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Making a List: Prevention Strategies for Invasive Plants in the Great Lakes States surveys plant listing programs in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin to assess the effectiveness of listing as a tool to prevent the proliferation and spreads of invasive plant species.

The governors of Illinois and Michigan today agreed to work jointly to protect the Great Lakes from invasive Asian carp species. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Gov. JB Pritzker today announced an intergovernmental agreement between the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) which allows Illinois to use up to $8 million in funds appropriated in 2018 by the Michigan Legislature to support the pre-construction engineering and design (PED) phase of the Brandon Road Ecosystem Project. Further strengthening the path forward, the State of Illinois also signed a separate PED agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the initial Brandon Road design. The state will serve as the non-federal sponsor, agreeing to help fund design of a portion of the project and to further advance full project design efforts to approximately 30 percent completion.

The Brandon Road Lock and Dam in the Chicago Area Waterway System near Joliet, Illinois, is a critical pinch point for keeping bighead, silver and black carp – the invasive Asian carp species of greatest concern – out of the Great Lakes. The Brandon Road project would install layered technologies including an electric barrier, underwater sound, an air bubble curtain and a flushing lock in a newly engineered channel designed to prevent invasive carp movement while allowing barge passage.

Biosecurity officials are promising to take tough action against cargo vessels believed to be infested with brown marmorated stink bug during the upcoming risk season. The risk season runs from September to April, when stink bugs from the northern hemisphere are most likely to crawl into cargo heading to New Zealand. Last season, biosecurity officers intercepted more than 2,500 individual stink bugs at the border, mainly on vessels and cargo.

On Sunday, June 27, watercraft inspection stations in eastern Montana intercepted two boats entering the state carrying invasive mussels, making it the 35th and 36th mussel-fouled boats intercepted this year. This surpasses the total number of 35 mussel-fouled boats intercepted in 2020.

Fish, Wildlife & Park staff reminds anyone transporting motorized or nonmotorized boats into Montana that an inspection is required before launching, and stopping at ALL open watercraft inspection stations is required. Failing to stop at an inspection station can result in a fine of up to $500. Many residents of western states, including Montana, are buying boats out of the Midwest or southwestern U.S., where invasive mussels are common. The record number of interceptions is a reminder for people purchasing boats from other states to clean, drain and dry the vessel.

The North American Invasive Species Management Association (NAISMA) announces a new addition to its Certified Weed Free Products Program: weed free mulch. Many federal, state, and local lands require the use of certified weed free forage, gravel, or mulch on their properties because invasive plants or noxious weeds cause serious harm to the environment, agriculture, and the economy. Once introduced, weeds can be difficult to control and expensive to manage.

Today's announcement by federal agriculture minister David Littleproud to establish an office of environmental biosecurity will better prepare Australia to prevent and respond to new harmful pest, weed and disease invasions. The decision was announced today as part of a $138 million boost in investment for national biosecurity, including $7.6 million over five years to establish the office, headed by an Environmental Biosecurity Protection Officer, within the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources.

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”).

Partnering with a local Alaskan native community, the U.S. Forest Service has for the first time published a dual language booklet in English and a native Alaskan language, Yup'ik, to help educate the greater community in Southwestern Alaska on invasive species. This publication, Protecting Southwestern Alaska from Invasive Species: A Guide in the English and Yup'ik Languages, aims to explain invasive species concerns unique to Southwestern Alaska, which is home to a large community of the indigenous Yup'ik people.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced measures to prevent the further spread of aquatic invasive species in the Adirondacks. Changes to state Environmental Conservation Law became effective on June 8, 2022 and require motorized boat users to obtain certification that they have inspected and removed potentially harmful aquatic invasive species before launching in waters in, and immediately adjacent to, the Adirondack Forest Preserve. To learn more, see the New York State Watercraft Inspection Steward Program Handbook.

Plant Pest and Quarantine executives and trading partners from 13 Pacific Island countries are in Fiji this week to investigate ways to better prevent and control the introduction and spread of plant pests and diseases across country borders. To address such global issues, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) has drafted International Standard Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) which have been reviewed by countries, including the Pacific countries attending the three-day Regional International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Workshop which concluded yesterday.

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn announced that the department is launching an effort at nine state parks this summer to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, and get boaters involved in invasive species detection. "Boats, motors, and trailers have ideal hiding spots where species may attach, and be transported to new locations," Dunn said. "Boaters must be involved in helping us protect state park waters from invaders, to benefit our environment and avoid very costly measures to treat lakes once these non-native species take hold." Starting this week, DCNR staff will be doing voluntary boat and trailer checks at boat launches on park lakes, handing out informational brochures and demonstrating how to do an inspection.

People ship and receive packages using express courier companies—like FedEx, UPS, DHL, and others—all the time. But when the package includes an agricultural item, things could get dangerous for U.S agriculture and natural resources.

“You should know what could be hitchhiking in or on those items—invasive plant and animal diseases and pests,” said Dr. Mark Davidson, Deputy Administrator of USDA’s Plant Protection and Quarantine. “Once these threats enter our country, they could harm our crops, livestock, and ecosystems. Left unchecked, they could devastate entire agricultural industries, eliminating jobs, threatening our food supply, and costing billions of dollars in losses and response costs.”

This resolution addresses invasive species management and adds substantial new policy, including: a call to address the destructive relationship between invasive grasses and wildfires; mechanisms to enhance regional invasive species research, planning, and coordination; and recommendations to Congress and federal agencies on improving invasive species management on federal lands and supporting state-led management efforts.

WGA resolutions are in effect for three years and then expire or are renewed. See all current WGA Policy Resolutions.

A cargo ship was ordered to leave the U.S. waters after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists at the Port of New Orleans discovered invasive insects found in the wood used to secure its previous cargo offloaded earlier in Mexico.

The wood used to pack the aluminum shipment was found to be infested with five separate pests, two of which required action. Two of the pests discovered pose an agricultural threat to the U.S. They were positively identified by USDA entomologists as Cerambyciae and Myrmicinae.

A big way invasive pests can move from one location to another is through unregulated internet sales. We are seeing more and more of these sales, and it’s a real concern. Why? With normal commercial or retail sales, we can use techniques like quarantines and fumigation to make sure that purchased items are pest-free or don’t enter pest-free areas. But many times, sales on the internet do not follow these techniques, opening up the chance for invasive pests to move freely to new areas. APHIS' Smuggling, Interdiction and Trade Compliance Office looks for these types of sale offers online and stops them.

Stories of successes. Report highlights game changing advances in the prevention, eradication, and control of invasive species through investments in science and technology.

Citation: Holland, J.S., J.R. Kirkey, and J.K. Reaser. 2018. Protecting What Matters: Stories of Success. National Invasive Species Council (NISC) Secretariat. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC.