Silent Invasions Press Release
Carol Howard over at OPB sent us the latest press release pertaining to the Silent Invasions documentary on Oregon Field Guide. So we are passing it along to you. Remember to mark the dates on your calendars. This is a great opportunity to either learn more about invasive species, or coincide your organizations events with OPB media onslaught. Lets not let this opportunity pass us by. Here is the release Carol sent us today.
Carol Howard wrote:
THE SILENT INVASION
OPB special kicks off an unprecedented statewide campaign to tackle the threat of invasive species.
THE SILENT INVASION: AN OREGON FIELD GUIDE special presentation
premieres APRIL 22, 2008 at 8pm
Something troubling is taking place in Oregon. Strange exotic plants and animals are showing up in places where they don’t belong. Every day, more arrive. They come by airplane, by boats, by trucks, in handbags and suitcases. They come from Asia, Europe, the Middle East and all corners of the globe.
“Ecosystems are completely changing, things that we grew up with are no longer. They’re disappearing off the landscape and being replaced by things that are coming in from other countries … and very quietly, so we don’t notice it.” — Jim Gores, Oregon Fish and Wildlife
Feral pigs, bullfrogs, starlings and nutria driving out Oregon’s native wildlife. English ivy smothering Forest Park. Purple loosestrife taking over Oak’s Bottom Wildlife Refuge. Spartina eating away at the oyster industry of Willapa Bay in Washington. THE SILENT INVASION: AN OREGON FIELD GUIDE SPECIAL takes a look at the invaders lurking across our borders and showing up around our state. It introduces the people fighting to protect Oregon and our way of life. Tune in on Earth Day, April 22 at 8pm on the stations of Oregon Public Broadcasting to learn more about this problem and what can be done to stop the invasion.
“THE SILENT INVASION is a highly unusual undertaking for OPB. We’ve done many documentaries about environmental problems but nothing like this,” said Jeff Douglas, executive vice president and station manager. “The usual sides in environmental stories don’t appear. Invasive species are an equal-opportunity threat to our environment and our economy … to the Oregon we all love. Ranchers know it. Birders know it. It’s not an issue that divides liberals from conservatives or urban versus rural. We all care about Oregon and we can all make a difference.”
The documentary illustrates how invasive species are changing our environment. One story takes viewers to the Oregon/Idaho border where yellow star thistle is wreaking havoc on the grasslands. A family ranch in Hell’s Canyon, passed down through the decades, has been so decimated by the weed the ranch may be worthless to the next generation.
And solutions to invasive species aren’t easy to come by. In one case an exotic fish was brought in to eradicate an invasive weed taking over Devils Lake near Lincoln City. The new fish destroyed the weed, then began devouring native plants as well, upsetting the food chain and spurring a dangerous bacterial growth.
And then there’s the quagga mussel. Brought to the Great Lakes in the ballast water of a ship from the Caspian Sea in the ’80s, they multiplied out of control, causing an economic and environmental catastrophe. Then, in 2007, quaggas hitched a ride on an unwashed boat to Lake Mead some 2,000 miles away. Now fish hatcheries have been shut down and Hoover Dam itself is threatened as quaggas clog water intakes and turbines. Could Oregon be invaded next? Every boat entering Oregon waters is a potential risk to everything from Oregon’s dams to wild salmon.
Narrated by SOLV’s Jack McGowan, THE SILENT INVASION documents the economic consequences to the social and environmental costs of invasive species. But it also highlights success stories and points viewers toward action they can take.
STOP THE INVASION — An unprecedented statewide campaign to protect Oregon from invasive species
“The broadcast of THE SILENT INVASION on April 22 is not the end of the OPB program — it’s the beginning of a campaign to Stop The Invasion,” said Douglas. “It’s a campaign that involves OPB’s partners — SOLV, The Nature Conservancy, Oregon Invasive Species Council, the City of Portland, Portland State University, Oregon Sea Grant, Oregon State University and — most of all – our citizens.”
“This campaign truly represents the highest level of collaboration amongst government, nonprofit and private entities in Oregon,” said Governor Kulongoski. “This is an excellent example of what can happen when people work together to leverage resources to make a difference to Oregon’s native fish and wildlife resources, economy, and quality of life.”
Volunteers take action
Following the broadcast of the silent Invasion, SOLV and OPB will kick off a massive statewide volunteer effort to remove invasive species and restore Oregon’s native environment. Learn how you can join any of the hundreds of invasive species weed eradications or native landscape restorations by searching the calendar of events at www.opb.org/silentinvasion.
A Website to help protect Oregon from invasive species
The Silent Invasion Web site is the place to go to find out how you can take action in your community or right in your own backyard. The Invasive Species Hot Line is a tool designed to help Oregonians report invasive species outbreaks. The “GardenSmart Oregon” guide, developed in association with The Nature Conservancy, Portland BES, Oregon Sea Grant and the Oregon Association of Nurseries, highlights which plants are most likely to cause problems in yards along with several suggested alternative plants that are unlikely to escape into the natural environment. Visit the OPB Web site to find out how to download or order a hard copy of the GardenSmart guide.
Join In The Fight
“We want the end of the series to mark the beginning of the ongoing effort to detect, slow down or even prevent future invasions,” said OPB’s Douglas.
Log on to opb.org/silentinvasion to find out how to become involved. And be sure to watch THE SILENT INVASION: AN OREGON FIELD GUIDE Special on Earth Day, Thursday, April 22 at 8pm. The program rebroadcasts on Thursday, April 24 at 2am and 8pm and Sunday, April 27 at 2am and 6pm.
Video Archive
Want to know more about some of the plants, animals and insects threatening the state’s most pristine environments? Throughout the year, FIELD GUIDE is airing episodes on invasive species, documenting the destruction they’re causing our environment. A video archive of these episodes is available to stream anytime at opb.org/silentinvasion.
About OREGON FIELD GUIDE
In its 19th season, OREGON FIELD GUIDE remains a valuable source of information about outdoor recreation, ecological issues, natural resources and travel destinations. OREGON FIELD GUIDE airs Thursday evenings at 8:30pm on the television stations of Oregon Public Broadcasting and repeats on Sunday evenings at 6:30pm. In the Mountain Time zone of Eastern Oregon, the program airs at 9:30pm Thursdays and at 7:30pm Sundays.
About OPB
OPB is the state’s most far-reaching and accessible media resource, providing free access to programming for children and adults designed to give voice to community, connect Oregon and its neighbors and illuminate a wider world. Every week, over 1.5 million people tune in to or log on to OPB’s Television, Radio and Internet delivered services. As the hub of operations for the state’s Emergency Broadcast and Amber Alert services, OPB serves as the backbone for the distribution of critical information to broadcasters and homes throughout Oregon. OPB is one of the largest producers and presenters of national television programming through PBS, and is also a member station of NPR, Public Radio International (PRI), and American Public Media (APM). The OPB Web site is opb.org.