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Forests are complex ecosystems. They are constantly changing as a result of tree growth, variations in weather and climate, and disturbances from fire, pathogens, and other stressors. A huge number of insects and diseases have the potential to negatively affect tree species in the U.S. 

The Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program produces annual national reports that present forest status and trends from a national perspective, introduce new techniques for analyzing forest health data, and summarize results from recently completed Evaluation Monitoring projects funded through the FHM national program.  The FHM tracks these ongoing changes — every year, across the nation — as a forest health check up. The annual reports contains short- and long-term forest health assessments for the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Users can search reports and chapters by year (from 2001) or topic. Highlights and additional resources are also included.

The National Integrated Pest Management Coordinating Committee (NIPMCC) has released a series of whitepapers explaining how pests threaten the security of the U.S. food supply, how an IPM approach offers the most effective means of managing pests, and why ongoing investment in IPM research and extension is critical to keeping pace with the ever-evolving nature of these threats. These new issue papers discuss role of IPM in combating resistance and invasive species, safeguarding food supply, and minimizing economic losses.

A new 9-part series 'Native Seeds: Supplying Restoration' about the native seed supply chain in the Western U.S. by the International Network for Seed-Based Restoration. Filmed over four seasons, this series weaves together footage of seed collectors, farmers, researchers, and land managers working to scale up the supply of native seeds to meet the growing restoration demand. Several USDA Rocky Mountain Research Station researchers are featured in these videos. Videos were released June 29, 2023 - August 24, 2023.

Hunting for natural enemies of the red imported fire ant is paying off for Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists. Their latest discovery — a new virus found in fire ants from Argentina — has the potential of becoming a biological control agent against the red imported fire ants infesting the U.S.

A parasitoid wasp that is the natural enemy of a fly known as the spotted-wing drosophila could be a good friend to growers. Washington State University researchers recently confirmed the discovery of the potentially beneficial wasp in the United States for the first time. The drosophila flies cause major damage to several Washington crops, especially sweet cherries and berries. The wasp, which lays its eggs in the flies, could be a means of controlling their spread.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has developed a publicly available dashboard that displays the results from nation-wide avian influenza virus (AIV) monitoring in wild bird populations. Data presented in the dashboard can identify increased AIV risk and can provide information to poultry producers, wildlife managers, and members of the public on AIV activity in their area.
See related resource: Wild Bird Avian Influenza Surveillance

To reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species in Maine, a law was passed by the Maine Legislature (effective June 16, 2023) that requires boaters to take specific actions to encourage water to drain from their watercraft prior to entering a water body or leaving a launch site. Aquatic invasive species are any fish, wildlife, or plant species that spreads to a water body where they do not naturally occur. These species are often transferred to new locations on watercraft, watercraft trailers, and other equipment associated with water recreation, and they impact the health of our waters, fish, and wildlife.

See also: Help us Keep it Maine: Protect our Waters from Aquatic Invasive Species

Forest Service scientists have published a guide synthesizing best practices for controlling these tiny bugs. It promotes a strategy of combining insecticide use with adelgid-eating insects.

You could say that preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) is a team sport. While it takes the professional efforts of natural resource managers, AIS specialists and others in the environmental field, it also takes the cooperation of the public. Yet for community members to take necessary actions, they must first be aware of the negative impacts AIS can have and how to stop their spread. Communicating with them about AIS in an effective way is vital.

New research from Wisconsin Sea Grant Aquatic Invasive Species Outreach Specialist Tim Campbell, University of Wisconsin-Madison Associate Professor Bret Shaw and consultant Barry T. Radler sheds new light on such communication. The researchers analyzed which communication strategies are most effective and which may pose unintended problems. The team's findings were published online Aug 14 in the journal Environmental Management (“Testing Emphasis Message Frames and Metaphors on Social Media to Engage Boaters to Learn about Preventing the Spread of Zebra Mussels”).

Invasive tegu lizards from South America are currently established in four locations in Florida and negatively impact native, ground-nesting animals in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. Two newly published research studies from the U.S. Geological Survey show that, depending on their size and body condition, tegu lizards could survive in cooler, northern climates.

The Argentine black and white tegu is a large lizard from South America currently inhabiting the Florida counties of Charlotte, Hillsborough, Miami Dade and St. Lucie. Tegus are introduced to the U.S. through the pet trade and then likely released from captivity into the environment. "Several lines of evidence from recent USGS research studies published from 2018 to 2021 now provide clear indication for managers that the entire southeast portion of the United States is at risk of tegu establishment if lizard releases continue unabated," said Amy Yackel Adams, a USGS research ecologist.

Invasive species cause biodiversity loss and about $120 billion in annual damages in the U.S. alone. Despite plentiful evidence showing that invasive species can change food webs, how invaders disrupt food webs and native species through time has remained unclear. Now, thanks to a collaborative study conducted by researchers representing the University of Montana's Flathead Lake Biological Station (FLBS), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, there is new insight into how invasive species progressively affect native food webs.

