Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks
Initial attempts will be made this summer to combat an invasive plant growing in the Chena Slough and River. Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District Invasive Plant specialist Darcy Echevery says a range of means will be tested to remove the Elodea weed that’s clogging sections of the waterways.
The Soil and Water Conservation District is drawing on a lot of experience from European nations and Russia, where Elodea has long been a problem. Fairbanks is the farthest north the invasive plant has been found in North America. The nearest known range on the continent is in British Columbia. The weed is thought to have been introduced in Fairbanks by fishing gear or an aquarium dumped into local waters. Elodea creates a monoculture and inhibits fish passage.
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