COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Habitattitude™ Designed to 

 Stem Invasive Introductions 



Go on, try to say Habitattitude™. Campaign partners hope this new word will become com- 

 mon among home aquarium owners and water gardeners. 



Habitattitude™ is the name for a national public education campaign launched last fall. It is 

 designed to help consumers become part of the solution in preventing the release of aquatic fish 

 and plants. The campaign's logo and "don't release" message soon will appearon fish bags, new 

 aquariums, brochures and ads in hobbyist magazines. The cooperative effort includes the pet and 

 water garden industries, academia and the federal government. 



Most invasive species come into the country as hitchhikers through commercial trade. But 

 some home aquarium owners and water gardeners have unknowingly contnbuted to the challenge 

 invasive species pose for conserving America's wildlife and landscapes. 



U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration (NOAA), through the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network, and the Pet Industryjoint 

 Advisory Council (PIJAC) have teamed up under the auspices of the national Aquatic Nuisance 

 Species (ANS)Task Force to create the Habitattitude™ campaign. 



NOAA Administrator and retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbachersees 

 Habitattitude™ as a proactive program that promotes responsible consumer behaviors and raises 

 awareness about invasive species. 



Habitattitude™ suggests these simple actions when faced with the disposal of an unwanted 

 aquatic plant or fish: 



• Contact a retailer for proper handling advice or for possible returns. 



• Give/trade with another aquanst, pond owner or water gardener. 



• Donate to a local aquarium society, school or aquatic business. 



• Seal aquatic plants in plastic bags and dispose in the trash. 



• Contact a veterinarian or pet retailer for humane disposal of animals. 



The partnership focuses on raising public awareness, engaging people and promoting 

 consistent environmental messages with beneficial actions, says Marshall Meyers, PIJAC executive 

 vice president and general counsel. 



To find out more about the campaign, go online to www.habitattitude.net. — M.Z. 



Go Native on Earth Day 



The North Carolina 

 Coastal Federation's 

 "Go Native Plant Sale" is 

 scheduled for April 22-23 

 as part of the Earth Day 

 weekend celebration. The 

 two-day event will take 

 place at NCCF headquarters 

 on N.C. 24 in Carteret 

 County. 



More than 3,000 plants — flowers, shrubs 

 and trees — native to the coastal plain will be 

 offered for sale for $10 or less. Each plant will 

 come with planting instructions and a fact sheet 

 listing its landscape uses and wildlife benefits. 



Free workshops will be conducted 



throughout the day 

 on Saturday to help 

 educate the public about 

 the benefits of using 

 native plants for home 

 landscaping. 



All of the shrubs and 

 flowering plants come 

 from nurseries in North 

 Carolina that specialize in 

 coastal natives. Trees, including the rare white 

 cedar, are from the N.C. Division of Forest 

 Resources. 



To learn more about the "Go Native Plant 

 Sale," or for directions to NCCF headquarters, 

 go online to www.nccoast.org. - P.S. 



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C®5L:l: 



CENTERS fOR OCEAN SCIENCES 

 EDLCAIION EXCELLENCE 



Coastal 

 Workshops 



h is summer, the Center for Ocean 

 Sciences Education Excellence SouthEast 

 (COSEE SouthEast) in Charleston will offer 

 two coastal workshops for teachers. 



The "Estuaries and the Coastal Margin 

 Institute," targeted for middle and high 

 school science teachers, will be held June 19- 

 25 at the University of South Carolina Belle W. 

 Baruch Marine Held Laboratory and Kimbel 

 Center in Georgetown, S.C. 



Participants will receive state education 

 renewal credits and a stipend of $200, plus 

 lodging and some meals. 



The application deadline is Apnl 1 . For 

 more information, contact Margaret Olsen, 

 COSEE SouthEast education specialist, UGA 

 MECA, 30 Ocean Science Circle, Savannah, 

 GA 31 41 1 ; e-mail, olsen@uga.edu. 



The Second Annual Coastal Legacy 

 Workshop for elementary and middle school 

 teachers will be held July 25-30 at the Penn 

 Center, St. Helena Island, S.C. 



Participants will receive state education 

 renewal credits, a stipend, lodging and 

 meals. They also will receive educational 

 resources and lessons, access to scientists and 

 community leaders, as well as opportunities to 

 become regional leaders in their home states. 



The application deadline is May 1 3. 

 For more information, contact Elizabeth 

 Rogers, 843/727-2078; ore-mail, elizabetb. 

 rogers@scseagrant. org. 



Funded by the National Science 

 Foundation, COSEE SouthEast helps develop 

 partnerships to integrate ocean science 

 research from North Carolina, South Carolina 

 and Georgia into high quality education 

 programs in kindergarten through the 12th 

 grade. North Carolina, South Carolina and 

 Georgia Sea Grant programs support COSEE 

 South East's efforts. 



For more information, visit the Web: 

 www.scseagrant.org/se-cosee/education. — A.G. 



COASTWATCH 5 



