News

Committee on Transportation

Oregon House of Representatives

April 11, 2005

Testimony by PSU Professor Mark Sytsma

HB 2576

 

My name is Mark Sytsma. I am an Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Resources at Portland State University. I work closely with the Oregon Department of Agriculture on aquatic weed management in Oregon. I am a member of the Oregon Invasive Species Council and I participated in the Noxious Weeds Task Force during the interim where the discussion of the issue addressed in this bill originated.

Aquatic weeds have economic and ecological impacts. The Oregon Department of Agriculture estimated that a single aquatic weed, Egeria densa, has a $3.5 million dollar per year impact on the Oregon economy. Spartina, a weed in estuaries, has a potential impact of $22 million per year. Costs and potential environmental impacts of managing established populations of aquatic weeds are prohibitive; therefore, prevention on new invasions is critical. This bill addresses an important pathway for spread of aquatic weeds – transport on boats trailered from water body to another. We have a sign program in place already to educate and inform boaters.

In 2003 we surveyed aquatic plants in 20 lakes on the Oregon coast around Florence. All of the lakes that had a boat ramp had at least one introduced, nonnative species. Twenty-two percent of the lakes without a boat ramp had at least one introduced plant. These results suggest that trailered boat use increases the probability of weed infestation by five times.

It also tells us that boats are not the only pathway that we need to worry about, and there are other ongoing efforts in Oregon to address these other pathways. There is a national outreach effort to aquarium and water gardening hobbyist to prevent release of organisms from cultivation and captivity. The ODFW publishes invasive species information in their hunting and fishing regulations and invasive species is an important part of their Wildlife Conservation Strategy.

The Invasive Species Council recently completed a survey of 503 Oregonians and we were happy to find that 71% already thought that invasive species were a concern. We are planning to build on this base of knowledge to further inform Oregonians of actions they can take to prevent the spread of invasive species. The campaign will be coordinated with the Marine Board’s clean boating campaign. The Governor has proclaimed June 19-25 to be Weed Awareness Week in Oregon and the Department of Agriculture is coordinating a series of events in observance of the event.

In conclusion, I support the bill and the amendments proposed by the Marine Board – it is an important piece of a well-rounded effort to prevent introduction of invasive species. I would like to thank Representative Kropf for advancing the bill in the legislature.