Arizona

The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the presence of virulent Newcastle disease in a small flock of pet chickens in Coconino County, Arizona. This is the first case of virulent Newcastle disease in Arizona. This case is believed to be connected to the current outbreak of virulent Newcastle disease in California, as tests show the virus is almost identical to the virus causing disease in California. Virulent Newcastle disease is not a food safety concern. No human cases of Newcastle disease have ever occurred from eating poultry products. In addition to practicing good biosecurity, all bird owners should report sick birds or unusual bird deaths to their veterinarian or to State veterinary officials. Additional information on biosecurity for all poultry flocks can be found at www.aphis.usda.gov/animalhealth/defendtheflock.

Quagga mussel larvae, or veligers, were first confirmed in Lake Powell in late 2012 after routine water monitoring tests discovered mussel DNA in water samples taken from the vicinity of Antelope Point and the Glen Canyon Dam. As of early 2016, thousands of adult quagga mussels have been found in Lake Powell, attached to canyon walls, the Glen Canyon Dam, boats, and other underwater structures, especially in the southern portions of the lake. It is crucial to keep the mussels from moving from Lake Powell to other lakes and rivers. Utah and Arizona state laws require you to clean, drain, and dry your boat when leaving Lake Powell using self-decontamination procedures.

Help preserve the Sonoran Desert by removing buffelgrass, a highly invasive grass that threatens native plants and wildlife populations. Volunteers are needed to assist with buffelgrass pulls, held the second Saturday of each month, from Sept-May.

The rapid spread of buffelgrass through the Sonoran Desert rivals climate change and water scarcity as our region's most pressing environmental issue. Buffelgrass is one of many plants that were brought here from other parts of the world. Lacking the insects, diseases, and other organisms that helped keep them in check back home, some have spread like wildfire, much to the detriment of our native plants and animals. Buffelgrass is the worst of these invasive plants because it is not only invading our desert, but transforming our formerly fire-proof desert into a fire-prone grassland. The fight to control buffelgrass is the fight to save an ecosystem and some of the most magnificent stands of saguaros in the world. Volunteer for a buffelgrass pull, register your own buffelgrass pull, or request a presentation or ID guide.