Wednesday February 26, 2025
Alaska’s News Source —
It’s National Invasive Species Week across the United States — and in the state capitol Alaska Legislators received a presentation about emerging invasive species — why they are a concern, and potential solutions for them.
The presentation was led by the Regional Invasive Plant Coordinator with Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition, Dr. Emily Reed. She began the presentation by outlining why the legislature should be taking invasive species extremely seriously as they impact parts of our everyday lives.
”It causes harm, whether it be environmental harm, economic harm, or harm to human health; and right now this is very important because we’re thinking about the bio-security of our country and our state,” Dr. Reed said.
According to Dr. Reed, it isn’t only the impact on human health that can be affected as there are non-native pathogens that can infect all populations of Caribou in the state and can cause high fetal and infant mortalities eventually affecting the overall population of the local species. The issue doesn’t only concern land animals, they can also impact our marine life.
Some invasive plant species, like Knotweed, which have been found in Southeast Alaska and Anchorage, can cause damage to our infrastructure such as roads and buildings.