{"id":13086,"date":"2026-03-01T08:06:05","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T15:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/national-invasive-species-awareness-week-whats-bugging-cortez-and-the-southwest\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:34:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:34:55","slug":"national-invasive-species-awareness-week-whats-bugging-cortez-and-the-southwest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/national-invasive-species-awareness-week-whats-bugging-cortez-and-the-southwest\/","title":{"rendered":"National Invasive Species Awareness Week: What\u2019s bugging Cortez and the Southwest"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The
The oryx, a non-native species from southern Africa, threatens native species in White Sands National Park in New Mexico. (Photo courtesy of the National Park Service)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

As National Invasive Species Awareness Week winds down, wildlife and plant experts from the southwestern U.S. are highlighting some of the non\u2011native species spreading through deserts, plains, mountains and rivers.<\/p>\n

The oryx: It\u2019s hard to miss<\/div>\n

All the way from southern Africa\u2019s Kalahari Desert to southern New Mexico, the oryx is one of the biggest and most unusual problems facing White Sands National Park. In an effort to expand large\u2011game hunting, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish released nearly 100 oryx onto and near the White Sands Missile Range between 1969 and 1977.<\/p>\n

Their population has since grown into the thousands, with human hunters serving as their only significant \u201cpredator\u201d in New Mexico. Oryx contribute to overgrazing, which limits food sources for native species. Attempts to keep them out of the park \u2013 including construction of a 67\u2011mile fence \u2013 have been largely unsuccessful.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou may feel lucky spotting these magnificent creatures during your time in the park, but unfortunately, the park isn\u2019t nearly as fortunate,\u201d wrote White Sands National Park on Facebook to mark the awareness week.<\/p>\n

The spongy moth: Hello, Juan National Forest<\/div>\n

From clusters of eggs to spotted caterpillars to pesky adult moths, the spongy moth spends its entire lifespan wreaking havoc on trees and shrubs in U.S. forests. Originally from Europe, it has spread across the country, making its way to the San Juan National Forest.<\/p>\n

\"The
The spongy moth eats leaves off trees and shrubs, causing immense damage to the health of the plant. (U.S. Department of Agriculture)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cIts caterpillars defoliate trees and can weaken or kill them over time,\u201d Lorena Williams, spokesperson for the San Juan National Forest, said in a statement to The Journal.<\/p>\n

Williams noted it\u2019s important to distinguish between western tent caterpillars \u2013 which are native to the ecosystem \u2013 and the spongy moth. She said the forest does not monitor for the moths, but people who think they have found one at any stage should report the sighting to Colorado Parks and Wildlife or the Colorado Department of Agriculture for confirmation.<\/p>\n

\"The
The western tent caterpillar is native to Colorado. (The Journal file photo)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The spongy moth is an invasive insect from Europe. (Colorado Parks and Wildlife)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Trouble in the water: Non\u2011native fish and mussels<\/p>\n

According to Williams, many trout species populating Southwest Colorado are not from the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only trout native to the Colorado River basin on the Western Slope is the Colorado River cutthroat trout,\u201d Williams said, adding that Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Forest Service are working to repopulate the fish.<\/p>\n

Common trout such as rainbow, brown and brook trout come from out of state and were introduced to support angling activities. These non\u2011native species benefit the state\u2019s outdoor recreation economy.<\/p>\n

However, one resident of the Colorado River is not welcome.<\/p>\n

\"Adult
Adult zebra mussel on a rock. Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed the presence of adult zebra mussels, a rapidly spreading invasive species, in the Colorado River in 2025. (Colorado Parks and Wildlife)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty big deal that there\u2019s invasive mussels on the Colorado River,\u201d said Emily Lockard, director of the Montezuma County Colorado State University Extension.<\/p>\n

Colorado Parks and Wildlife calls zebra mussels the \u201cmost serious aquatic threat\u201d to the U.S., as they attach to water\u2011supply structures and crowd out local mussel and fish populations. CPW monitors their numbers as the Colorado River Basin supplies drinking water to millions of Americans.<\/p>\n

Weeds: The B-list<\/div>\n

Garth Nelson, a rangeland management specialist in the Dolores Ranger District, said spotted knapweed, Russian knapweed, milk thistle and leafy spurge are among the non\u2011native weeds that affect the San Juan National Forest.<\/p>\n

All are on the Colorado Department of Agriculture\u2019s \u201cB\u2011list,\u201d meaning they are invasive plants with the potential to cause significant ecological damage in the areas where they grow. They typically thrive in high\u2011use areas such as roadways and campsites, according to Nelson.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do a lot of manual control, which is just chopping them down,\u201d Nelson said.<\/p>\n

Milk thistle is common not only in the forest but throughout Montezuma County.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrazing really helps,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cCows really like to eat the tops of those off before they go to seed.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the San Juan National Forest uses both chemical and manual control methods, including herbicides and hand\u2011cutting.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not only the San Juan National Forest battling weeds. Russian knapweed remains a problem for the Cortez Parks and Recreation Department.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther than just growing prolifically and overwhelming areas, I imagine that it could get to the point where it could start outcompeting natural species,\u201d said Parks and Recreation Director Creighton Wright.<\/p>\n

The weed grows in Carpenter Open Space alongside bull thistle, which the department is monitoring.<\/p>\n

\"Bull
Bull thistle is on the Colorado Noxious Weed List. (Colorado Department of Agriculture)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cIt\u2019s got a really pretty purple flower but if it\u2019s not controlled it can really take over an area,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n

Coinciding with National Invasive Species Awareness Week, the department hopes its next parks superintendent can help mitigate non\u2011native species.<\/p>\n

avanderveen@the\u2011journal.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Non\u2011native species cause problems for deserts, forests, rivers and even your backyard<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-13086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13086"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20645,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13086\/revisions\/20645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13086"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=13086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}