Nutrias Cause Damage
Nutria have been tearing up the banks of Bayou St. John in New Orleans’ Mid-City neighborhood. That has prompted the Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association to seek the services of a licensed trapper. Also, the New Orleans Police Department is considering a plan to shoot the rodents.
The shooting of nutria by law enforcement personnel became commonplace in Jefferson Parish in the 1990s but it would be a new practice in New Orleans.
If New Orleans police decide to go on with the hunt, the department will have to detail its plans to state Wildlife officials, who will have to determine whether the hunt is justified.
http://www.wwl.com/Nutria-becoming-a-problem-for-Bayou-St–John/6086438
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Click on the photo by Henry Artigue for a larger view.
For the first time in New Orleans, south Louisiana’s most notorious vermin may soon be hunted by police along Bayou St. John.
Nutria have been tearing up the banks of the Mid-City waterway near Dumaine Street for months and seem to be expanding in population, prompting the Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association to seek the services of a licensed trapper and the New Orleans Police Department to consider a controlled shoot along the bayou.
Law enforcement-led nutria hunting became commonplace in Jefferson Parish in the mid-1990s, when then-Sheriff Harry Lee led the charge against the rodents, an invasive, quickly multiplying species that burrowed into the banks of the parish’s drainage canals, threatening their stability. No such effort, however, ever became necessary in Orleans Parish - until now.
“It’s being considered,” said NOPD public information officer Bob Young, referring to a controlled hunt.
The problem in Bayou St. John is a small front in a much larger battle to control the herbivorous critters, who consume grasses by tearing them up at the roots, thus expediting the disappearance of the Gulf Coast’s shrinking wetlands.
According to the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, which began conducting aerial surveys of nutria-borne damage to wetland grasses in 1998, the creatures — which resemble a cross between a rat and a beaver — were responsible for 90,000 to 100,000 acres of damage over a five-year period. Those numbers have been reduced by about 78 percent since 2002, when the department started its nutria control program, which offers hunters “$5 a tail” to help decrease the coastal population. Still, the problem persists.
“It’s a microcosm of the wetland woes out there,” said Mark Schexnayder, coastal adviser for the LSU AgCenter.
Nutria were first imported to Louisiana from South America in the 1930s to breed for their pelts. It didn’t take long for the creatures to be released, either accidentally or intentionally, into the wild, where they found a bounty of food in the region’s sugarcane and rice fields and, later, in the marshes.
“Way back in the ’50s, they were a problem with crops,” said Edmond Mouton, nutria control program manager for Wildlife and Fisheries. “Then the market expanded in the ’60s and it rose in the ’70s, where they were harvesting close to 2 million (pelts) a year.”
After the nutria-fur market declined over the 1970s and ’80s, however, “We started receiving reports of damage to coastal wetlands,” Mouton said.
How nutria began frequenting the most visible part of Bayou St. John is unclear. According to Schexnayder, “There’s always been a problem with nutria on the bayou and in City Park.
“They basically destroyed new wetland grasses we planted in City Park in June. It looks like a lawnmower went through there.”
But this fall, the critters began burrowing in the banks, tearing up parts of the surface and forming large depressions.
“It’s not safe,” said Bobby Wozniak with the Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association. “People walk along the bayou every day.”
When residents began keeping count in early November, they found about 12 nutria. By early December, the number was between 20 and 30. Now, the population is estimated to be around 50, and will continue to grow if left unchecked, Wozniak said.
“All of a sudden, they started growing, marching on us,” Wozniak said, laughing.
The bayou’s stable water levels and predator-free environment are bonuses for the nutria, Mouton said.
“There’s a stable habitat for them,” he said. “They’re not disturbed by anything else.”
That may soon change.
If NOPD decides to go forward with the hunt, it would need to submit a written declaration of intent to Wildlife and Fisheries, specifying the boundaries, participants and proposed duration of the hunting period, Mouton said. Wildlife and Fisheries would determine whether the hunt is justified, review the proposal and issue a permit for a set length, probably 30 or 60 days. NOPD would have to notify homeowners. The hunt would take place at night and be performed by “professional marksmen,” he said.