Researchers from Dickinson College and the U.S. Geological Survey collaborated on field research to understand the ability of human searchers to detect the invasive brown treesnake (BTS) on the island of Guam. Due to their nocturnal and tree-dwelling habits, these snakes are extremely difficult to detect, especially when they are present at low densities in an area. A new study "Use of visual surveys and radiotelemetry reveals sources of detection bias for a cryptic snake at low densities" published in the journal Ecosphere, helps explain why and provides valuable information on optimizing search methods and search locations that could be valuable if the BTS was accidentally introduced to a snake-free island.

Aquatic invasive species inflict millions of dollars of ecological and economic damage to the Great Lakes, with impacts on coastal industries, water quality, native fish and wildlife and human health. Recently, Blue Accounting, in partnership with state and federal agencies, launched a new suite of web-based resources and tools to support early detection of aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes. The earlier new aquatic invasive species are detected, the easier and less expensive it is to avoid potentially devastating consequences of a large invasion. The new tools released by the Blue Accounting initiative help target efforts to focus on high-risk species and locations across the 11,000 miles of shoreline and 94,000 miles of surface area that make up the Great Lakes basin.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) researchers in Florida have developed “attract-and-kill” traps to control Asian citrus psyllids in the suburbs where citrus trees are popular landscape plantings.

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

NIFA is supporting 76 projects addressing high priority issues related to all pests, and their management using Integrated Pest Management Program (IPM) approaches at the state, regional and national levels with more than $19.6 million in funding. The Crop Protection and Pest Management Program (CPPM) supports projects that will increase food security and respond effectively to other major societal challenges with comprehensive IPM approaches that are economically viable, ecologically prudent, and safe for human health.

New research by NOAA and partners finds that two species of invasive Asian carp -- the bighead carp and silver carp, collectively known as bigheaded carps -- could be capable of establishing populations in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron and affecting the health of ecologically and economically important fish species such as yellow perch. The research, appearing online in the journal Biological Invasions, is based on a new model that simulates interactions between the bigheaded carps and a range of fish species, including walleye, yellow perch, and groups lower on the food web over a time period of 50 years. Over 180 non-indigenous aquatic species have already become established in the Great Lakes, with a handful of these producing substantial negative impacts. While bigheaded carps are established in watersheds near the Great Lakes, they have not yet become established in the Great Lakes.

ITP is pleased to announce the release of North American Hornet Screening Tool. Hornets in the genus Vespa play a critical role as predators in their native habitats, but in North America these species may have a disastrous impact on agriculture by reducing populations of important pollinators such as the honey bee. Hornets also pose a serious health risk to humans because of their powerful sting. North American Hornet Screening Tool is designed for anyone who may encounter these species in the U.S., including the Asian giant hornet (AGH, V. mandarinia). 

North American Hornet Screening Tool includes fact sheets and an interactive image gallery to support screening for Asian giant hornet and other potentially invasive hornet (Vespa) species. The interactive gallery can be used as a rudimentary key: by choosing one or more of the filters at the top, you can easily narrow down the images to only those that may match your specimen. A more in-depth version of this tool providing specialized information for identifiers on all exotic hornet (Vespa) species, will be released in 2022.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has unveiled a new online reporting tool for people to report any sightings of feral swine or their damage to the agency. Feral swine, also called wild boar and feral hogs, are an invasive species that cause significant damage to plant communities and wildlife habitat, prey on native wildlife, compete with native species for limited food and clean water resources and potentially spread diseases that pose substantial risk to livestock, wildlife, humans and pets. Commission biologists, along with other members of the N.C. Feral Swine Task Force, are seeking information from the public to better understand the distribution and abundance of feral swine across the state, and to estimate type and extent of damages they are causing, including damage to agricultural crops, timber, wildlife habitats, landscaping and others.

Reported sightings will help members of the task force determine priority areas where they can focus management efforts. Education and outreach events, technical assistance staff, loaner traps, and other control measures will be focused in areas of greatest need. For more information on feral swine in North Carolina, visit the Commission’s feral swine web page.

Biocontrol is an important management tool that utilizes one species (a biocontrol agent) to control another (a target host) and can be an effective approach for controlling populations of invasive species across broad spatial scales. Climate change, though, is complicating biocontrol, raising concerns that mismatches between how biocontrol agents and their hosts respond to climate change could alter the efficacy of current and future biocontrol programs. In response, a team of RISCC (Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change) Management Network and NE CASC (Climate Adaptation Science Center) researchers has published a new "Management Challenge" that details how climate change impacts the relationship between biocontrol agents and their target hosts and outlines management implications arising from this problem.