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The annual Lionfish Challenge is an incentive program that rewards harvesters for their lionfish removals. With a tiered system, everybody can be a winner. The participant who harvests the most lionfish will be crowned the Lionfish King/Queen. The Challenge is open now and will run through November 1. You can register for the 2020 Lionfish Challenge and find more information at FWCReefRangers.com/Lionfish-Challenge. Questions regarding the challenge can be sent to Lionfish@MyFWC.com.

The Emerald ash borer was first found in Connecticut during the week of July 16, 2012. Since that first find in Prospect, EAB has been found in many other parts of the state, particularly in towns in central and western Connecticut. DEEP, the CT Agricultural Experiment Station, USDA APHIS PPQ and the U.S. Forest Service are working together with local partners to slow the spread of the insect and to take steps to minimize its impact. This will be a long-term effort on the part of all involved.

The Florida Python Challenge® (August 9-18, 2024) is an exciting conservation effort which helps protect the rare Everglades habitat and the animals that live there from these invasive, nonnative snakes.
See also: Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez Announces Registration Is Open for the 2024 Florida Python Challenge (May 30, 2024)

Anyone can help with nonnative species management. There are a variety of ways to get involved, and not all require slogging through swamps or handling wild animals. We want to encourage people to find ways they can participate. Every action helps protect native species!

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.

The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is beginning its annual search for pests that could threaten the state’s environment and agricultural industry. Staff will set thousands of traps statewide to monitor for the introduction or spread of more than 130 invasive pests and diseases, including spongy moth, Japanese beetle, apple maggot and northern giant hornet.

WSDA is still asking residents to report all suspected hornet sightings. Northern giant hornet queens should be active now and could be spotted while they establish their nests. As the colony grows, worker hornets may become increasingly visible throughout the summer and into the fall. See Public hornet trapping instructions for more information.

We need your help to monitor for and report northern giant hornet sightings. By participating in a northern giant hornet citizen scientist project, you are helping protect your community from northern giant hornets.

Since the first report of a northern giant hornet in Washington in 2019 (known as the Asian giant hornet or the “murder hornet” back then), the Washington State Department of Agriculture’s (WSDA) Pest Program has been working to eradicate northern giant hornets. The best time to participate is from July through November. You are most likely to see or catch a northern giant hornet during this timeframe because colonies are established, and workers are out hunting.

Online Interface Encourages the Public to Assist in Surveying for and Reporting Spotted Lanternfly

The New York State Departments of Agriculture and Markets (AGM) and Environmental Conservation (DEC), and the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (Parks) today announced an innovative effort to combat the spread of Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) in New York State. A new online interface will allow volunteer members of the public to assist in surveying for SLF and tracking associated data. The program encourages broader surveying for SLF and increased public awareness of this invasive pest, following confirmed finds of SLF in New York State this past fall.

The new initiative, which launched this week, invites volunteers to sign up to survey a specific area, or grid, of land on iMapInvasives. This online, GIS-based data management system is used to assist citizen scientists and natural resource professionals to protect against the threat of invasive species. Volunteers will also enter data from their survey work into iMapInvasives. More information about the program, including upcoming webinars, can be found at https://www.nyimapinvasives.org/slf.

See also: New York Spotted Lanternfly Public Report

Python Patrol is a no-cost training program that aims to create a network of trained individuals throughout south Florida who know how to identify Burmese pythons, report sightings, and in some cases, capture and humanely kill the snakes. Python Patrol training is offered throughout south and southwest Florida.

This summer, the Vermont Lakes and Ponds Program is seeking volunteers to help monitor and collect information about lakes and ponds in the state. With over 800 lakes and ponds, volunteers are key to the success of the program’s lake monitoring efforts. Volunteers can be found statewide greeting lake visitors, inspecting boats, collecting water samples, tracking algal or cyanobacteria blooms, reporting aquatic invasive species, and more. For general information, interested parties are welcome to visit the volunteer webpage.

Do you hike, ride, bird, camp, fish, or otherwise recreate in state parks, forests or wildlands? Lend YOUR eyes to help Maryland's biodiversity! The Maryland Natural Heritage Program designed Statewide Eyes to allow volunteers and researchers alike to collect more information about invasive plants on state lands quickly. Volunteers (like you!) use a free mobile application called the Mid-Atlantic Early Detection Network (MAEDN) to identify, photograph and map the location of invasive plants, focusing on ecologically significant sites.

Early detection is vital to protecting Vermont's water bodies from harmful invasive plants and animals. With more than 800 lakes and ponds throughout the state, volunteers play a key role in our surveying efforts. Vermont Invasive Patrollers (VIPs) monitor water bodies for new introductions of invasive species and report their findings to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).