Naturalist’s Notebook They’re Here: Alien Species in Appalachia By Matt Grimley Anything that costs $120 billion every year to control can’t be good. That’s just one estimate of the costs of invasive species in the United States, courtesy of the Rocky Mountain Research Station. In Appalachia, the everyday costs are more apparent: the smear of house sparrow droppings on your windshield, the garlic mustard that fills your yard, the anthracnose wilting your dogwood’s leaves. And that’s not even the half of it.
Just Shoat Me
They estimated it would supply 500 to 700 pounds of sausage. The feral hog, dubbed “Monster Pig,” was shot nine times by an 11-year old boy in Alabama who wielded a .50-caliber revolver. The prodigious pig weighed 1,050 pounds and measured over nine feet long. Picture that humongous ham and you might get an idea of the enormous problem that feral pigs — known as shoats when young — pose in the United States. From populating a few states such as Hawaii and California, they flourished to over five million nationwide, snorting their way through at least 35 states, where they cause over
remove about 300 wild hogs a year via hunting and trapping. According to him, that’s consid$1 billion in damages and ered “maintenance level” for the control costs every year. population. The Great Smoky “With the existing manpowMountains National Park er, we’re doing a pretty good job knows all about them. keeping them down to that low In 1912, a hunting prelevel,” he says. serve on Hooper’s Bald He says that the hogs are in North Carolina remore reproductively-talented ceived a shipment of Euthan even the white-tailed deer: ropean wild boar, which they can breed at six-months old flourished on the land. and have two litters per year, When the reserve went with three to eight piglets per bankrupt in 1920, locals litter. And if the swining-andhunted off some, but dining wasn’t enough, hunters many hogs escaped. are also suspected of moving By the 1970s, wild Brown marmorated stink bugs circle an unsuspecting apple. When the hogs illegally, which may hogs had taken over the feeding on these tree fruits, the insects cause catfacing, a deformity that account for new populations in park. In the intervening makes the fruit unmarketable. Photo by Tracy Leskey, courtesy of the the mountains of North Carolina years, the wild boars Appalachian Fruit Research Station and Tennessee. coupled with domesRemember Monster Pig? which are found only in the park. ticated pigs. Still lean Turns out its name was Fred, and he was The hog is also a carrier for diseases and tusked like European wild boars, a domesticated pig that a commercial such as pseudorabies, which the pork wild hogs today also show spots, short hunting preserve bought and passed off industry in North Carolina — among snouts and curly tails. as wild. Fred’s previous owners said the Some might call these hybrid pigs the biggest in the nation — spends Continued on next page “cute,” but they effectively churn the millions of dollars fighting every year. Bill Stiver, a wildlife biologist earth, squashing seed growth, dredgwith the park, says they ing up soil communities and vegetative cover, and devouring almsot anything, including the unique Jordon’s salamanders,
Non-Native and Delicious
Remember: you can eat invasives, too! One of our readers, Amy, was gracious enough to provide a stirfry recipe for Japanese knotweed. She writes, “I first foraged for this invasive in its native country of Japan, where it was growing wild next to streams in the high mountains of the Japanese Alps, as myself and a good friend were backpacking through the wilds of Mt. Myoko. The plant is Japanese knotweed, or Fallopia japonica (which was previously known as Polygonum cuspidatum). In the U.S., it is a terrible invasive that clogs riparian areas, choking out our lovely native species. I would caution readers from harvesting Japanese knotweed if it is unknown whether the plants have been treated with pesticides. As this is a very difficult invasive to control, the plant often has to be treated year-after-year to be fully eradicated. Page 8 | The Appalachian Voice | December 2012/January 2013
Japanese Knotweed
The recipe: Harvest only the tender young shoots of the Japanese knotweed. These are found in the spring, and they are no larger than six to seven inches tall. The shoots look similar to asparagus and if they have been growing up through last year’s leaves, they may be white to light green in color. Wash the shoots and snap them into smaller pieces for a stirfry. To saute, toss in a pan with a light coating of sesame oil and tamari and a small amount of fresh-ground ginger. For added oomph, add minced garlic. Cook for three to five minutes on medium heat and serve immediately, perhaps with freshly cooked jasmine rice and locally farm-raised chicken!” If you’re still hungry, go to www.appvoices.org/thevoice for more invasive recipes!
Kudzu basket, photo courtesy of Nancy Basket