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All known feral swine have been eliminated from Colorado thanks to a near 15-year state and federal partnership comprised of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Wildlife Services (WS), the USDA Forest Service (FS), Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA). The partnership formed in the early 2000s as a task force to manage invasive feral swine, which root up crops and pastures causing billions in damage nationwide each year. Feral swine also spread disease to livestock, wildlife and humans. Ground-nesting birds and other wildlife are easy prey for feral swine. And the swine put native wildlife at risk by competing for resources and destroying habitats and ecosystems. 

You can help keep Colorado free of feral swine:

• Spread the word that in Colorado it’s illegal to possess, transport or release feral swine, wild swine species or hybrids.
• Report sightings of feral swine or transportation activities to USDA Wildlife Services at 1-866-4-USDA-WS (1-866-487-3297) or Colorado Parks and Wildlife at 303-297-1192.
• Get more information at the National Feral Swine Damage Management Program.

Fire-friendly grasses have invaded new habitats around the world. Five species (cheatgrass, cogon grass, gamba grass, molasses grass, and buffelgrass) are considered among the most problematic grasses, threatening to transform entire ecosystems.

Invasive non-native insects have been called the "wildfires of the East," given the damage they cause to trees. One pest, the emerald ash borer, has killed hundreds of millions of rural and urban ash trees. To help arborists and city planners track and treat potential outbreaks, U.S. Forest Service scientists seek efficient monitoring techniques.

Argentine black and white tegus have spread and established populations in and around Florida at a rapid and growing rate demonstrating critical implications for native wildlife, numerous natural areas, and even restoration efforts for Everglades National Park. UF scientists at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and partnering agencies have co-authored the “Growth and Spread of the Argentine Black and White Tegu Population in Florida” illustrating the depth and breadth of the tegu problem. The comprehensive fact sheet details the invasion of the species, the tegu population’s increase, impacts for wildlife and natural areas at stake, interagency goals and efforts to reduce the threat, and the implications of species expansion.

Fire ants cause significant harm not only to humans, but to the food we grow? Imported fire ants have invaded about 350 million acres in the U.S., and they cause approximately $8 billion in economic damages per year.

Learn more about what’s happening with this invasive species that has spread throughout the southern U.S., and what ARS is doing about it, as the Office of Communications launches a week-long fire ant campaign (June 22-28, 2024). ARS will feature videos, articles, and interviews with our scientists who are leading the fight against these tiny invaders.
See also: Fire ant articles in Tellus

ARS scientists are using a unique receptor interference technology that they have developed to target fire ants. The technology is environmentally friendly and can also be directed at other existing or emerging invasive pests to provide timely, cost-efficient pest control.

Cattle grazing on a nearly half mile wide targeted strip of cheatgrass near Beowawe, Nevada, created a firebreak that helped limit a rangeland fire to just 54 acres this past August compared to rangeland fires that more commonly race across thousands of acres of the Great Basin. This "targeted grazing" firebreak and eight others are part of an evaluation project being managed by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), partnering with other federal, state and local agencies and local cattle ranchers in Idaho, Nevada and Oregon. These demonstration sites are being studied so the concept's efficacy and environmental impacts can be uniformly evaluated and compared.

Cheatgrass, also known as downy brome, is an invasive annual that dominates more than 100 million acres of the Great Basin in the western U.S. Germinating each winter, cheatgrass grows furiously in spring and dies in early summer, leaving the range carpeted in golden dry tinder. The Great Basin now has the nation's highest wildfire risk, and rangeland fires are outpacing forest fires when it comes to acreage destroyed.

October is Firewood Month! Learn about firewood rules and how moving firewood hurts our environment and economy by spreading invasive species. Provides specific state information on their firewood regulations and recommendations (includes Canada and Mexico).

A cozy campfire for summer days, a warm fireplace for winter evenings– the use of firewood is an "established cultural norm". However, moving firewood from place to place can have devastating consequences, as it can spread forest pests that decimate forests to collectively cost an estimated $4.2 – $14.4 billion per year. In order to better address the problem of people moving firewood and vectoring forest pests, Solano and colleagues examined trends and gaps in the existing literature on firewood and human-mediated forest pest movement in North America. The existing literature demonstrates the risk of firewood movement, but fails to address the level of awareness the public has on such risks, or the level of effectiveness of firewood regulations to prevent forest pest spread.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists, in cooperation with Pacific Biosciences and Penn State University have successfully reconstructed the genome of spotted lanternfly, paving the way for understanding it's biology and behavior. Not only is it the first published genome for this pest, but no closely related species has had its genome sequenced, making the data even more important.

