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Aquatic invasive species cause tremendous harm to our environment, our economy, and our health. They can drive out and eat native plants and wildlife, spread diseases, and damage infrastructure. The U.S. spends billions of dollars every year to manage and control these aquatic invaders and protect the nation's waters. Although prevention is the most effective approach to eliminate or reduce the threat of aquatic invasive species,  Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR)  serves as a failsafe when prevention measures are ineffective or unavailable.

Recognizing the need for action, the U.S. Department of the Interior identified advancing a National EDRR Framework for invasive species as a priority for Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding and took steps to invest in supporting components of such a framework. One such critical component was the establishment of a pilot Rapid Response Fund for Aquatic Invasive Species that can be used to assess and support response actions for quick containment or eradication of newly detected species.

See also: Invasive Species for exotic animal and plant pests invading Indiana, causing economic and visual damage

The Bureau of Land Management is approving seven herbicide active ingredients to control noxious weeds and invasive species on public lands. BLM field and district offices can now begin considering the use of these tools in efforts to control and eradicate noxious weeds and invasive plant species on the public lands they manage. 

The Bureau of Land Management has released the final programmatic environmental impact statement for fuels reduction and rangeland restoration in the Great Basin. This programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) is intended to further efforts to conserve and restore sagebrush communities within a 223 million-acre area that includes portions of Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada and Utah.

Sagebrush communities in the Great Basin are a vital part of Western working landscapes and are home to over 350 species of plants and wildlife. Intact sagebrush communities are disappearing within the Great Basin due to increased large and severe wildfires, the spread of invasive annual grasses, and the encroachment of pinyon-juniper. The Great Basin region is losing sagebrush communities faster than they can reestablish naturally. Fuels reduction and rangeland restoration treatments can reduce fire severity, increase sagebrush communities' resistance to invasive annual grasses and improve their ability to recover after wildfires.

ARS researchers are working to understand the impact of a changing climate on bee health. In observance of National Pollinator Week, Tellus presents a special article authored by two of ARS’s leading bee researchers.

Box tree moth will destroy most boxwood shrubs in the country if it becomes established. Growers and landscapers can help by protecting newly planted boxwoods.

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See also: Publications and Multimedia Catalog for more resources

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.

See also: Extension Publications for more resources

See also: Biocontrol Factsheets for more information on biocontrol agents