Invasive Species Resources

The TWRA needs your help in collecting invasive carp. If you catch a small carp, nine inches or less, the agency is asking that you put it on ice or freeze it and contact them immediately. If you are unable to keep the fish, the TWRA asks you to submit photos of the fish in hand and send it to them. You can contact the TWRA by phone at 731-423-5725 or toll-free at 1-800-372-3928, by fax at 731-423-6483, or by email at ans.twra@tn.gov.

Boxwood blight is a disease affecting plants in the family Buxaceae including boxwoods (Buxus), Pachysandra, and Sarcococca plants. First detected in the U.S. in 2011, it has since been found in multiple states and provinces from the East Coast to the West Coast. Boxwood blight has now been confirmed on boxwood nursery stock in New Hampshire. New Hampshire nurseries, landscapers, town officials and residents responsible for boxwood plantings should learn the symptoms associated with boxwood blight. Watch for black lesions on stems, "zonate" brown spots on leaves leading to chlorosis, and leaf drop. If boxwood blight is suspected on recently purchased boxwoods, or plants in proximity to recently purchased boxwoods, please contact the Division and collect a sample for analysis by the UNH Plant Diagnostic Lab.

The emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, is an exotic insect pest from Asia. The flattened, creamy white larval stage feeds below the bark and cuts off the living, water and nutrient conducting vessels causing tree death. EAB has been found in 13 Iowa counties (Allamakee, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Cedar, Des Moines, Henry, Jasper, Jefferson, Muscatine, Story, Union, and Wapello). As of February 2014, all 99 counties in Iowa have been quarantined (Treatment Map) by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to slow the movement of this destructive pest to non-quarantined areas/states.

The emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, is an exotic beetle discovered in the United States in 2002 near Detroit, Mich. Since then, it has spread to 35 states and five Canadian provinces. Mississippi and Florida are the only states east of the Mississippi River that have reported no EAB infestations to date. Originally from Asia, the EAB is believed to have entered the country on infested solid wood packing material or wooden pallets. The MFC will be conducting EAB surveys in multiple counties across the state later this year. The public is encouraged to be on the lookout for EAB signs and report them to the MFC immediately. Click here for more information about the emerald ash borer.

The emerald ash borer, a beetle pest that has devastated ash trees throughout the eastern United States, was officially detected in Greenville, Oconee and Spartanburg counties in August 2017. According to a Clemson University press release, the beetles were found Aug. 3 during a routine check of Emerald Ash Borer traps and confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In response to the discovery of EAB in the Upstate, the State Crop Pest Commission likely will establish a quarantine area involving at least the three affected counties; it is also possible the quarantine could be expanded to additional counties or even the entire state.

Since the emerald ash borer's initial introduction into the United States, it has been spread to many areas of the country by campers and homeowners who unknowingly moved infested firewood to uninfested areas where the beetles emerged and infested new ash trees. You can help slow the spread of the emerald ash borer into Kansas by not moving firewood across county lines. When buying wood for your home, buy only locally grown and harvested firewood. When camping, buy your firewood near your destination and burn all that you bring. If you suspect emerald ash borer on your property please call 785-564-6698 or e-mail your name, address, phone number and pictures of the suspect tree to ppwc@kda.ks.gov.