USDA Agencies Sign National Clean Plant Network Memorandum of Understanding (Mar 26, 2009)
USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Three U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies today announced that a National Clean Plant Network (NCPN) has been established at the department. USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperatively support NCPN research, quarantine and outreach activities.

National Clean Plant Network
University of California. Agricultural and Natural Resources.

Secretary Salazar Releases Study Showing Widespread Declines in Bird Populations, Highlights Role of Partnerships in Conservation (PDF | 44 KB) (Mar 19, 2009)
DOI. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today released the first ever comprehensive report on bird populations in the United States, showing that nearly a third of the nation;s 800 bird species are endangered, threatened or in significant decline due to habitat loss, invasive species, and other threats. At the same time, the report highlights examples, including many species of waterfowl, where habitat restoration and conservation have reversed previous declines, offering hope that it is not too late to take action to save declining populations.

Key Findings and Full Report -- The State of the Birds: United States of America 2009 (PDF | 4.3 MB)
State of the Birds.

New Approach Could Improve Safety Assessments of Biocontrol Pathogens (Mar 19, 2009)
USDA. Agricultural Research Service.
A new technique developed by an ARS team at the Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit combines data in a unique way to improve predictions about how certain plants or crops related to a targeted weed might react to the release of a pathogen used as a biocontrol agent against that weed.

Congress Approves New Funds for Preventing Aquatic Invasive Species Invasions (Mar 12, 2009)
University of Wisconsin - Superior; Northeast-Midwest Institute.
On Tuesday, Congress provided nearly $1 million in new funds toward preventing the introduction of aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes. Yesterday, the President signed the bill into law. The funds go to the Great Ships Initiative (GSI), a collaborative effort to hasten shipping free of invasive species on the Great Lakes.

Other Recent Funding:

• Congress Approves $34.6 Million to Prevent Spread of Emerald Ash Borer (Mar 11, 2009)
• Congress Approves More than $6.5 Million in Federal Funding for Asian Carp Barrier (Mar 11, 2009)

Save Our Citrus
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Citrus greening disease is on the move. This disease has destroyed millions of acres of citrus plants. There is no cure for this deadly plant disease. Help prevent further spread:

• Don't move citrus plants outside quarantined areas
• Don't graft citrus plants
• Don't buy citrus plants of an unknown origin

CBP Agriculture Specialists Capture Red Baron: First Baltimore Sighting of Invasive Cogon Grass Weed Seed (Mar 11, 2009)
DHS. Customs and Border Protection.
A Customs and Border Protection plant seed interception was confirmed on Monday as the Baltimore area's first reported discovery of cogon grass weed seed, aka Red Baron grass seed, and just as the legendary Red Baron was a menace to allied fighters during World War I, Red Baron grass has become a despised invasive weed throughout parts of the United States.

Species Profile -- Citrus Longhorned Beetle
USDA. NAL. National Invasive Species Information Center.
The citrus longhorned beetle (CLHB), is a serious pest of citrus in China but did not occur in the U.S. until it was detected in a Washington nursery in 2001, which was subsequently eradicated. With a host range of more than 40 hardwood species, CLHB is a potential threat to natural areas as well as fruit trees and woody ornamental plants. Unlike many other native borer pests that primarily attack dead trees, CLHB attacks apparently healthy trees. Once established, it can be extremely difficult and expensive to eradicate.

Invasives Threaten Salmon in Pacific Northwest (Mar 2, 2009)
American Institute of Biological Sciences.
In a new study -- Nonindigenous Species of the Pacific Northwest: An Overlooked Risk to Endangered Salmon? (PDF | 695KB) -- in Bioscience, NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center scientists discover the overlooked risks of introduced species on native salmon. Most discussions about the causes of declining salmon runs focus on the four H's: habitat, hatcheries, harvest and hydropower. But the most important factor may be an I, as in invasive species.