(adventurous music) >>Funding for "Untamed" is made possible by.

(birds chirping) (water flowing) >>Our forests here in Virginia are home to an incredible array of plant and animal life.

A short walk through our native forest, and I'm greeted with a diversity of ferns, creeping vines, towering trees, fruiting and flowering bushes, as well as many grasses, mosses, and other types of ground cover.

And of course, in the midst of the diversity of plant life is an incredible array of wildlife, everything from spiders and insects and butterflies to reptiles, amphibians, and birds and mammals of every shape and size.

Indeed, after my lifelong love affair, I'm pretty familiar with the local flora and fauna near my home, but here in the Eastern United States, we're seeing some strangers.

Unfortunately, there are increasingly unfamiliar species that are appearing in our forests, in our natural areas, even around our homes.

Take the golden bamboo, for example.

It was originally brought to the United States as an ornamental plant for landscaping, for screening, but it has escaped, and it has become one of the country's most invasive species, forming massive monocultures, clumps that literally take over a swath of forest.

They outcompete the native trees and the plant species that are supposed to be here.

They disrupt the entire ecosystem.

Or consider the Japanese stiltgrass, one of the ones I personally dislike the most.

Shortgrass actually looks a little like bamboo, but it dominates native grasses, and it's been spreading like wildfire across the Eastern United States.

It is now found everywhere, from the most remote areas of our national parks to our urban and suburban backyards.

And, yes, we struggle with it right here at the Wildlife Center of Virginia.

It's thought to have been introduced to this country more than 100 years ago when it was frequently used as packing material for porcelain that was imported from the Far East.

Now it's spreading at unprecedented rates, and it's not just plants.

We have invasive birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, some of which have become very familiar like the European starling, but they're still invaders.

These pests have been around for a long time, but they don't belong here.

Despite their incredible aerial displays and their massive flocks during the migration, starlings are an invasive species in North America, and they're considered a threat to many native species and local ecosystems.

They're unwelcome and destructive wherever they're found in North America, whether in our urban areas or on our nation's farms and in our forests.

These are just three examples of the thousands of invasive species, non-native organisms, entering our country every year, including plants, animals, insects, and even disease organisms, things like fungus, bacteria, and algae, whose introduction is causing harm to our native ecosystems, unnatural competition for local species, and often posing a genuine threat to habitat, disrupting regional or national economies, and even threatening human health.

Modern transportation and international trade means that these invasive organisms can travel halfway around the world in a matter of hours.

Managing, monitoring, and eliminating invasive species is extremely difficult, but it's a vital part of wildlife conservation and the protection of our ecosystems and our economies.

Even organizations like the Wildlife Center of Virginia play a part in this battle.

In fact, right here in our hospital, we were one of the first facilities to ever collect a specimen of the Asian longhorned tick, which is alien to the Western hemisphere.

It wasn't reported to the Centers for Disease Control until 2017, but because it prefers non-human hosts, we actually collected it three years earlier.

This tick carries a disease that can threaten livestock and the livestock industry in North America.

In fact, the first outbreak of that disease in the United States occurred just a few miles from where we collected the first specimens of this invasive tick.

This invasive organism is serious business.

(easygoing folk music) >>Hi, I'm Mark Sutphin.

I am an extension agent with Virginia Cooperative Extension.

My role as an extension agent is to help community members with horticulture-related questions.

And one of the biggest issues that we've been dealing with for the last four years in this area is an invasive insect pest, spotted lanternfly.

So spotted lanternfly was first found in Virginia in January of 2018.

Now, in fall of 2021, we are exceeding 200 square miles of infested area.

And its greatest threat in the agriculture industry is grape production.

They will feed on grapes throughout the entire life cycle.

That can lead to complete vine death.

My colleagues say that I won the unlucky lottery for being the extension agent at ground zero in Virginia for spotted lanternfly.

And though that has created lots of work, it's been an opportunity to learn about this insect, to raise awareness in the area.

Even though it's a beautiful insect, it can create a lot of economic, environmental, and just nuisance harm in the home landscape.

>>My name is Tracy Leskey.

