Early Detection and Rapid Response

Describes detection methods for invasive plant species and coordinated responses to these threats. See Manager's Tool Kit - Early Detection and Rapid Response for general resources and other species.

Federal Interagency Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds (FICMNEW) National EDRR Plan for Invasive Plants

Background: Federal Interagency Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds (FICMNEW), is leading a national effort to develop and implement a National Early Detection and Rapid Response System for Invasive Plants in the United States. The primary long term goals of the proposed system are to detect, report, and identify suspected new plants with free living populations in the United States.

• Phase I - Outreach and Education
• Phase II - Pilot Projects: With New England (with the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England - University of Connecticut), the Mid-South (Mississippi State Univ.), North Carolina, South Carolina, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, and Hawaii

Program Resources

• A National Early Detection and Rapid Response System for Invasive Plants in the United States: Conceptual Design (Sep 2003; PDF | 3.43 MB)
  Federal Interagency Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds.
• National Early Warning and Rapid Response System For Invasive Plants in the United States (Draft) (Mar 15, 2002; PDF | 1.07 MB)
  Federal Interagency Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds.
• Invasive Plants: Coming to America. Overview of the FICMNEW National Early Detection and Rapid Response System for Invasive Plants (Jan 26, 2004; PDF | 530 KB)
  DOI. United States Geological Survey.
• FICMNEW Web site
  Federal Interagency Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds.

Bay Area (San Francisco) Early Detection Network (BAEDN)
Bay Area Early Detection Network.

Building an EDRR Network in Montana Using Invaders Database (2010; PDF | 2 MB)
Montana State University. Extension Service.
Six workshops were held across Montana in 2010. Actively watching for new invaders and acting quickly to remove them before they can establish and spread is the foundation of an EDRR network. A well developed EDRR program has the potentional to save the State of Montana and private land owners a great deal of time and money.

Cooperative Weed Management Area (CWMA) Resource Page
Midwest Invasive Plant Network.

Cooperative Weed Management Area (CWMA) National Conference (Apr 15-17, 2008) - Early Detection and Rapid Response Presentations (scroll to section)
Montana State University. Center for Invasive Species Management.

Detecting Plants Pests and Weed Nationwide: The Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (Jul 2005; PDF | 392 KB)
USDA. APHIS. Plant Protection and Quarantine.

Early Detection
University of Connecticut. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Invasive Plant Atlas of New England.

Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS)
University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.
Provides distribution data at the State and County level and point locations. See the section Who's Using It? for mapping distribution in various areas of the country. Includes:

Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS) - Alaska
Provides distribution data and abundance of exotic and invasive plant species in Alaska.

Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS) - Mid-Atlantic Early Detection Network (MAEDN)
MAEDN is a vast network of land managers, field experts, citizen scientists, naturalists, gardeners and others interested in documenting invasive plant occurrences in the mid-Atlantic region for the purposes of early detection, improved management and better coordination. The region includes Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Early Detection of Invasive Plant Species in the San Francisco Bay Area Network: A Volunteer-Based Approach (2009; PDF 5.3 MB)
DOI. National Park Service.
Report NPS/SFAN/NRR—2009/136.

Exotic Plant Management Teams (scroll down to see team deployed around the country)
DOI. NPS. Biological Resource Management Division.

Invasive Plant Management: Prevention
Montana State University. Center for Invasive Species Management.
Includes resources for Early Detection and Rapid Response

National Network of Invasive Plant Centers (NNIPC)
National Network of Invasive Plant Centers.
This new national network will coordinate existing regional information and expertise to efficiently develop and deliver comprehensive national programs, and provide a clearinghouse for continuously evolving information such as: Best Management Practices, invasive species alerts, research findings, mapping efforts, and funding and training opportunities.

• Cooperative Weed Management Areas
• National Cooperative Weed Management Area (CWMA) Map
  This interactive map illustrates the broad range of community-led weed management efforts in the United States. All CWMAs are invited to input their data and become a pop-up point on the map.

Nevada's War on Weeds, Steps to Success, Step 5 – Avoid Exploding Weed Populations with Prevention and Early Detection (PDF | 122 KB)
University of Nevada - Reno. Cooperative Extension Service.