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Scientists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture are studying ways to keep honeybees stress-free and healthy. These pollinators are important to American agriculture and our nation’s food crops.

USDA Service Centers are designed to be a single location where customers can access the services provided by the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Rural Development agencies. This locator site provides Agency offices serving your area (by state and county).

The use of native plant material in conservation, restoration and land management results in healthy ecosystems countering the effects of invasive plant species, altered wildfire regimes, extreme weather events and human-caused events. The National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration 2015-2020 promotes the use of native plant materials to restore plant communities and support healthy ecosystems.
See related resource: National Seed Strategy

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced its strengthened commitment to advancing research and programmatic priorities that support pollinator health by soliciting nominations for members to serve on its newly formed USDA National Pollinator Subcommittee. The Pollinator Subcommittee will provide input on annual USDA strategic pollinator priorities and goals and will make pollinator health-related recommendations to strengthen USDA pollinator research efforts. USDA is both a major funder and conductor of pollinator research, with research initiatives spanning across five USDA mission areas.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will invest $15 million this year for the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) Classic program. Through CIG, grantees work to address our nation's water quality, water quantity, air quality, soil health and wildlife habitat challenges, all while supporting agricultural production. This year’s funding priorities are climate-smart agriculture, addressing invasive species and conservation in urban agricultural systems. For more information about the Conservation Innovation Grants program, visit the NRCS website.

Traveling for holidays? Then this new site can help you determine what items can be brought into the U.S. Bringing food and other items back from your travels (anytime of the year) could impact the health and safety of American agriculture and natural resources. For example, travelers cannot bring in most fresh fruits and vegetables because they can carry plant pests or diseases.  Just one pest could devastate multiple agricultural industries.

Traveling With Food or Agricultural Products provides everyone with important information about which agricultural items are safe to enter the United States – and which ones are best left behind. This helps protect the health of our country’s plants, animals and natural resources, ensuring many happy holidays to come.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny L. Moffitt commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Mexico-U.S. Commission for Prevention of Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Other Exotic Animal Diseases (CPA). To celebrate this occasion, Mexico’s National Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety, and Quality Service (SENASICA) hosted a celebration in Mexico City. This binational Commission, established in 1947, was instrumental in eradicating foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Mexico and preventing introduction to the United States. FMD was eradicated from the United States in 1929, and Mexico has been FMD-free since 1954. This celebration honors the longevity and success of this collaboration between the United States and Mexico.

Provides access to all outreach publications (includes many invasive species related) currently available from USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in print, PDF format, or both. The publications are organized according to category, title, date, item type, and publication number (if applicable).

Scientists with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service in central California are using sound to control insects that spread disease in grape vineyards.

After weeks of searching, Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) entomologists–—using a radio tag provided by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and a trap developed by the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service–— have located and eradicated the first Asian giant hornet (AGH) nest ever found in the United States. For months, WSDA had been trying to find the nest they knew must exist near Blaine, WA, because of AGH detections in the area. But finding the nest proved extremely challenging since the hornets build nests in forested areas, typically in an underground cavity.

The USDA Agriculture, Forestry, and Climate Science Working Group and USDA’s Office of Energy and Environmental Policy have launched a year-long monthly webinar series that aims to equip USDA employees and key Cooperative Extension personnel with the scientific foundations of climate change as they apply to USDA’s mission and daily work. The series features leading scientists from within and outside USDA, who provide the latest scientific information and respond to questions about climate change and the application of science to decision-making on working lands. This series is designed to be of use to USDA conservation, resource management, commodity, and service staff. The material is accessible to those not already familiar with climate science, but also includes information that is of use to technical experts.

This guide will assist Pacific island practitioners to use the costs that result from invasive species incursions to gain support to fund prevention, management, restoration, research, and outreach. For more knowledge resources, please visit the Pacific Battler Resource Base.

This guide explains how natural enemies (typically invertebrates and pathogens from the native home range of the pest) can be used to control serious invasive weeds in the Pacific. The use of natural enemies is the most cost-effective method of controlling widespread weeds in the Pacific. It is particularly important in the Pacific context where local capacity to manage such widespread problems is limited. For more knowledge resources, please visit the Pacific Battler Resource Base.

This guide explains how natural enemies (typically invertebrates and pathogens from the native home range of the pest) can be used to control serious invasive weeds in the Pacific. The use of natural enemies is the most cost-effective method of controlling widespread weeds in the Pacific. It is particularly important in the Pacific context where local capacity to manage such widespread problems is limited. For more knowledge resources, please visit the Pacific Battler Resource Base.

The goal of this report is to capture the current state of knowledge on the use of fire as a tool to manage invasive plants in wildlands. By providing a more thorough source of information on this topic, we hope this review facilitates improved decision making when considering the use of prescribed burning for the management of invasive plants.

On May 14, Director Reilly signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of the Navy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The MOA provides for continuity of operations for the USFWS and the USGS with construction of new office and lab facilities on the Guam National Wildlife Refuge in conjunction with DOD’s construction of a Marine Corps firing range. "The USGS has a long history of collaborating with the Department of Defense in support of U.S. facilities and force readiness in the INDOPACOM Area of Responsibility. One of our signature efforts ongoing today is a collaboration with DOD, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the local government in minimizing the impacts of the invasive Brown Treesnakes (BTS) and improving BTS controls on military lands on Guam," said Jim Reilly, director of the USGS.

The high winds, heavy rains and storm tides caused by hurricanes and tropical storms can rapidly change the landscape of an area affected by a storm. Hurricane-related flooding can also result in a slow transformation of ecosystems found on land and in water, as floodwaters can carry invasive wildlife and plant species into new regions, accelerating their spread.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) delivers high-quality data, technologies, and decision-support tools to help managers reduce existing populations and control the spread of invasive carp in the Nation's waterways.
See also: Geonarratives for all USGS geonarrative / story map resources

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) delivers high-quality data, technologies, and decision-support tools to help managers reduce existing populations and control the spread of invasive carp in the Nation's waterways.
See also: Geonarratives for all USGS geonarrative / story map resources

From March to May 2024, scientists from the USGS will install baiting platforms for invasive grass carp and equipment for monitoring fish movement in pool 19 of the Upper Mississippi River. Pool 19 contains 30,466 acres of aquatic habitat, extending 46.3 miles from Lock & Dam 19 located near Keokuk, Iowa upstream to Lock & Dam 18 located near Burlington, Iowa.

Project completion is expected by December 2024, with results being publicly available in 2025. This project is supported through the U.S. Geological Survey Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats Research Program, and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.