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As communities continue to recover from widespread destruction caused by recent hurricanes Helene and Milton, floodwaters from these storms may have accelerated the spread of invasive wildlife and plant species into new areas.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is offering training for members of the public to become a certified Wyoming aquatic invasive species inspector. The free, day-long sessions are offered throughout the spring in statewide locations and are open to anyone interested in preventing the spread of AIS through watercraft inspection. The training includes information on basic biology of invasive species, the impacts of AIS, transport vectors and distribution of AIS. It includes classroom instruction, a question-and-answer session and a hands-on watercraft inspection exercise. Those who complete the class will be certified to inspect watercraft.

Learn simple steps you can take to prevent the spread of invasive species when you recreate outdoors.

Seeds that float in the air can hitchhike in unusual places – like the air-intake grille of a refrigerated shipping container. A team of researchers from the USDA Forest Service, Arkansas State University, and other organizations recently conducted a study that involved vacuuming seeds from air-intake grilles over two seasons at the Port of Savannah, Georgia. The viability of such seeds is of significant interest to federal regulatory and enforcement agencies, and the project required a shared stewardship approach. Their findings were recently published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Seeds from 30 plant taxa were collected from the air-intake grilles, including seeds of wild sugarcane (Saccharum spontaneum), a grass on the USDA's Federal Noxious Weed List. (scroll to view list on Federal Noxious Weeds Program). Federal noxious weeds pose immediate, significant threats to agriculture, nursery, and forestry industries. Although a lovely grass and useful in its native range, wild sugarcane has the potential to join cogongrass, stiltgrass, and other nonnative species that have become extremely widespread in the U.S.

Rodrigo Krugner, an entomologist with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Parlier, California, has found an innovative way to control insect pests in California vineyards: tapping into the vibrational signals they use as mating calls.

Krugner’s efforts have mainly focused on glassy-winged sharpshooters, which spread a bacterium that causes Pierce’s disease in vineyards and costs the California grape industry an estimated $104 million a year. Growers use chemical sprays to control the pests, but insecticides also kill beneficial insects, leave residues, and become less effective as the insects develop resistance.

Scientists have long warned that Hawaii’s cover of nonnative shrubs is kindling waiting to burn.
See also: Additional Invasive Species related articles

Learn how the U.S. government is responding to the Hawaii wildfires affecting Maui and the Big Island.

Imagine a devastating plant disease that sweeps the land, decimating crops. For Florida’s citrus growers, that apocalyptic vision is not a horror movie, but a reality: since it was first identified in the Sunshine State in 2005, citrus greening disease has reduced Florida’s citrus production by a whopping 70%. Without any treatment or cure available, desperate growers have cut down infected trees or abandoned their groves entirely. Scientists have been racing to come up with a solution. Now, an ARS research team believes it may have one, in the form of: stingrays.

Invasive fruit flies, such as the Oriental, Mexican, Mediterranean, and European cherry fruit fly, pose threats to many U.S. commercial and homegrown crops. If established, these flies could cause significant economic losses, requiring costly treatments to protect fruits and vegetables and reducing the marketability of infested fruit both locally and abroad. What’s at stake? The market value of invasive fruit fly-host commodities totaled approximately $11.7 billion in the United States in 2022. Approximately $8.3 billion of that was from California and $2.9 billion from Florida.

Invasive zebra and quagga mussels are an immediate threat to Western states. With no controls, they spread rapidly, foul boats and equipment, clog water intake, and increase costs to hydropower operations and municipal water utilities. Even dead mussels can be a nuisance, littering beaches with shells. Management of these invaders is expensive; in the Great Lakes, managing mussels costs about $500 million annually. Until 2007, the mussels were limited to waterways and lakes east of the Mississippi, but now they have spread westward. In 2016, quagga mussels were found in Lake Powell.

Unfortunately, there are no foolproof existing technologies or treatments to eradicate established mussel populations in large, open water systems in an environmentally sound manner. Early warning, however, helps us prepare before the mussels or other invasive species arrive.

A newly signed project is set to provide pilot projects in developing countries in order to demonstrate technical solutions for biofouling management, address the transfer of invasive aquatic species and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships. Biofouling is the accumulation of aquatic organisms on wetted or immersed surfaces such as ships and other offshore structures.

The project complements the existing Global Environment Facility (GEF)/United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/IMO GloFouling Partnerships Project, which aims to support its lead partnering and partnering countries to implement IMO's Biofouling Guidelines [PDF, 134 KB].

iNaturalist helps you identify the plants and animals around you. Get connected with a community of over 750,000 scientists and naturalists who can help you learn more about nature! By recording and sharing your observations, you’ll create research quality data for scientists working to better understand and protect nature. Experience and record nature with species identification technology by downloading the iNaturalist app (Android and iPhone) --  See Getting started:

• Find Wildlife - it can be any plant, animal, fungi, slime mold or evidence of life found in the wild
• Take Pictures - be sure to notice the location
• Share Observations - upload your findings to iNaturalist
   

Seek by iNaturalist is an educational tool and provides a kid-friendly alternative. Seek allows you to identify plants and animals from your photos by harnessing image recognition technology, drawing from existing data collected from observations on iNaturalist (no registration is required, and no user data is collected).

