Maryland Eradicates Invasive Rodent Species Nutria at the Cost of $30 Million, Fears of Reinvasion Still Linger

Maryland has been freed of the invasive Nutria that it had been plagued by for decades. The procedure cost $30 million, but the worry of reinvasion persists because the rodent species may still be close to the region's borders.

Invasive Rodent Species Nutria

Nutria has flat noses and large, orange teeth that resemble beavers. They resemble scruffy, overgrown rats. The marshlands on the Delmarva Peninsula, which stretch for thousands of acres along the coasts of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, were destroyed by the creatures.

Wildlife experts have declared victory in eliminating the invasive species from shores on the eastern side of the Chesapeake Bay after a two-decade, $30 million endeavor to trap and kill it.

Around 14,000 invasive nutrias had multiplied in the Delmarva area, a 170-mile stretch that traverses the three states, so the US Fish and Wildlife Service teamed up with several organizations, including the US Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, along with 700 landowners. They also employed trained trappers and wildlife experts to kill the nutria.

Nutria, also known as Myocastor coypus, are detrimental to ecosystems and are frequently referred to as the "menace of the marsh," according to the Virginia DWR. In contrast to muskrats, which only feed on the tops of plants, nutria is notorious for consuming entire plants, including stems and roots. They weigh about 20 pounds and live in marshlands in burrows or holes dug along rivers, lakes, and streams.

Seven Years of Silence

Seven years after the last nutria was killed by capture, scientists have now declared the animals extinct, at least temporarily. There are concerns that nutria may return to areas of central Maryland from southern Virginia locations along the James River where they have been seen.

Nevertheless, because of its size and success in getting rid of such a troublesome, destructive rodent, experts said the eradication exercise stands out as a wildlife achievement.

It is a rare success story to fully eradicate an invasive species, according to Trevor A. Michaels, who oversaw the USDA Wildlife Services project to eradicate nutria. Nutria is notoriously difficult to deal with and is difficult to eradicate.

Menace of the Marsh

The marsh will eventually run out of habitat and food for other animals, such as fish, oysters, and crabs, as well as for birds like egrets and herons. Additionally, plant roots serve as a barrier to stop storm surges from spreading too far inland and help prevent erosion in marshes, according to wildlife biologists. Wetlands along the Delmarva Peninsula were at higher risk due to an increasing nutria population and sea level rise.

The Delmarva Peninsula's marshlands, which are crucial spawning grounds for blue crabs and striped bass, habitats for waterfowl, and breeding grounds for threatened or endangered species such as the black rail and salt marsh sparrow, were all severely harmed by Nutria, The Washington Post reports.

Invasion

Nutria, which originated in South America, was brought to the Delmarva region in the 1940s and bred for its meat and fur. They are a problem in some areas of Louisiana and North Carolina as well. But many of them were released or escaped into the wild when nutria fur lost its popularity.

In Maryland's Chesapeake Bay region, nutria caused $5.8 million in environmental, economic, and other losses, according to a 2004 study. According to wildlife biologists, the last nutria in the Delmarva region was killed and captured in 2015, The US Fish and Wildlife Service reports.