DEC creates office to fight invasive species

ALBANY - New York's efforts against exotic pests like lake-choking mollusks, rampant alien weeds and wasps that attack pine trees will be crafted by a new state office.

While manual labor has been an effective deterrent in spots, some non-native species are already well established and others are on the horizon. One of the tasks of the Office of Invasive Species is to map and record all those threats to native wildlife.

“Even though many of them have been around for years, we have never had a coordinated system in place to attack the problem, a system that threads together the issues of public outreach, funding and legislation needs, and research,” Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis said in a prepared statement.