DNR RADIO: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Radio Stations: Two (2) audio cuts in .mp3 format are available for this story — click on audio clip links below.
August 31, 2010
A complete script (also shown below) for radio announcers to read with links to two (2) MP3 audio files about invasive species on state-owned aquatic lands (with Pene Speaks, DNR Natural Areas and Natural Heritage Program Manager).
(See clips link at right.)
A short news script about invasive species on state-owned aquatic lands for radio announcers to read.
HELP KEEP AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES OUT OF WASHINGTON’S WATERWAYS
(ANNOUNCER) Recent news coverage has warned that people hauling boats to and from Washington may be stopped by Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife officers performing mandatory boat checks for aquatic invasive species. The checks are an effort to prevent the spread of tiny zebra mussels, quagga (Kwa-guh) mussels and other non-native species into Washington waterways.
Pene Speaks, manager of the Natural Areas and Natural Heritage programs at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, explains that invasive species is the second largest threat to naturally functioning ecosystems and habitats in the Puget Sound region.
The DNR noxious weeds and invasive species program has been battling the spread of spartina, an east coast native species, for a number of years.
(Cut ONE—18 seconds)
Download audio clip at: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/Publications/aqr_speaks_invasive_species.mp3
(Pene Speaks) “Spartina forms huge mats of solid vegetation that essentially cover the mudflats that would normally be used by native species of oysters and other species that salmon and other fish species feed on.”
(ANNOUNCER) Along with spartina, there are a number of other threatening aquatic species, such as milfoil, and purple loosestrife, but some invade our waterways with our help -
(Cut TWO—22 seconds)
Download audio clip at: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/Publications/aqr_speaks_invasive_species_2.mp3
(Pene Speaks) “Concern in the aquatic environment for instance, is people dumping aquariums. They’ve gotten species from who knows where in the world and now they’re putting them in the local lake, or they’re dumping them in the sound and that’s one way that species move around, we help them, not intentionally, but we do.”
(ANNOUNCER) To learn more about the DNR noxious weeds and invasive species program, or how to report and invasive species visit www.dnr.wa.gov or the Washington Invasive Species Council at www.invasivespecies.wa.gov
###
Media Contact: Abbey Corzine, Communications Specialist, 360-902-1401, abbey.corzine@dnr.wa.gov