Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 6, 1993                   TAG: 9310060089
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: FRANKI V. RANSOM COX NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

ALIEN CREATURES ATTACK U.S. ECONOMY

From 1906 to 1991, about 79 non-indigenous species have caused an estimated $97 billion in damages, according to a report by the congressional Office of Technology Assessment.

Another 15 "high impact" organisms may cause an additional $134 billion in economic losses for agriculture, fisheries, forests and range lands over the next 50 years, said the report. The study took three years to complete and was released at a joint meeting of the House subcommittees on the environment and natural resources and on fisheries management.

"Ecological roulette. Biological pollution. Alien invaders," said Phyllis Windle, a senior associate in the office. "Biologists coined these terms to describe an economic and environmental problem that is snowballing due to a lack of effective national and state action."

In some states, she said, foreign species make up 30 percent of plant life, and in Hawaii, it's at least 50 percent.

There are at least 4,500 foreign species in the United States living outside their natural habitat, the report said. However, not all are harmful. They include soybeans, wheat and cattle.

On the other hand, harmful ones abound. They include gypsy moths, zebra mussels, brown tree snakes, African honey bees (also called "killer bees"), fire ants and boll weevils.

These non-indigenous species have escaped or been released when brought into this country, said the report. For instance, the gypsy moth escaped from a research facility near Boston in 1869. The result has been that millions of acres of defoliated forests in the northeast.

The report also found foreign plants and animals to have detrimental effects on the environment.