A mission of the Harney Soil and Water Conservation District and its federal partner Natural Resources Conservation Services is to rid or control invasive species in Harney County. Invasive plants push out native vegetation and can harm livestock. Many are annuals dry up and become fire hazards. Carp has done extensive damage in our waterways and kill or displace native fish.
This is a link to a National Geographic article where a biologist researched the reason the midwest prairie chicken populations were plummeting. Spoiler alert: invasive fire ants eaten by chicks caused them to die by dehydration. Thanks to his detective work, the birds’ numbers are on the upswing. Many biologists here (private, state and federal) are conducting a similar battle.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/news-attwater-prairie-chicken-murder-mystery-endangered-species?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=SpecialEdition_Escape_20210216&rid=EBB409E4CDFCEB38D8EC96C34D459DA9