Editorial: Educating newcomers about natives

Friday, Feb. 24, 2006 | 7:23 a.m.

Even in growth-driven Southern Nevada, some newcomers just aren't welcome. According to a Las Vegas Sun story Thursday, experts say non-native grasses that fuel wildfires, and domestic aquarium fish turned loose in lakes and streams, are wiping out natural species and costing taxpayers millions in fire recovery and water and habitat restoration.

Invasive plants such as red brome and cheat grass provide prime wildfire fuel that stoked blazes that burned 1.1 million acres in Nevada last year, a state forestry official said. About 750,000 of those acres were in Southern Nevada. It was the Mojave Desert ecosystem's worst fire year on record.

Also of concern are predatory domestic fish that are crowding out and devouring native species. Some of these newcomers have been deliberately introduced for sport fishing, but others are aquarium species released by well-meaning pet owners.

Seeds from invasive plants stick to the tires of off-road vehicles and spread rapidly in new regions when those vehicles travel in unauthorized areas. With only a handful of land management rangers to patrol the region's millions of acres of public land, it is important that residents understand the effects of one afternoon's off-road excursion or the release of a finned household pet.

We need more public education. Such campaigns have taught residents to conserve water and avoid flash floods. With new residents arriving daily, there is no time like the present to save the future of our native species.