5/12 - Gold Bar, WA · iNaturalist Ecuador

We left UW for a forest near Gold Bar around 8:30 on a sunny day. There were few clouds and being fairly early it hadn't warmed up too much, around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. We walked in a loop, spending time by the river. There was not much moss to be found on trees, but vegetation was still dense, with many shrubs and tall trees such as cottonwoods, maples, and alders. There were not many large mammals to be seen and I only noticed a few birds but was unable to identify them. Compared to later places we went later in the day, this forest didn't receive nearly as much rain. One way we learned the ability to tell was the amount of moss and ferns; little moss was found hanging from trees, and few ferns could be seen growing off of trunks, indicating a smaller rain fall.
We saw a good number of invasive species, including sweet vernal grass, which lined the roads and seemed quite numerous. It is amazing how far from civilization one can find an invasive species. I know that these species are often considered a problem and people often attempt to control or eradicate them, but I wonder how much damage they actually do. Can they get bad enough to completely wipe out a species? The problem is understandable when a species is brought over from Europe or a different continent. What I am confused with is that it seems like if a species is brought from Eastern North America to the West or vice versa and starts to thrive, what is to say that it wouldn't have happened naturally? These plants spread so fast that it seems like it wouldn't take too many years for them to reach both sides of the country. I guess they would have to pass through terrain that they may not be able to survive in. How many species have invasive species caused to go extinct? This is one example of unforeseen consequences due to human intervention, something I believe to be prevalent in many aspects of human life. As much as we know, we still know little, so it is extremely hard to tell what may happen as a result of using a certain chemical and other things of the sort.

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