I'm a research entomologist with USDA's Agricultural Research Service.

The definition of an invasive species is one that potentially has the ability to cause both environmental and economic harm or cause diseases for humans and animals.

So we do have non-native species, and we have invasive species.

Non-native species are those that are not or have not been present in a particular area before, but they aren't causing those economic or environmental problems.

In fact, they're often really relied on.

And so some examples of non-native species that we rely on here in North America include European honeybees for pollination and honey or a lot of our crops like apples, pears, and peaches, which were bred in parts of Eurasia.

In some cases, invasive species have the potential to cause economic or ecological harm.

It means they may outcompete our native species.

They may attack crops.

They may cause disease.

And these species are often not intentionally introduced as those that are non-native but we rely on.

So things that hitchhike their way in in global trade or are intentionally introduced for some reason that ultimately they can invade the environment and start to cause problems.

The way that invasive species arrive is really through human-assisted transport, either through the shipments of goods and services around the globe, or in some cases, humans do bring things with them and introduce them into new environments.

And occasionally they can really just be blown off course by winds or something like that.

In terms of invasive species that are really prominent in the public, some that I think a lot of people are familiar with are things like brown marmorated stink bug.

This is an invasive species that was introduced into Pennsylvania in the late 1990s, and it has spread throughout much of the United States.

It's really apparent in the fall when the adults start moving into overwintering mode, where they'll show up on people's homes and really become non-paying tenants inside their homes through the winter months.

Another that has become very apparent and people are quite aware of, I think, especially in the east is spotted lanternfly.

Some species that people may not be aware of that are actually invasive are simple things that they might find around their home, like English ivy, for example.

This is actually invasive, and it can outcompete native plants.

Another that people may not be aware of is emerald ash borer.

It's one that is highly concealed, and often people don't see it, but they see their ash decline and die.

And so those are some very common examples.

Because of the ecological or economic harm invasive species have the potential to inflict, the federal government does set aside resource, both to try to prevent them from entering the country, but also dealing with them once they've arrived.

For example, the Agricultural Research Service deals with the kind of problems that are being inflicted by invasive species in agriculture.

Really, anyone can assist with reducing problems from invasive species, simple things like understanding if you have quarantines in your area and obeying those quarantines, things like moving firewood or checking your belongings for things like egg masses from spotted lanternfly.

That's a big thing.

And if you're going on a trip, check your suitcase.

There might be a brown marmorated stink bug lodged in there.

Don't take it with you.

Just take it out.

(gentle guitar music) >>My name is Alex Wehrung, and I'm the outreach public affairs manager at the Wildlife Center of Virginia.

The Wildlife Center of Virginia is a hospital for native wildlife, but occasionally we do admit species that are categorized as invasives.

So if someone were to do just a quick internet search of invasive species in my state or in my country, they would likely find that a large portion of those species are either plants or invertebrate animals.

And here at the wildlife center, we are neither equipped to nor focused on providing care for invertebrate species.

So that would include animals such as insects or freshwater or marine crustaceans, bivalves, et cetera.

However, there are representatives of invasive mammals, invasive reptiles, and invasive birds that have appeared at the wildlife center before as patients.

The species that are invasive that we admit to the wildlife center include mammals, reptiles, and birds.

for mammals, most commonly, we will see Norway rats and house mice.

In terms of reptiles, the most common invasive species that we'll see here is the red-eared slider, and that's a turtle that is quite common in the reptile pet trade.

And unfortunately, it is not uncommon for people to release red-eared sliders as unwanted pets.

For birds, the most common species that we'll see that are invasive are the house sparrow and the European starling, the latter of which is a textbook example of an invasive species.

The wildlife center is a nonprofit organization.

We are not a government agency.

However, we do work really closely with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, and it through that agency that we are permitted to legally care for wildlife.

Under those permit conditions, if we admit a patient that is indeed positively identified as being an invasive species, we are required by law to humanely euthanize that species, regardless of its physical health.

In some cases for other species that could be categorized as nuisance species, we're also required to notify and report their presence to the appropriate agency within 12 hours.

