Exotic rodent species threatens many U.S. wetlands

Abstract

As a sole canoe navigated the lazy flatwater bends of Maryland's Blackwater River on a perfect summer afternoon last June, fish jumped, dragonflies zigged across the open water and through the tall grass in the brackish tidal marshland, and in the distance several young eagles drifted in the blue sky.On the way back to the boat landing, a furry mammal casually paddled across the water: too big for a muskrat and not quite a beaver, the creature slinked into the marsh vegetation bordering the river. Then another appeared and perhaps a half‐dozen more that day, an abundance of wildlife.