What You Can Do

Hopefully all of these examples of invasive species in the Pacific Northwest has gotten you seeing some of these common everyday objects and organisms in a new light. There are plenty of activities, events, and changes in habits that can be done in order to reduce the invasive problem and maintain the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

In the case of recreational boating, maintaining and checking up on your own boat to ensure that there are no invasive travelers residing on the hull of your boat is a great way to reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species. One can reduce the spread of aquatic invasives by:

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• Painting your boat hull with anti-fouling paints
• Rinsing anchors and anchor chains during retrieval to remove organisms and sediments
• Removing fouling organisms from hull, piping, and tanks on a regular basis and dispose of these organisms in accordance to local, state, and federal regulations
• Not dumping bait and live well water
• Cleaning all watercraft and fishing equipment (Department of Ecology, 2009)

For more information on how to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, visit http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/nonpoint/CleanBoating/aquatic.html.

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There are many opportunities and events for removing plant invasive species. There are many organizations dedicated to the eradication of invasive species that hold many events to gather volunteers together to work on removing these invasive species. Some of these organizations include the Pacific Northwest Invasive Plant Council, the Green Seattle Partnership, the Nature Conservancy of Washington, the Nature Conservancy of Oregon, and many others. You can also be aware of the vegetation you decide to cultivate and make sure not to plant invasive species such as English ivy, Himalayan blackberry, and Scotch broom.

For more information on how to help eradicate the English ivy problem, visit http://www.pnw-ipc.org/volunteer.shtml.

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Although the invasive cat problem is mainly due to stray and feral cats, still about 29% of birds and 11% of mammals killed by domestic cats each year are due to free-roaming pet cats (Angier, 2013). Thus, controlling your pet cat a bit more by not allowing it to roam freely outside or putting your cat on a leash would help this issue and prevent even more extinctions from occurring.

For more information on how to help cease extinctions caused by cats, visit http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/cat-behavior/stray-and-feral-cats.