Sound Politics: Lake Washington Swamp Rat Blues

April 18, 2006

Lake Washington Swamp Rat Blues

At least we're not overrun with iguanas. That'd be real trouble.

But a newly-created state Invasive Species Council currently priced at $200,000 per annum will look into battling what could be a burgeoning nutria populatrion along the shores of Lake Washington.

KING-5 TV reports.

I say let the invasive species council really earn its keep, repelling Back East libs from Puget Sound.

As for the nutria, we should simply harken back to our frontier heritage. Let folks trap the hirsute swamp rats, skin 'em, and sell the furry pelts.

As it happens, MSN Shopping is already posting nutria fur coat deals.

Shouldn't every woman have a nutria fur coat, maybe with a fox collar (left)?

Perhaps area high schools and community colleges could instruct voc ed students in the fine art of nutria trapping.

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at April 18, 2006 02:26 PM | Email This

Comments

1. I can't think of a better present to ya'll...nutrias! Ha! They undermine the levies here in Louisiana. Maybe ya'll are being rewarded for taking in some of the NO refugees. Nasty critters. But hey, down here, someone will find a tasty recipe using nutria. Let you know when I hear of one!

Posted by: Clasina Haley on April 18, 2006 02:46 PM

2. No, they won't let hunters regulate it. They will do something like what they have done with Canadian Geese, essentially nothing. Spend a bunch of money studying ways to curb their breeding and such, and in the end there will still be tons of them everywhere.

Posted by: Palouse on April 18, 2006 03:46 PM

3. I just CAN'T WAIT until PETA gets their teeth into the Invasive Species Council. That will be a great show!

Posted by: katomar on April 18, 2006 04:56 PM

4. Just offer kids $10 buck for each dead Nutria they bring in.

End of Problem in one summer.

Posted by: JCM on April 18, 2006 05:27 PM

5. I can't wait to see PETA's save the swamp rat campaign!

Posted by: Jimbo on April 18, 2006 06:15 PM

6. Well, they do have some sportin' use.
Last summer, I hit one right on the noggin with my approach shot on the 13th hole at Lewis River (I hit off the heel of my club and my ball was heading toward the water hazard he was standing next to). It bounced off, up onto the green to about 5 feet of the pin.
I parred the hole.
The Nutria lived.

Guess he musta moved after that.

Hirsute, unkempt, invasive... they'll fit right into Seattle...

Cheers, Mike in Vancouver.

Posted by: Mike in Vancouver on April 18, 2006 06:24 PM

7. JCM,

Good point, but I am wondering how any of the kids
will kill nutria with a TV or computer.

Posted by: Amused by liberal gun-shy nitwits on April 18, 2006 08:14 PM

8. Here's a Nutria recipe that Ciscoe Morris probably would like since it has Brussel sprouts.

Louisiana Nutria Recipe
Heart Healthy "Crock-Pot" Nutria

2 hind saddle portions of nutria meat
1 tomato, cut in big wedges
2 carrots, sliced thin
1/2 cup white wine
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 cup demi glace (optional
1 small onion, sliced thin
2 potatoes, sliced thin
Brussel sprouts
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Layer onion, tomato, potatoes, carrots and Brussel sprouts in crock pot. Season nutria with salt, pepper and garlic to taste and place nutria over vegetables. Add wine and water, set crock pot on low and let cook until meat is tender. Cook for approximately 4 to 6 hours. Garnish with vegetables and demi glace (4 servings).

http://www.lacoast.gov/watermarks/2000b-06/3recipe/index.htm

Posted by: Janet on April 18, 2006 08:18 PM

9. Mmmmmmm Nutria! (I hear it tastes just like Spotted Owl! ;'}

Posted by: alphabet soup on April 18, 2006 08:28 PM

10. 1--are they registered voters?
2--are they legal citizens?
3--pests?--where's my .22?

Posted by: Jimmie-howya-doin on April 18, 2006 09:11 PM

11. Heck, just give me a spotlight, a shotgun, ammo, and blanket immunity from prosecution for discharging a firearm within city limits...I'll take care of the buggers.

Posted by: Heartless Libertarian on April 18, 2006 09:38 PM

12. Hirsute, unkempt, invasive... they'll fit right into Seattle...

I am ROFL.

Posted by: South County on April 18, 2006 09:50 PM

13. "To provide policy level direction to prevent invasive species?"

How about invasive humans, coming here to do the work of lazy a$$ liberals?

