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Officials issued a quarantine to control the invasive species, which devours vegetation, damages structures and can carry a parasite dangerous to humans. The invasive giant African land snail—one of the most damaging snails in the world—has returned to Florida for the third time in the state’s history. Florida's Broward county giant African land snail quarantine prohibits people in the 3.5-square-mile area from moving the giant African land snails, and they also must not transport certain plants, soil, compost and yard debris that could contain snails or their eggs.

Late spring heralds the start of open water fishing season. For the casual angler, it's easy to take for granted the abundance of fish this time of year. However, many species, especially native fish, can use their help. "There are so many issues affecting the health of fish populations – barriers caused by dams and roads that cross streams fragment fish habitat. Water is diverted out of streams for other uses," said Tina Hopkins, the regional fisheries program manager for the Forest Service’s Intermountain Region. "But perhaps the biggest threat across the country is aquatic invasive species."

Fisheries biologists from around the country have recommended a few ways that anglers, boaters and recreators can do their part to ensure healthy fish stocks for seasons to come. Here is their advice to recreators, in their words:

• "Consult your lawbook, know the rules, and please don’t move fish around."
• "It is extremely important that anglers clean their boats, trailers, waters, and gear when they are done fishing for the day."
• "Every drainage is going to be different, so anglers should be informed about where they are fishing."

The U.S. Geological Survey, together with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, today announced that over $2.5 million has been received to develop an innovative treatment to prevent white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease decimating North American bat populations. The project is one of six provided by the Partnership to Advance Conservation Science and Practice, an $8 million collaboration between the National Science Foundation and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to fund scientific research and conservation activities that protect diverse ecosystems and imperiled species across the country.

The green crab is an invasive marine species spreading throughout the coastal waters of the United States. Efforts between NOAA Fisheries and Metlakatla Indian Community have been leading the way on monitoring to detect this species’ presence in Alaskan waters. The green crab has been found in U.S. waters since the 1800s, but this is the first confirmed presence in Alaska. They are a serious threat for Alaska’s tidal habitats.

If you see an invasive green crab on Annette Islands Reserve, call (907) 886-FISH to make a report. If you encounter a potential green crab elsewhere in Alaska, take photographs from multiple angles and send them to Tammy Davis. Then submit a report to the Alaska Invasive Species Reporter, or call the Invasive Species Hotline: (877) INVASIV.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) proclaims April 2024 as Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month. During this month, we are encouraging everyone—whether you’re a gardener or a camper, a bug enthusiast or a student, a traveler, or an online shopper—to learn about the danger of invasive plant pests and what you can do to help. During the month, we are sharing information on curbing the spread of these pests to foster a healthier environment and protect our food supply.
See also: A Proclamation by the Secretary of Agriculture for 2024 Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month [PDF, 189 KB]

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Black carp, which are an invasive fish species in North America, are now known to be established in the wild in parts of the Mississippi River basin. A new study co-authored by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is the first to identify an established population—meaning they are naturally reproducing and living to adulthood— of wild black carp in any location across the U.S.

When a black carp is captured in the wild, it can be reported to the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database. That tool compiles information on and can be used to track the status of other aquatic invasive species as well. The USGS is involved in many invasive species projects across the U.S. and its territories. Learn more by visiting the USGS Invasive Species website or the USGS Invasive Carp section.