In the early 1800’s Europeans introduced purple loosestrife to North America. Using it primarily as an exotic plant along roadsides because it could grow to be very tall and thick and were very well served as lawn ornaments.

We have since discovered that purple loosestrife is an invasive species, or a species that evolved in one ecosystem, and was then artificially implanted into another in which it has no natural predators.

This allows invasive species’ populations to explode into their new environment which can be catestrophic to the species already living there. Invasive species have an overall negative impact on ecosystems by making them less diverse and therefore less stable.

We as a nation have attempted to come together to combat the threat of invasive species in our environment, and have developed methods of either exterminating or preventing them from spreading to other areas.

In the case of purple loosestrife, a plan was designed to introduce an exotic species-– Japanese beetles to eat the plant, and then die off, because the beetle had no other sources of food.

However, the beetle did not die, and began to consume other biomass instead of the loosestrife, leaving us with two invasive species to contend with.

Recently in a Star Tribune article entitled “We don’t have to panic over Zebra Mussels” (Michael Mccartney 2014) that asserted that we don’t need to worry about the threat of invasive species like zebra mussels. The article citing new pest management systems that are beginning to be a viable option in the never ending battle against the creatures that we brought here.

If there is one thing that cannot be stressed enough, it’s that invasive species have a knack for defying our expectations, because we have no idea how they will react to most situations because they are a species totally new to the environment they are currently in.

Now not everything is gloom and doom in the case of invasive species, and there are cases where human treatment has helped control the spread and population size of invasive species.

However, we are not out of the woods yet, not even close. In most cases right now the best temporary solution is containment, and more specifically, the diligent effort of Minnesota boaters, and the like, to preserve the environment we all live in. This means being extra careful not to take aquatic hitchhikers on a one-way trip to the future site of a ruined lake.

In the end, our goal should be to preserve the natural beauty of the environment we live in. We can all do our part in our own way. For some people it could be by checking their boats for zebra mussels, for others it could be more active, like uprooting buckthorn in your neighborhood. One thing is certain, if we all do our part we can curb the problem of invasive species.
-David Roland