“If there’s a sign of nutria and they’re digging in the bank and they’re causing damage, that would give them enough justification,” Mouton said.
However, Young said, the hunt is still “a very complex issue,” as the bayou’s near-horizontal plane could make shooting along it dangerous for property and passers-by.
“In Jefferson Parish, they were shooting down into an area with bulkheads on each side,” Young said. “In Bayou St. John, there’s no bulkheads,” meaning police must study the potential deflection of shots fired on the banks or in the water. In addition, Moss Street would have to be closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic during a hunt, Young said.
Because of those factors, the hunt “is nothing that’s going to happen immediately,” he said.
Because NOPD has not yet submitted a request, the Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association plans to go forward with an idea floated earlier in the fall to hire a private, licensed trapper to catch and dispose of the animals. Wozniak said he had started a collection among residents to finance the operation, and already has surveyed the damage with a local trapper.
In the meantime, Wozniak said, “I’d like to encourage people to buy nutria coats for the winter.”
Article above by Molly Reid obtained from:
http://www.nola.com/pets/index.ssf/2010/01/nutria_hunting_proposed_along.html
Bobby Wozniak talks about the nutria problem in Bayou St. John.
Visit Tomahawk Live Trap
A well-known invasive species in Louisiana is the nutria. Nutria eat huge amounts of vegetation a day. Unlike similar native animals, like the muskrat, nutria also eat the root systems of trees –especially young trees. This makes it difficult for young trees, such as the Bald Cypress, to reach adulthood. There are predators in Louisiana that will eat nutria, but because nutria eat so much and produce so quickly, the few predators that eat them are not able to control the populations.
Picture and info above obtained from http://www3.selu.edu/turtlecove/lessonsonthelake/definitions/invasive.html
Damage and Damage Identification
Nutria damage has been observed throughout their range. Most damage is from feeding or burrowing. In the United States, most damage occurs along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Texas. The numerous natural and human-made waterways that traverse this area are used extensively for travel by nutria.
Burrowing is the most commonly reported damage caused by nutria. Nutria are notorious in Louisiana and Texas for undermining and breaking through water-retaining levees in flooded fields used to produce rice and crawfish. Additionally, nutria burrows sometimes weaken flood control levees that protect low-lying areas. In some cases, tunneling in these levees is so extensive that water will flow unobstructed from one side to the other, necessitating their complete reconstruction.
Nutria sometimes burrow into the styrofoam flotation under boat docks and wharves, causing these structures to lean and sink. They may burrow under buildings, which may lead to uneven settling or failure of the foundations. Burrows can weaken roadbeds, stream banks, dams, and dikes, which may collapse when the soil is saturated by rain or high water, or when subjected to the weight of heavy objects on the surface (such as vehicles, farm machinery, or grazing livestock). Rain and wave action can wash out and enlarge collapsed burrows and compound the damage.
Nutria depredation on crops is well documented. In the United States, sugarcane and rice are the primary crops damaged by nutria. Grazing on rice plants can significantly reduce yields, and damage can be locally severe. Sugarcane stalks are often gnawed or cut during the growing season. Often only the basal internodes of cut plants are eaten. Other crops that have been damaged include corn, milo (grain sorghum), sugar and table beets, alfalfa, wheat, barley, oats, peanuts, various melons, and a variety of vegetables from home gardens and truck farms.
Nutria girdle fruit, nut, and shade trees and ornamental shrubs. They also dig up lawns and golf courses when feeding on the tender roots and shoots of sod grasses. Gnawing damage to wooden structures is common. Nutria also gnaw on styrofoam floats used to mark the location of traps in commercial crawfish ponds.
At high densities and under certain adverse environmental conditions, foraging nutria can significantly impact natural plant communities. In Louisiana, nutria often feed on seedling baldcypress and can cause the complete failure of planted or naturally-regenerated stands. Overutilization of emergent marsh plants can damage stands of desirable vegetation used by other wildlife species and aggravate coastal erosion problems by destroying vegetation that holds marsh soils together. Nutria are fond of grassy arrowhead (Sagittaria platyphylla) tubers and may destroy stands propagated as food for waterfowl in artificial impoundments.
