Wags And Weeds: Invasive Plants Meet Match In Detection Dogs

TUXEDO, N.Y. – In brushy terrain where a botanical interloper evades detection by the human eye, count on Dia to sniff it out. Dia is a spunky Labrador retriever trained to track down a yellow-flowered shrub that’s taking root in New York state parks. She’s one of a new breed of detection dog assisting conservationists in the fight against invasive species. With her handler, Joshua Beese, of the nonprofit New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, Dia began last fall to hunt for Scotch broom in Bear Mountain and Harriman state parks about 50 miles north of New York City. The shrub, which displaces native plants with thickets impenetrable to wildlife, is a widespread noxious weed in the Pacific Northwest but is fairly new to New York.