EPA Approves Two Insecticides for Control of Invasive Stink Bug (Jun 30, 2011)
Environmental Protection Agency.
EPA has approved for emergency use, the insecticide dinotefuran (trade names Venom and Scorpion) on tree fruit to help manage populations of the brown marmorated stink bug, an invasive insect that has caused extensive yield losses in tree fruit production in the mid-Atlantic region. In addition, the EPA approved an additional use for an insecticide that may help manage stink bugs in organic production systems. The short term emergency measure became effective Jun 24 and will expire on Oct 15 of this year.

USDA Urges Residents to be on the Lookout for the Asian Longhorned Beetle: Beetles Expected to Emerge in July (Jun 29, 2011)
USDA. APHIS. Plant Protection and Quarantine.
APHIS is asking for the public's help in detecting and preventing the spread of Asian Longhorned Beetles (Anoplophora glabripennis), a serious pest of hardwood trees. To date, the beetle has caused the destruction of more than 72,000 hardwood trees in the U.S. alone. Report your findings at Beetle Detectives.

iMapInvasives: Geotracking invasive exotic species
The Nature Conservancy.
iMapInvasives is a tool to serve the needs of land managers, regional planners and others working to prevent, control or manage invasive species. A consortium was formed to develop, support and maintain an on-line, GIS-based, all-taxa invasive species mapping tool. A particular emphasis is placed on functionality designed to aid in Early Detection/Rapid Response (EDRR) efforts.

New Research Facility Will Help Safeguard the Supply of Global Wheat Crops (Jun 13, 2011)
USDA. Agricultural Research Service.
A new 2,880-square-foot greenhouse that will play a key role in helping researchers combat Ug99, a relatively new race of wheat stem rust to which more than 80 percent of our global wheat crop is vulnerable. This new greenhouse for wheat research puts another U.S. research facility on the front lines to battle Ug99 and help secure global food security.

Invasive Species Compendium
Centre for Agricultural Bioscience International (CABI).
The Invasive Species Compendium is in beta version and available to use. The Invasive Species Compendium is an online, open access reference work covering recognition, biology, distribution, impact and management of the world's invasive plants and animals. The Compendium currently covers over 1,500 species with over 7,000 basic summary datasheets and 1,500 detailed datasheets. You can also access over 800 full text articles (PDF) and 65,000 abstract summaries, with plans to add 10,000 more by the end of 2011. This new resource has been built upon a brand new technical platform which enables our experts to update the datasheets and bibliographical data on a weekly basis.

USDA Funds Projects Across the Country to Advance Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention (Jun 7, 2011)
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
USDA is allocating $50 million, provided by Section 10201 of the 2008 Farm Bill for projects that prevent the introduction or spread of plant pests and diseases that threaten U.S. agriculture and the environment.

Citizen Scientist Program's Success Highlighted (Jun 1, 2011)
University of Texas - Austin. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
A program that harnesses volunteers throughout Texas to collect conservation data has been highlighted as a model citizen scientist program in the June issue of the journal Bioscience. More than 1,100 Texans have been trained by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's Invaders of Texas Citizen Scientists Program to identify and report non-native invasive plants throughout the state. These citizen scientists have logged more than 12,000 observations of invasive plants on a publicly accessible online database that governmental agencies and resource managers can use to monitor the plants that compete with native plants.