The clip below is from the WYES production “Informed Sources” which aired September 25, 2009:
http://www.viddler.com/explore/katrinafilm/videos/127/
Nutria can be infected with several pathogens and parasites that can be transmitted to humans, livestock, and pets. The role of nutria, however, in the spread of diseases such as equine encephalomyelitis, leptospirosis, hemorrhagic septicemia (Pasteurellosis), paratyphoid, and salmonellosis is not well documented. They may also host a number of parasites, including the nematodes and blood flukes that cause “swimmer’s-itch” or “nutria-itch” (Strongyloides myopotami and Schistosoma mansoni), the protozoan responsible for giardiasis (Giardia lamblia), tapeworms (Taenia spp.), and common liver flukes (Fasciola hepatica). The threat of disease may be an important consideration in some situations, such as when livestock drink from water contaminated by nutria feces and urine.
Damage Identification
The ranges of nutria, beavers, and muskrats overlap in many areas and damage caused by each may be similar in appearance. Therefore, careful examination of sign left at the damage site is necessary to identify the responsible species. Onsite observations of animals and their burrows are the best indicators of the presence of nutria. Crawl-outs, slides, trails, and the exposed entrances to burrows often have tracks that can be used to identify the species. The hind foot, which is about 5 inches (13 cm) long, has four webbed toes and a free outer toe. A drag mark left by the tail may be evident between the footprints (Fig. 3). Droppings may be found floating in the water, along trails, or at feeding sites. These are dark green to almost black in color, cylindrical, and approximately 2 inches (5 cm) long and 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) in diameter. Additionally, each dropping usually has deep, parallel grooves along its entire length (Fig. 4). Trees girdled by nutria often have no tooth marks, and bark may be peeled from the trunk. The crowns of seedling trees are usually clipped (similar to rabbit [Sylvilagus spp.] damage) and discarded along with other woody portions of the plant. In rice fields, damage caused by nutria, muskrats, and Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) can be confused. Nutria and muskrats damage rice plants by clipping stems at the water line in flooded fields; Norway rats reportedly clip stems above the surface of the water (E. A. Wilson, personal communication).
Legal Status
Nutria are protected as furbearers in some states or localities because they are economically important. Permits may be necessary to control animals that are damaging property. In other areas, nutria have no legal protection and can be taken at any time by any legal means. Consequently, citizens experiencing problems with nutria should be familiar with local wildlife laws and regulations. Complex problems should be handled by professional wildlife damage control specialists who have the necessary permits and expertise to do the job correctly. Your state wildlife agency can provide the names of qualified wildlife damage control specialists and information on pertinent laws and regulations.
A one minute slideshow of the nutria lounging along Bayou St. John
Economics of Damage and Control
Nutria can have either positive or negative values. They are economically important furbearers when their pelts provide income to commercial trappers. Conversely, they are considered pests when they damage property. From 1977 to 1984, an average of 1.3 million nutria pelts were harvested annually in the United States. Based on prices paid to Louisiana trappers during this period, these pelts were worth about $7.3 million. The estimated value of sugarcane and rice damaged by nutria each year has ranged from several thousand dollars to over a million dollars. If losses of other resources are added to this amount, the estimated average loss would probably exceed $1 million annually.
Management plans developed for nutria should be comprehensive and should consider the needs of all stakeholders. Regulated commercial trapping should be an integral part of any management scheme because it can provide continuous, long-term income to trappers; maintain acceptable nutria densities; and reduce damage to tolerable levels.
The value of the protected resource must be compared with the cost of control when determining whether nutria control is economically feasible. Most people will not control nutria if costs exceed the value of the resource being protected or if control will adversely impact income derived from trapping. Of course, there are exceptions, especially when the resource has a high sentimental or aesthetic value to the owner or user.