The Indiana Terrestrial Plant Rule (312 IAC 18-3-25) designates 44 species of plants as invasive pests. This rule makes it illegal to sell, gift, barter, exchange, distribute, transport, or introduce these plants in the State of Indiana. This rule goes into effect in two stages. As of April 18, 2019, it is illegal to introduce plant species on this list not already found in Indiana. Plant species already in trade will be prohibited from sale one year later (April 18, 2020).

U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, Douglas W. Domenech announced the release of $3,442,389 in fiscal year (FY) 2020 grant funding to suppress and control the brown tree snake (BTS), Boiga irregularis, primarily on Guam. Funds also support prevention, detection, and rapid response efforts in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Hawaii, in addition to research and development on how to improve suppression methods and potentially eradicate the snake on Guam. The Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) Brown Tree Snake Control program FY 2020 funds are divided among several federal, state, and territorial agencies that collaborate in support of the three pillars of BTS suppression: $1,229,296 is used for control in rapid response and research activities, $1,724,210 is used for interdiction, and $488,883 is used for prevention through coordination and outreach.

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) has announced $4,095,922 million in Brown Tree Snake Control program fiscal year (FY) 2021 funding as administered through the Technical Assistance Program. An additional amount of $1,791,421 from Coral Reef and Natural Resources FY 2021 funds was also announced earlier this year for the purpose of controlling and mitigating other invasive species in the Insular Areas besides the brown tree snake. "Islands are particularly vulnerable to invasive species that disrupt natural, long-standing biological processes and threaten our unique, island eco-systems," said Deputy Assistant Secretary Keone Nakoa. "Each year, OIA provides significant funds to critical efforts seeking to help restore balance."

The Brown Tree Snake Control program FY 2021 funding was divided among several governments and federal partners to include Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Hawai'i, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Department of the Interior. For more information about OIA funds provided to counter invasive species visit: https://www.doi.gov/oia/coral-reef-and-natural-resources-initiative.

U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, Douglas W. Domenech announced $942,206 in fiscal year (FY) 2020 Coral Reef and Natural Resources Initiative grants to eradicate and control the spread of invasive species in the U.S. territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), as well as in the Republic of Palau, and Yap, in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Funding will be used to introduce biological control of coconut rhinoceros beetles, control and eradicate feral cats and monitor lizards, and destroy wild vines, all of which are disruptive to ecological systems and impacting communities and livelihoods in the islands.

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) has announced $2,772,443 in Coral Reef and Natural Resources Initiative (CRNR) grant funds to protect coral reef resources in the U.S. territories and the freely associated states. The funding includes $1,541,421 that will support efforts to control and eradicate invasive species in the insular areas. Grants for fiscal year 2021 to combat invasive species have been awarded as follows:

• University of Guam for research and related efforts to counter the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle - $866,423
• Micronesia Conservation Trust, a regional non-governmental organization, for the eradication, control, and management of invasive species in Kosrae, Chuuk, and Yap - $300,000
• Island Conservation, a non-profit organization, for the removal of invasive rats in Mili Atoll, Marshall Islands - $299,838
• Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Government for Sabana Pandanus Forest control and native trees restoration project - $75,160

The “Introduced” podcasts are devoted to aquatic invasive species (AIS). Its tagline is “aquatic invaders and stories from our changing waters.” Topics are wide-ranging, from Asian carp to the trade in invasive species on the Internet.
See also: Introducing "Introduced," Sea Grant's Newest Podcast (May 20, 2020, news article about podcast)

InvaCost is the most up-to-date, comprehensive, standardized and robust data compilation and description of economic cost estimates associated with invasive species worldwide. InvaCost has been constructed to provide a contemporary and freely available repository of monetary impacts that can be relevant for both research and evidence-based policy making.

Invader Detectives has been conceptualized as a national program to facilitate the detection of invasive species in urban environments. The majority of invasive species enter the country through the large commercial sea ports and airports located in our Nation’s cities. If we can rapidly detect and respond to potentially harmful non-native species at or near our borders, we can prevent them from spreading to natural areas and agricultural landscapes. Ultimately, this Contractor’s Report is intended to serve as the conceptual framework for developing and implementing Invader Detectives on a national scale through a chapter-based (regional) model. It is a living document and should not be regarded as final guidance. We welcome your input at invasive_species@ios.doi.gov.
See also: NISC and NISC Staff Products for more resources.

USDA Forest Service scientists are exploring the impacts of invasive species in forests and rangelands of the United States and developing early intervention strategies that land managers can take as well as strategies for restoring impacted landscapes.