Habitat Losses: Recent Headlineshttp://www.understandingvt.org/habitat-losses-recent-headline/en-US2008-12-03T06:49:30ZSquarespace Site Server v5.0.0 (http://www.squarespace.com/)Champlain Canal focus of lake invadershttp://www.understandingvt.org/habitat-losses-recent-headline/2008/10/31/champlain-canal-focus-of-lake-invaders.htmlVCF Staff2008-10-31T14:27:31ZThe Burlington Free Press reports that "key groups will hold a public meeting next month to discuss the role of the Champlain Canal in the introduction of invasive species to Lake Champlain." According to experts, "The movement of water and boats through the canal is a likely path by which some invasive species have reached the lake. The canal links Champlain with the Hudson River." Fifty invasive species have made Lake Champlain their home and have "altered the lake ecosystem and cost millions of dollars in control efforts." Those invaders include zebra mussels, Eurasian water milfoil, white perch, alewives and water chestnuts. Notably, the Lake "the is home to fewer invasive species than surrounding water bodies. In the Great Lakes, 184 invasives have been catalogued, 87 in the St. Lawrence River and 91 in the Hudson River."

]]>Rare forest protected in Essex Parkhttp://www.understandingvt.org/habitat-losses-recent-headline/2008/10/29/rare-forest-protected-in-essex-park.htmlVCF Staff2008-10-29T18:46:25ZVermont Public Radio reports that "a rare type of forest in northern Vermont is being protected at the Woodside Park in Essex." The land was donated by Guy Neveu to the Winooksi Valley Park District. "The parcel is a mix of maple, ash and hickory more typically found in southern Vermont. It also includes red maple, pitch pines, witch hazel, white ash, black cherry, round-leafed tick trefoil, handsome sedge and Minnesota sedge."

]]>Forests threatened by invasive insectshttp://www.understandingvt.org/habitat-losses-recent-headline/2008/10/27/forests-threatened-by-invasive-insects.htmlVCF Staff2008-10-27T18:38:00ZVermont Public Radio reports that "Vermont's forests are threatened by three insects that could devastate stands of many tree species, including the state's trademark sugar maple." Those insects include the hemlock woolly adelgid which has been found in New Hampshire and vermont, the Asian longhorned beetle which has been found in Massachusetts, and the emerald ash bore which has been found in New York and Quebec. In response to the insect threat, state officials are hoping to "keep timber and firewood out of the state that could be harboring the tiny bugs." Notably, "small insects can survive in firewood. When they reach maturity, they emerge and go in search of a live tree to infest."

State entomologist Jon Turmel explained, "I've been