And that is an effort to capture more accurate data on where these species are showing up, what their population distribution really looks like.

While most wildlife laws are created and enforced by individual state governments, that's not the case with invasive species because invasive species do not adhere to nor do they recognize the lines drawn on a map by humans.

Invasive species and the threat that they pose span geographic boundaries.

They span jurisdictional boundaries.

So in reality, it must be a collaborative effort between local, state, tribal, and federal governments and also non-government organizations such as academic groups, scientists, and certainly members of the public.

The decision-making process for humanely euthanizing an invasive species is a difficult process for our veterinarians.

But it's also difficult for the members of the public who have rescued and transported those animals to us.

They are invested emotionally in that animal's wellbeing, and the simple act of bringing it to us proves that they care about that animal's life.

Learning that that animal's life has ended is sometimes not the outcome that people are expecting or one that they were hoping for.

However, through education, we can hopefully allow people to understand that invasive species pose a very serious threat to other native species in our area.

Yes, this one invasive individual has lost its life, but potentially, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but maybe 10, 20 years down the road, the loss of that invasive species' life means the survival for countless other native species.

(gentle guitar music) >>Controlling invasive species is extremely difficult.

It's sort of like getting the genie back in the bottle, and it's completely unrealistic to depend solely on state and federal agencies to do the job, or even nonprofit organizations.

Instead, we all need to do our part to make even a dent in the invasive species problem.

>>My name is Elizabeth Fogel.

I'm a senior horticulturist at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

I'm responsible for managing about 7 1/2 acres of the gardens here.

I take care of all different types of gardens, but for the past five years have really been focusing on increasing the native plants that we have in the garden, educating our guests and visitors on the importance of the native plants and the dangers of invasive species.

Some of the most problematic invasives that we deal with on a regular basis are English, ivy, Japanese stiltgrass, porcelain berry, nandina, and tree of heaven.

Invasive species are really problematic because they can outcompete with our native plants.

So many of these will grow at such a rapid pace that they will cover and block all the resources from our native plants.

They block out the sunlight.

They take the water, and they choke out our native plants, which are so important to all of our wildlife.

Most of our non-native invasive species plants have entered our environment through ornamental horticulture use.

The horticulture industry has gotten a lot better about realizing in advance that plants might be invasive and not introducing them into our environment.

There are so many benefits of incorporating native plants into your garden.

Native plants provide resources, food, shelter, to all of our native wildlife that you want to bring into your garden, our native birds, our pollinators, our insects.

But on top of all of those resources for wildlife, they're also great for erosion control and are beautiful.

And when you have a garden full of native plants, the way that they change and bloom throughout the seasons will create a much more dynamic, changing, beautiful garden.

Many times I speak with people who are anxious to add native plants into their landscapes.

We've been using non-native ornamental plants for so long that many people know these non-native plants better than our actual native plants.

I find it's good to encourage people to start slow.

Add a couple of different native plants to your landscape each season until you've slowly turned your garden into a native plant garden.

There are so many wonderful native plants in Virginia to choose from.

It's hard to pick just a couple of favorites, but if you're a bird lover and want to attract the birds to your yard, our native winterberry holly and our native beautyberry are great additions to bring birds into your yard.

They'll eat those berries over the wintertime.

Some of my favorite flowering plants to add to your garden are our Echinacea pallida.

It's a beautiful pale purple cone flower.

Our native asters and our native goldenrods really have high value as far as attracting a large number of beneficial insects to your garden.

And when you're planning a native garden, don't forget about our native grasses and sedges.

They also play a really vital role in providing habitat value for animals of all types.

(tranquil music) >>My name's Kevin Heffernan.

I'm stewardship biologist for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage.

And Natural Heritage is focused on mostly rare animals and plants in natural communities.

But my work focuses mostly on invasive species and how we can address the threats arising from invasive species.

The Virginia Invasive Species Working Group is mandated by the General Assembly by an act of legislation from 2009.

Some of the work predated that but began in 2009, and it's meant to coordinate and connect people who are working on invasive species issues, so variety of stakeholders, local, state, federal agencies, non-governmental conservation organizations, and private interests.