The information above was obtained from
http://www.extension.org/pages/Nutria_Damage_Assessment
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Visit Tomahawk Live Trap
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Nutria-fur fashion calls attention to wetlands problems
By Daniel McBride
Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, September 27, 2009 at 6:01 a.m.
THIBODAUX — For the 13th annual Fête d’Ecologie wetlands and Cajun-culture awareness festival, organizers tried something new — a fashion show.
Four models strutted around Saturday afternoon at the festival’s main stage, but all eyes were on the clothing. Caps and bell bottoms, vests and wristbands, all fashioned from the same material — nutria fur.
Fashion-show mastermind Cree McCree, a New Orleans-based designer, said bringing attention to nutria fur is multipurpose.
Not only can it raise awareness about the problems facing southeast Louisiana’s wetlands, but other benefits will appear if the fur regains popularity as a fashion item.
Click HERE for the rest of the story
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A short slideshow advocating use of nutria for fur coats.
http://www.viddler.com/explore/katrinafilm/videos/138/
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The message below was posted by Bobby Wozniak on March 15, 2008.
Ignoring this significant problem will not make it go away!
It will only get exponentially worse.
Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2008 7:35 AM
To: FSJNA
From: Bobby Wozniak
Subject: [FaubourgStJohn] On nutria pond…
Our nutria population has apparently reached record numbers. Brenda London reports seeing 9 or 10 on evening (9PM)strolls on the bayou. Beth Ribblett has seen dozens in early AM. So I made some calls.
Dr Martha Littleton from LA ag and forestry dept said “they breed like rabbits, especially when they find a nice pond with good vegetation”. Apparently they find our plantings near the dumaine bridge delicacies. I was referred on to Wildlife and Fisheries, who referred me to licensed and well known trapper Greg Dutreuil. He spent alot of time explaining options.
We would need to buy a sturdy cage trap(from double M $100) as he won’t let his out in very open public places (they walk). After finding a good location, he would pre bait with carrot pieces everyday for 4-5 days (free buffet),skip a day, then set a trap(humane kind) with carrots inside.He would remove them and keep baiting till they are gone . We would need to monitor every day. The only thing non humane is if a whole litter follows the dominant one in the cage, they will self cannabalize each other..The traps are cages with doors, not the claw kind., so kids and pets are safe.The area would be marked
The longest nutria tunnel recorded is 150 feet, measurd by a scope by wildlife and fisheries, not a good thing for levees or marshes.
He hasn’t been out to assess yet, and I don’t know what his charges are.
If anyone has a better solution, please advise. We need to eradicate nutria NOW!
Visit Tomahawk Live Trap
—–Original Message—–
From: Mary Gehman
Sent: Oct 8, 2009 10:25 AM
Subject: trapping nutria at Bayou St. John
I just wanted to say that the Tomahawk Live Trap company in Tomahawk, Wisconsin has all sorts of humane live animal traps at very reasonable prices. That’s their specialty. You can easily locate them on the Web. They can probably give you some advice as well, as to how to trap the nutria and what to do with them afterwards. I’ve used their cat traps and have been very satisfied.
Good luck, Mary Gehman
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Click the nutria above for even more info from a website created by neighbor Bill Dalton’s company - Firefly Digital
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Alligators are handled by Wildlife & Fisheries;
Raccoons and opossums are commonly seen in our area.
Since they have an equal right to be here, we ask that
you leave them be, but you can deter them by keeping
your yard free of debris and trashcan lids tightly closed.
If you want the animal removed nonetheless, you may
call a private trapper.
Animal Control does not handle wildlife issues.
State licensed trappers:
Charles Parker — Wildlife Removal — (504) 338-7517
duTreil Pest Control — (504) 471-0101
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Bobby Wozniak photographs nutria dens and damage.
November 16, 2009:
http://www.viddler.com/explore/katrinafilm/videos/141/
| Insomniac With Dave Attell | ||||
| New Orleans’ Nutria | ||||
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Title image courtesy Jane Hill.
Click on the dome for more.
