Tuesday May 17, 2022
KTVZ —
Northern crayfish have been found in the Ashland canal, marking the first documented existence of this non-native species in Oregon.
Native to the Midwest, invasive populations of Northern crayfish exist in California and Washington.
This discovery could be bad news for Oregon’s native signal crayfish – Northern crayfish are much more aggressive. And as omnivores, they can prey on signal crayfish, the eggs of salmon and steelhead, and consume native vegetation, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said Monday.
Because Ashland canal leads to Bear Creek and the Rogue River, Rick Boatner, ODFW’s Invasive Species Coordinator, says Northern crayfish have the potential to duplicate what rusty crawfish did in the John Day River Basin.