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It's the Law -- If you are moving from a spongy moth quarantine area to a non-quarantine area, you must inspect your outdoor household items for the spongy moth and remove all life stages of this destructive insect before you move.
See also: Spongy Moth

We need your help to monitor for and report northern giant hornet sightings. By participating in a northern giant hornet citizen scientist project, you are helping protect your community from northern giant hornets.

Since the first report of a northern giant hornet in Washington in 2019 (known as the Asian giant hornet or the “murder hornet” back then), the Washington State Department of Agriculture’s (WSDA) Pest Program has been working to eradicate northern giant hornets. The best time to participate is from July through November. You are most likely to see or catch a northern giant hornet during this timeframe because colonies are established, and workers are out hunting.

As of January 1, 2022, 13 additional invasive species (marked as new) as well as watercraft and watercraft equipment as carriers are regulated under the Invasive Species Act to help to prevent the introduction and spread within our province. These new invasive species include terrestrial and aquatic plants, fishes, aquatic invertebrates, insects and a mammal.

The departments of agriculture and primary industries across Australia have proudly partnered with Costa Georgiadis of Gardening Australia to develop a suite of interactive and digital resources which showcase the importance of biosecurity across Australia. Join us on Mission: Biosecurity. As you Watch, Play & Listen, you’ll discover what Biosecurity is, how it can impact our way of life and how we can all help protect our environment, community and economy from biosecurity baddies. ​ Biosecurity – Be a part of it!

Are you a crabber, waterman, or concerned citizen? We need your help to detect and assess the status of Chinese Mitten Crabs. The "Mitten Crab Watch" website provides information on the invasion of the mitten crab and allows users to more easily report catches.

Please help us detect live mitten crabs by reporting any sighting in North America. We are especially interested in collecting sightings from the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, Hudson River, and San Francisco Bay --- where the crab has been common in the past. Please visit the Mitten Crab Watch website to learn more about the crab and to report sightings.

To prevent and stop invasive species we need your help. You can take simple actions to help prevent the introduction and spread of noxious weeds and invasive species.

You can elevate the collective voice of the invasive species community and advocate for policies and legislation that aim to raise capacity for prevention, management, and research. Send a letter to your U.S. Representative and Senators advocating for funding and support to prevent and manage invasive species. 

People ship and receive packages using express courier companies—like FedEx, UPS, DHL, and others—all the time. But when the package includes an agricultural item, things could get dangerous for U.S agriculture and natural resources.

“You should know what could be hitchhiking in or on those items—invasive plant and animal diseases and pests,” said Dr. Mark Davidson, Deputy Administrator of USDA’s Plant Protection and Quarantine. “Once these threats enter our country, they could harm our crops, livestock, and ecosystems. Left unchecked, they could devastate entire agricultural industries, eliminating jobs, threatening our food supply, and costing billions of dollars in losses and response costs.”

The annual PlayCleanGo Awareness Week (June 1-8, 2024) will be held across North America. The goal of the campaign is to show outdoor enthusiasts how they can stop invasive plants and pests from spreading — while enjoying the great outdoors.

PlayCleanGo is an education and outreach campaign for outdoor recreationalists in North America. The goal is to encourage outdoor recreation while protecting valuable natural resources. The objective is to slow or stop the spread of terrestrial invasive species (those that occur on land) through changes in public behavior. See how you can take action and stop invasive species in your tracks.
See also: 2023 PlayCleanGo Awareness Week National Press Release [PDF, 63 KB]

As a resource professional (construction, agriculture, horticulture/growers, road crews) you see firsthand what invasive species can do to the landscape, so it is important that you remain vigilant in your own prevention actions. You and the work that you do as an outdoor professional play a crucial role to the success of biodiversity and reducing the spread of invasive species. Learn how you can prevent the spread of invasive species.

Every one in British Columbia can play our part to stop the spread of invasive species and protect our province. By following these simple steps, we can each help protect British Columbia's biodiversity and economy. Familiarize yourself with the following best practices and tell your friends. Together, we can all play our part.

Do you hike? Boat? Or camp? Check out these fact sheets for tips to reduce the chance of spreading invasives when you recreate on DCNR lands and in your own backyard.

The rapid spread of buffelgrass through the Sonoran Desert rivals climate change and water scarcity as our region's most pressing environmental issue. Buffelgrass is one of many plants that were brought here from other parts of the world. Lacking the insects, diseases, and other organisms that helped keep them in check back home, some have spread like wildfire, much to the detriment of our native plants and animals. Buffelgrass is the worst of these invasive plants because it is not only invading our desert, but transforming our formerly fire-proof desert into a fire-prone grassland. The fight to control buffelgrass is the fight to save an ecosystem and some of the most magnificent stands of saguaros in the world. Volunteer for a buffelgrass pull, register your own buffelgrass pull, or request a presentation or ID guide.

Discover Life in America, the nonprofit research partner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is inviting the public to participate in its latest project, Smokies Most Wanted, an initiative that allows visitors to help conserve park species by recording sightings of animals, plants and other organisms from their smartphones. Powered by the nature app iNaturalist, Smokies Most Wanted encourages park visitors to document any organism they encounter while hiking, camping, or otherwise enjoying the park — from birds to wildflowers, insects to lichens. DLiA then uses the data collected through iNaturalist for a variety of functions, like recording new park species or detecting invasive ones, learning about under-studied or rare species, and mapping species across the park.

For more information about the Smokies Most Wanted project, visit dlia.org/smokiesmostwanted — or browse the list of Smokies Most Wanted species at inaturalist.org/guides/9115.

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