So one of the main tasks of the working group is to develop a state invasive species management plan.

So a lot of experts and people feed into that plan and create kind of a blueprint or an aspirational set of goals and practices to address a whole variety of invasive species issues.

Invasive species really extend everywhere from our backyards to the deepest wilderness that we have in Virginia.

One of the more devastating examples is the chestnut blight, which early in the last century, people brought Chinese chestnut to the US, but it had a hitchhiker on it, which was a fungal pathogen that wiped out all of our American chestnut, which used to be a dominant tree species in our Eastern forest, would've been here, and was also a very valuable timber tree.

And it produced tremendous benefits for wildlife and humans, particularly the chestnuts.

So other examples are phragmites, which is a unintentionally introduced tall bamboo grass-like species that invades wetlands.

And just in the time that I've been alive, really only 50 years ago, it was introduced to Virginia and has expanded its range.

And after years of a mapping project that I did flying a little helicopter all around the state, we mapped 15,000 acres of wetlands that were dominated now by phragmites.

And where it comes in and establishes, it drives everything else out.

So, richly diverse marshes, wetlands, become kind of green deserts where just a few species can survive along with the phragmites.

So, native birds, insects, and other animals that depend on all the plants that were there are driven out as well and don't have a home.

And one big group of invasive species are aquatic invasive species.

And in Virginia, we have a number of those.

There's relatively recent introduction called rusty crayfish, which was brought to the state from out in the Midwest where it's native in the Mississippi watershed.

But here it is a non-native species.

and it outcompetes our native crayfish.

Another aquatic species that we successfully fought off was the zebra mussel, which causes tens of millions of dollars of damage up north and down in Florida.

It has yet to be established here.

We fought it out of one pond about 15 years ago in three or four years of work by the Department of Wildlife Resources.

So we successfully fought that one off, but it still could come back.

I think of invasive species as, on the one hand, it can seem dire.

On the other hand, anyone can engage in the issue in your backyard, in your garden.

Many people already doing that, right?

All the weeds that you have there, many of them are non-native introduced, even invasive species there.

And it's something you can tangibly observe and then get involved and do something about.

And we can see our own actions when we choose different species or choose to get involved in, say, a management program and remove all the English ivy from our local neighborhood parks, which is going on in my neighborhood.

And you do that, and lo and behold, in one season, all these species, native species that had not been there, start popping up in that place.

So you can really get involved and see the cause and effect of various ecological choices.

(gentle hopeful music) >>Invasive species are a huge problem around the world, and it's going to take every one of us to slow the spread of the invaders and hopefully begin to undo the damage that's been done to our ecosystems and our infrastructure everywhere.

But you can join this effort right in your own backyard.

First, learn to identify native versus invasive plants, animals, and insects, and show no tolerance for the invasive species.

Number two, be smart in your recreation activities, especially if you enjoy boating, paddling, or fishing.

Be sure that your boat and other recreational equipment is clean and dry before moving from one waterway to another.

Boats are a major pathway for invasive species like Hydrilla and zebra mussels.

If you fish with live bait, never simply release minnows or other bait fish that you didn't actually catch from the waters in which you're fishing.

Number three, never release an unwanted exotic pet, such as a snake or reptile or even birds and mammals.

If you no longer want that pet in your home, find it a new home.

Released pets like boa constrictors and pythons have become established in places like the Everglades and are destroying entire species and devastating the delicate balance of the ecosystem.

And if you enjoy gardening, and you're adding plants to your yard, go to your local garden center and get them to recommend native species or species that have been adapted to your particular zone.

If you do bring in exotic plants into your yard, be sure they're gonna stay there.

Escaped exotics are a big invasive problem.

Finally, if you're an international traveler, be very careful about bringing home souvenirs that are made of untreated wood, straw, or other natural materials.

They can conceal unwanted hitchhikers.

When we think about border security, we don't usually think about invading plants, insects, animals, or disease organisms, but the threat is very real.

And we all need to do our part because it truly is a matter of national security.

>>Funding for "Untamed" is made possible by.

(birds chirping) (water flowing) (adventurous music) (pensive music)