This month, staff of the Invading Species Awareness Program were invited by Dennis of Canoehound’s Outdoor Adventure Show to join him as guests on his show. Many interesting topics were covered, such as the impacts invasive species could have in the back country, how to best prevent the spread of invasive species, and we also had lots of opportunity to answer questions from the audience. If you’re interested in watching the video yourself, check out the link below.  

Again, we would like to thank Dennis for inviting us to be guests on his show! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDcVkYJ7Ufs

As the weather gets colder, many of the staff in our office are keeping an eye on the lakes waiting for the ice to become safe for ice fishing. If, like us, you are (im)patiently waiting to get back out on hard water, it might be a good time to freshen up on some of the bait regulations, including Bait Management Zones and how to properly handle and dispose of your bait.  

A reminder: in Ontario, it is illegal to dump the contents of a bait bucket or bait, live or dead, either directly into the water or within 30 metres of it. Unknowingly having juvenile invasive species in your bait bucket and mishandling that bait is one of the most common pathways for invasive aquatic species to spread, especially into isolated lake systems.

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Oak wilt (Bretziella fagacearum) is a fungal pathogen killing thousands of oak trees in North American forests and woodlands each year. The fungus is able to spread from infected to healthy trees by underground roots as well as two groups of insects, sap and bark-feeding beetles. 

Oak wilt is highly susceptible in all species of red oak species, including the northern red oak (Quercus rubra), northern pin oak (Quercus ellipoidalis), and the Spanish oak (Quercus falcata). Fungal mats found on infected trees are transferred to the beetles' bodies while feeding and then carried to other trees. Once a tree is infected, the disease can progress rapidly, with some trees dying within a year. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, oak trees are most vulnerable from the beginning of April to the end of July and that ideally, they should not be pruned until after November when the beetles are less active.

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