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To help combat the $1.3 billion threat invasive species pose to Washington's economy every year, the Washington Invasive Species Council is inviting the public to the frontlines of its work by detecting invasive species and reporting them on its newly improved WA Invasives app. The free app enables anyone to report a plant or animal by collecting photographs, geographic coordinates, and sighting information. Users recreating in the backcountry also can collect data offline, when cellular service isn't available. The app also acts as digital field guide.

We need your help! If you think you have found an invasive species in Washington, please let us know by reporting it by using the reporting forms or mobile applications (Washington Invasives). Includes reporting forms for: invasive plants, invasive animals, invasive insects, and wildlife infectious diseases.
See related resource: Public Invited to Become a First Detector and Report Invasive Species

PNW 755 - A Pacific Northwest Extension Publication

The states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho are urging people to report any feral pig sighting by calling a toll-free, public hotline, the Swine Line: 1-888-268-9219. The states use hotline information to quickly respond to a feral swine detection, helping to eradicate and curb the spread of the invasive species.
See also: Feral Swine Fact Sheet [PDF, 208 KB] and Squeal on Pigs! Poster [PDF, 20.6 MB]

See also: Weed I.D. and Options for Control for more species

Entomologists from the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have confirmed the first report of an Asian giant hornet for 2021. This is the first confirmed report from Snohomish County and appears to be unrelated to the 2019/2020 Asian giant hornet introductions in Canada and Whatcom County.

In 2020, half of the confirmed Asian giant hornet sightings in Washington and all of the confirmed sightings in Canada came from the public. Every suspected sighting in Washington State should be reported to the Washington State Department of Agriculture online at agr.wa.gov/hornets, by emailing hornets@agr.wa.gov, or calling 1-800-443-6684. Suspected sightings in other areas should be reported to the state or province where it suspected hornet was observed.

Washington state agencies are asking people to clean their gear, pets and clothing this spring to prevent invasive plants from establishing here.

Washington state agencies are asking for your help to check your trees for signs and symptoms of invasive insects. Damaging invasive insect species, such as spotted lanternfly, longhorned beetles, and emerald ash borer, are emerging in their adult form. ate summer is often the peak time for these invasive insects to emerge from trees in their adult stage. If you see or suspect you see an invasive insect, report a sighting.

The dynamic story map will be updated with new developments as they happen. 

Tribal, state and local governments will join forces at Lake Roosevelt this week to combat the spread of northern pike, recently recorded just two dams away from critical Columbia River salmon habitat. “We are at a critical moment in time where northern pike have not spread into salmon habitat,” said Kelly Susewind, director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. “If northern pike move downstream, the State of Washington will consider this an environmental emergency. We need to work together to stop northern pike.”

On May 29, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) reported the first confirmed sighting of an Asian giant hornet in Washington this year. On May 27, a resident near Custer, Wash. found the dead specimen while walking on a roadway. The resident submitted a photo and report using WSDA's online Hornet Watch Report Form. On May 28, WSDA entomologists concluded that the photo appeared to show an Asian giant hornet. The hornet was detected near the location of a suspected Asian giant hornet bee kill in 2019. WSDA had already planned trapping in the area and will maintain that plan to try to find any colony that may be there. The first find of the year in the United States comes just days after the British Columbian government confirmed their first detection of the year in Canada near Langley, B.C. That specimen was initially reported to authorities on May 15. Asian giant hornet is the world's largest hornet and a predator of honey bees and other insects. A small group of Asian giant hornets can kill an entire honey bee hive in a matter of hours. Visit agr.wa.gov/hornets to learn more about Asian giant hornets and the state's trapping and eradication project.

The Washington State Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Extension Implementation Program is a coordinated outreach effort by a team of Washington State University Extension Specialists to bring IPM knowledge to agricultural and urban pest managers across the state of Washington. Our ultimate goal is to increase adoption of IPM practices, toward a pest management paradigm that reduces human health risks, minimizes adverse environmental impacts, and maximizes economic returns and sustainability.

In conjunction with National Invasive Species Awareness Week, Governor Jay Inslee proclaimed the same week (February 26-March 3, 2024) as Washington Invasive Species Awareness Week to raise awareness and find preventative solutions for invasive species.

Prevention and early detection of invasive species depends upon the help of the public, industry partners, and policymakers. The council has helped developed tools and regional messaging that have successfully raised public awareness about invasive species, their impacts on native ecosystems, and the steps people can take to prevent the spread of invasive species. Campaigns include:

• Buy it Where you Burn it
• Call Before You Haul
• Clean, Drain, Dry
• Don’t Let it Loose
• Don’t Pack a Pest
• Play, Clean, Go
• Safeguard Our Shellfish
• Squeal on Pigs!