Posted by: Amused by the clueless on April 18, 2006 10:36 PM

14. Amused by clueless:
And I'll bet they could do it a whole lot cheaper than a $200,000 per year Invasion Council!

Posted by: katomar on April 18, 2006 11:21 PM

15. I'm with Heartless, but I'll bring my own shotgun... (H&K/Fabarm Tactical semi auto)

Posted by: Aaron on April 18, 2006 11:36 PM

16. Aaron,

That's not a gun designed for hunting.... it is designed for killing....

NUTRIA!

Just open a Nutria season, no bag limit. $200K my over taxed a**!

Posted by: JCM on April 19, 2006 07:12 AM

17. Hirsute, unkempt, invasive... they'll fit right into Seattle...

Yeah, thas' the ticket.

My experience exactly.

The Geezer

Posted by: The Geezer on April 19, 2006 07:23 AM

18. Does anyone else think this story is racist. Showing an African American model wearing a fur coat under a title called "swamp rat blues" inferring that African American women are swamp rats which is another term used for a prostitute.

Must be an oversight or maybe Matt didn't know it would offend some people.

Posted by: Steve on April 19, 2006 08:58 AM

19. Steve;

I didnt see anything racist about it. You'd almost have to be Cynthia McKinney to take that POV. If the model was white, there would probably be whining about not enough diversity.

Never heard "swamp rat" as a term for prostitute (in the low country of South Carolina, it is used to describe a long term native, much like desert rat is used in Arizona or mossback in the northwest). Guess that it would be gentler than "ho" or "b*tch". Which 50cent (or insert name of your favorite gangsta here) rap single has 'swamp rat' in the lyrics???

Google "swamp rat" and nothing shows in the first 5 pages about it prostitutes.

cheers, Mike in AMERICAS Vancouver

Posted by: Mike in Vancouver on April 19, 2006 09:16 AM

20. Howyousdoing

Now there's some food for thought?

Forgetaboutit

Posted by: Joey bag of doughnuts on April 19, 2006 09:19 AM

21. Nutria...

the official food on the Latino Underground Railway...

Posted by: Pacific Grove Phlash on April 19, 2006 09:21 AM

22. Please please please dont let the game department get involved. They will open a specific season, charge extra for special draw only permits, then let them starve to death....Or in this case, let them reproduce to astronomical numbers. Oh yea and youd better not hunt them with dogs.

http://www.tdn.com/articles/2006/04/08/area_news/news08.txt

Posted by: hookr23 on April 19, 2006 09:32 AM

23. Everytime I read "nutria," I think "artificial sweetener," not "rodent." Anybody else think nutria belongs in coffee, not Lake Washington?

Posted by: Andy MacDonald on April 19, 2006 10:25 AM

24. Fish & Game (or whatever that .gov agency is called) is pretty good about non-native invasive species. There's feral/wild pigs around the south end of the Olympic peninsula, and you can hunt them, no license required, no tags, no bag limit. They should treat the nutria the same way.

Then the only problem is that they're inside city limits, where you can't use guns to go after them (I picked a shotgun as my weapon of choice simply because shot doesn't travel nearly as far as rifle rounds..)

Posted by: Heartless Libertarian on April 19, 2006 12:08 PM

25. BTW Aaron,

Nice choice.
My custom Remington autoloader isn't as nice, but it's fun too.

Posted by: Amused by liberals on April 19, 2006 12:40 PM

26. Three random thoughts that crossed my mind reading this...

For some reason I keep flashing back to previous posts here about that Beaver Relocation Bill that finally perished in the state legislature.

Are these nutria coming to take our native beaver's jobs away or are they just doing work that beavers refuse to do?

Where's the Green Lake gater when you need him?

Posted by: Reporterward on April 19, 2006 01:19 PM

27. Good thing I live outside the city limits...maybe I can hunt some nutria, right after snipe season. Mmmmmmm, snipe.

Need to get a .22 pea shooter though, the last possum I shot with a .270 left an awful mess.

Posted by: Palouse on April 19, 2006 05:10 PM

28. back to old ways; teach today's kids about responsible hunting, safe sport gun handling and nutria (varmit) eradication will go a much longer way than playing some silly video game that encourages cop shooting and other acts of illegal, irresponsible mayhem; heck--my Dad and his friends all grew up with guns a-plenty hunting rabbits for dinnner; I never heard a single story about some crazed shooter-kid in his day; conclusion? lack of parental and other guidance, lack of good role models and sometimes-needed azz-kicking and respect for the law;

Posted by: Jimmie-howya-doin on April 19, 2006 10:29 PM

29. mmmmm, nutria!

Posted by: Me on April 19, 2006 11:05 PM