PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Invasive plants and animals that can damage the environment and cost millions of dollars to control have increasingly taken hold in Rhode Island waters.
A survey by the state Department of Environmental Management found that 79 percent of the state’s freshwater bodies have been tainted by at least one invasive species.
“This was just a survey to find out the distribution of invasive species, and they’re everywhere,” said Katie DeGoosh, a freshwater biologist at the DEM.
There are other signs of problems, too.
Last year, the Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington spent $6 million on dredging and reconstruction as it removed reed phragmites, an invasive species.
State officials say they expect new invasive species from other states to continue to stream into Rhode Island’s lakes, rivers and other bodies.
Still, the DEM also plans to post signs this spring at freshwater public access points directing people to clean their boots, boats, waders and gear as they enter or leave the water.
“If they can be able to become established with this frequency, there are a lot of those things being moved around,” said David Gregg, executive director of Rhode Island National History Survey. “That is kind of scary.”
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