect, and we may share it in a future blog or podcast.

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo aeg9@illinois.edu, Erin Garrett emedvecz@illinois.edu, Amy Lefringhouse heberlei@illinois.edu

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Join us as we chat with Dr. Theresa Culley, a genetic researcher from the University of Cincinnati. We discuss the genetics of invasives and how genetics helps solve the puzzle of how different invasive species have escaped from managed spaces. Discover the stories of buckthorn, wintercreeper, Callery pear and much more. Listen to Erin and Abigail's minds be blown by the diversity of genetic options for "escape."

Share your own Everyday Observation

Was there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question or share your everyday nature observation with us at go.illinois.edu/EEconnect, and we may share it in a future blog or podcast.

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo aeg9@illinois.edu, Erin Garrett emedvecz@illinois.edu, Amy Lefringhouse heberlei@illinois.edu

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During this episode of Everyday Environment, hosts Amy and Erin chat with Kelly Estes from the Illinois Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey. We learn about how the CAPS program works and surveys for invasive pests in our state.

Resources

• IL CAPS program
• Pest Tracker

Share your own Everyday Observation

Was there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question or share your everyday nature observation with us at go.illinois.edu/EEconnect, and we may share it in a future blog or podcast.

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo aeg9@illinois.edu, Erin Garrett emedvecz@illinois.edu, Amy Lefringhouse heberlei@illinois.edu

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Everyday Environment talks with Tricia Bethke, Illinois’ Forest Pest Outreach Coordinator, about the growing threat of invasive pests. We explore how these pests are impacting our forests, what a “tree check” looks like, and which warning signs to watch for in your own yard and community.

Learn More

• Invasive insects
• Spotted Lanternfly reporting via email: lanterfly@illinois.edu
• Elm zigzag sawfly

Share your own Everyday Observation

Was there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question or share your everyday nature observation with us at go.illinois.edu/EEconnect, and we may share it in a future blog or podcast.

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo aeg9@illinois.edu, Erin Garrett emedvecz@illinois.edu, Amy Lefringhouse heberlei@illinois.edu

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Listen in on our chat with Chris Enroth, fellow Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator and also co-host of the Good Growing podcast, about invasives in the home landscape. We discuss the challenge of plants that are not listed on regulation lists, how to tackle invasives without getting overwhelmed, replacement species, and Chris's favorite butterfly!

Learn More

• Management of Invasive Plants and Pests of Illinois
• Illinois Pollinators website
• Eight Great Replacements for Callery Pear video
• Attracting wildlife with native plants blog
• Landscape Invasives and Native Alternatives (webinar)

Share your own Everyday Observation

Was there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question or share your everyday nature observation with us at go.illinois.edu/EEconnect, and we may share it in a future blog or podcast.

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo aeg9@illinois.edu, Erin Garrett emedvecz@illinois.edu, Amy Lefringhouse heberlei@illinois.edu

Subscribe to our Newsletter
Check out our Blog
See the Everyday Environment Archives