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Pets in K-12 school classrooms can be valuable teaching assets. Caring for companion animals helps students to relate to species in their natural habitats while fostering a sense of environmental ethics. Provides information for planning for classroom pets, caring the classroom pets after the school year, how to protect the environment, and additional resources.

Habits, Attitude, and Habitat—together they comprise Habitattitude. This educational campaign with the uncommon name addresses common concerns of private enterprise, state and federal natural resource agencies, and responsible pet owners: protecting our environment from the impacts of invasive species. Habitattitude seeks to inspire and empower people to explore the connection between responsible pet ownership and environmental stewardship.

Habitattitude Prevents Pet Release in Wild  (June 12, 2019) announces the re-launch of the Habitattitude educational campaign. Habitattitude’s website provides guidance for proper pet selection and care, along with sections on aquarium fish and water gardening. The new section on reptiles and amphibians addresses the variety of species and basic considerations and requirements for habitat, diet and health concerns. Another new component focuses on animals and plants in classroom education, and caring for them outside the home environment, in response to concerns about the potential for classroom pets to be released at the end of a school year.

A report by attorney Read D. Porter that examines coordination on aquatic invasive species (AIS) prevention among the Chesapeake Bay states. The report focuses on prevention-related legal authorities in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania in particular, and recommends actions to improve regional cooperation both within the existing regulatory frameworks and through potential amendments to state laws and regulations to enhance prevention.

See also: EDDMapS - Shovel-headed garden worm for more information

Blue Accounting is tracking regional consistency in restrictions against the list of Least Wanted AIS [PDF, 1.5 MB] developed by the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers, as well as against species regulated at a federal level in Canada (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) and the U.S. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Department of Agriculture). This data is paired with information on the activities that each jurisdiction regulates for these species.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) invites stakeholders to tap into their creativity and submit innovative proposals for fiscal year (FY) 2025 Plant Protection Act Section 7721 (PPA 7721) funding. APHIS is funding projects that protect American agriculture and natural resources this summer, and it’s time to apply! Applicants can submit suggestions for Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Program funding from June 5 through July 31, 2024.

The Asian tiger mosquito can carry dread diseases like Zika, and yellow and dengue fever. After it vanished from Palmyra Atoll, an island in the tropical Pacific, USGS researchers and partners set out to find out why.

The Hawai'i-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment (HPWRA) is a free service that provides a background check on plants. Professional botanists use published information to answer 49 questions about a plant, to predict whether it is a low-risk or high-risk of becoming invasive in Hawai'i or similar Pacific islands.

The Hawaii Early Detection Network was created to increase public awareness of invasive species and engage communities in the monitoring of their own neighborhoods. Find out how you help protect the environment of Hawaii by participating in the Eyes and Ears Team and attending an educational workshop or downloading your own field guide. If you are reporting a snake call 911 or for an animal call 643-PEST immediately!

Hawaii Invasive Species Awareness Month (February) seeks to promote information sharing and public engagement in what the Hawaii State Legislature has declared "the single greatest threat to Hawaii's economy and natural environment and to the health and lifestyle of Hawaii’s people."

Hawaii has a number of agencies and partners dedicated to working on the complex issue of invasive species. Provides descriptions and links to various agencies, as well as a description of any relevant regulations or policies regarding invasive species that fall under the mandate each agency.