With the recent influx of government funding, national parks across the southeastern U.S. are getting some much-needed relief from a destructive species: invasive feral swine.
The National Park Service reported that officials have been combating feral swine since the 1950s. The wild hogs are harmful to other wildlife, ecosystems, and cultural relics — and they do not belong here.
The animals are invasive and were brought to the U.S. hundreds of years ago by explorers and settlers. They're a highly adaptive species with a lack of natural predators, making their numbers difficult to control. Their population is currently estimated at 6 million.
In areas such as Cumberland Island National Seashore, the swine threaten other types of wildlife. They've endangered conservation efforts for at-risk animals such as sea turtles, demolishing their nests and eating the eggs.
For parks with protected cultural sites, the feral swine are a menace. Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park is home to Mississippian mounds — historic evidence of Mississippian culture, built around 900 CE. The wild hogs have wreaked havoc on these important relics, damaging their surfaces.
In addition to ruining invaluable cultural sites, the hogs can negatively affect the overall experience of park visitors as well. They also carry diseases like pseudorabies, which can spread to humans.
"A single [herd] … has the ability to eliminate entire swathes of natural areas, wipe out threatened and endangered species populations, and irreparably damage cultural sites within a park," said Jennifer Sieracki, invasive animals ecologist for the National Park Service. "Eliminating them will go a long way towards protecting and restoring the natural environment."
While conservation efforts have been underway for decades, the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have provided much-needed funds and resources to aid park managers.
The funding has created jobs since the parks are able to hire more help. It has also afforded them better equipment like game cameras to aid their efforts.
Carrie Allison, wildlife biologist for the National Park Service's Southeast Region said: "When you look at the map, feral swine are everywhere in the southeast — on private and public lands. This is one of those projects that benefits the entire landscape."
Ridding the U.S. of this invasive species offers humans safer park experiences and more secure agriculture, and it protects wildlife and the environment.
This type of work is critical to the health of our planet. Whether it's protecting bees or consuming invasive crabs, fighting for our environment helps secure a thriving earth for us and future generations.
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