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Boxwood blight is a fungal disease that can cause the leaves of boxwood plants to fall off prematurely. ARS scientists in Fort Dietrick, MD, are studying how boxwood blight evolves and are working closely with the floriculture and nursey industry to develop methods for testing, controlling, and mitigating the disease.

A unique program run by the Agricultural Research Service in Fort Pierce, FL, uses specially trained dogs to detect citrus greening in orchards. The canine-detection method has an accuracy rate of 99 percent.

USDA Forest Service researchers are monitoring the effects of white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease from Eurasia that has decimated cave-hibernating bats across the U.S. since its arrival in 2006. "The fungus that causes white-nose syndrome grows on bats in the wintertime. It causes them to wake up during their hibernation and burn their fat reserves," says Phillip Jordan, wildlife biologist. Jordan is among the experts featured in a new video, Bats on the Brink. Forestry technician Virginia McDaniel created and produced the video.

Invasive species pose a threat across the United States and its territories, but they can be especially challenging for the U.S. South Pacific territory of American Samoa. Among the invasive pests menacing the territory are several non-native fire ant species. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a final rule in the Mar 22 Federal Register officially adding the bighead carp to the federal injurious wildlife list. The final rule codifies the Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act (S. 1421), signed into law by President Obama on Dec 14, 2010. The injurious wildlife listing means that under the Lacey Act it is illegal to import or to transport live bighead carp, including viable eggs or hybrids of the species, across state lines, except by permit for zoological, education, medical, or scientific purposes.

Giant reed, Arundo donax, is a large, fast-growing invasive grass that has invaded at least 100,000 acres of "riparian" habitat in the southwestern and southeastern U.S. and is present as far north as Ohio and Washington State. Watch this video to learn how ARS researchers are using biocontrol (insects) to reduce the presence of this invasive plant.

ARS entomologist is developing microbial pesticides for the effective control of mosquitoes and the pathogens they transmit.

See also: Invasive Species Publications for more publications

FHTET-2017-03.
See also: FHAAST Publications for more resources.

FHTET-2008-10.
See also: FHAAST Publications for more resources.

See also: FHAAST Publications for more resources

See also: FHAAST Publications for more resources

NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 99

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.

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.