Workshop to address invasion of non-native species

MURRIETA — Southern California provides native aquatic animal life with many beautiful surroundings. However, non-native species are taking over the habitats of native species by both out-competing and eating the local native wildlife, which includes the steelhead trout, three-spine stickleback, native chorus frogs and turtles. Literally, tens of thousands of invasive fish and other animal species (including bullfrogs and crayfish) have been removed from waterways and efforts to eradicate them are still going strong.

Non-native fish and other animal species are regularly washed out of manmade ponds during rain events and are swept into adjoining waterways, including the Santa Margarita River. The Santa Margarita River is fed by streams and creeks located in both Riverside and San Diego County. These streams and creeks carry the invasive fish and animals from ponds straight into the natural habitats of native fish, where the invasive species eliminate the native species.

In order to provide information about the protection of native species, Mission Resource Conservation District, along with Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District, will be holding a free workshop. Representatives from the Natural Resource Conservation Service and Riverside-Corona Conservation District will be presenting and will be available afterward for questions.

The workshop will be held on June 16 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve’s Visitor Center. For more information and directions to the workshop, contact Bethany Principe at (760) 728-1332 or [email protected].