Invasive Species
Speakers: John Hayes – Post-Gazette, Outdoors Editor.
Summary: John Hayes grew up in the suburbs east of Pittsburgh in a rural culture steeped in fishing, hunting, camping and hiking. Since 1980 he’s covered news, features, entertainment and outdoors for local newspapers and magazines, served as editor of Pittsburgh City Paper and was hired by the Post-Gazette in 2000. He’s been the paper’s outdoors editor since 2007.
Often called “rock snot” because of its phlegmy appearance, didymo (Didymosphenia geminata) is a coldwater algae native to Southern Canada and Northern Europe. Invasive on the waterways of more southerly climates, it grows into thick blooms that are not dangerous to humans but interfere in recreational use of waterways. Didymo entered Southwest Pennsylvania at Ohiopyle in 2012.
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