Hydrilla, considered one of the world's most invasive aquatic plants, has been detected for the first time in Michigan. The Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy confirmed two small populations of the plant in adjacent private ponds on residential properties in Berrien Springs in Southwest Michigan.

The small patches of hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) were discovered during routine monitoring following treatment for another invasive plant, parrot feather, which was found in the pond in 2020. Both species are prohibited in Michigan, meaning it is unlawful to sell, possess or import them into the state, and both are on Michigan’s invasive species watch list due to their potential environmental threat. Any suspicious aquatic plants should be reported as soon as possible to EGLE-WRD-AIP@Michigan.gov. Include close-up photos and provide the location of the detection in your report. More information on identifying and reporting invasive aquatic plants can be found at Michigan.gov/Invasives.

The Maine Department of Agriculture Conservation and Forestry (DACF) has recently verified the first known occurrence of mile-a-minute weed (Persicaria perfoliata) in Maine. This fast-growing invasive vine, native to India, Asia, and the Philippine Islands, poses a significant threat to nurseries, Christmas tree farms, reforestation projects, and restoration areas, as it can smother young plants and trees under its dense growth.

Invasive species like mile-a-minute weed have the potential to cause severe harm to Maine's environment and economy. As part of our commitment to controlling and eradicating this invasive plant, the DACF urges the public to report any potential sightings promptly. If you encounter a vine resembling mile-a-minute weed, please visit the Maine Natural Areas webpage for identification information. If the plant matches the description, we encourage you to take photos, note the location, and report the finding via email to Invasives.MNAP@maine.gov or call (207) 287-7545.

For the first time, scientists have tracked the movement of a wild bird known to be infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza in North America. The new research, led by the U.S. Geological Survey, can help improve estimates of when and where the virus could spread in the environment and to other birds.

Quagga mussels were found in the Snake River in September 2023. Immediately afterwards, Idaho Fish and Game assisted the Department of Agriculture in their evaluation of potential treatments to eliminate the mussels, and Idaho Fish and Game quantified the fish populations found in the six-mile stretch of river where the mussels were found, and where the treatment would occur. Biologists quickly learned that the treatment caused high mortality in certain species, while others survived quite well.

Research and commerce use a two-pronged ‘fork’ approach to deal with invasive fish. As many anglers know, carp are not welcome when found dangling from the hook. Classified by U.S. government as an invasive species and known colloquially as a “trash fish,” carp can take over and devastate every watery environment they enter. They’re not particularly well known in this country as good eating fish, either. To help curb the numbers of invasive fish, researchers and commerce are using a two-pronged ‘fork’ approach to deal with the invasive fish.

Over recent decades, globalization has led to an increase in the international flow of people and goods, bringing people together but also bringing together species that have never coexisted before. Species that are introduced and successfully colonize areas outside their natural ranges are considered ‘invasive’ and can have devastating impacts on species native to the region. Invasive species can cause the decline or extinction of native species, outcompeting them for food, water and space, preying upon them or introducing them to new diseases.

This week, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Division of Plant Industry (DPI), along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), announced the eradication of the giant African land snail (GALS) from Broward and Miami-Dade counties. This eradication announcement marks only the second time this pest has been eradicated in the world, both in South Florida. For the past 11 years, the FDACS Division of Plant Industry has worked toward eradication through multiple rounds of visual surveys and inspections, K-9 detector dog surveys and inspections, manual collection and treatment programs. In total, 168,538 snails were collected from 32 core population areas comprised of thousands of properties.

The giant African land snail is a highly invasive agricultural pest, known to feed on over 500 varieties of plants. They also pose a risk to humans and animals by carrying rat lung worm, a parasite that can cause meningitis in humans. Both the USDA and DPI will continue to remain vigilant in their commitments to safeguard American agriculture through surveys, early detection, and rapid response. The public should continue to watch for the snails and report suspects to the FDACS-DPI hotline at 1-888-397-1517.

At its February 2021 meeting, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved staff recommendations to create new rules to address the importation, breeding and possession of high-risk invasive reptiles. The approved rule changes to Chapter 68-5, F.A.C. specifically address Burmese pythons, Argentine black and white tegus, green iguanas and 13 other high-risk nonnative snakes and lizards that pose a threat to Florida’s ecology, economy, and human health and safety. For more information, see New Rules for Invasive Nonnative Reptiles.

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)

On Jan 10, 2020, the Florida Python Challenge™ 2020 Python Bowl officially kicked off in South Florida with more than 550 people registered for the competition to remove as many pythons from the wild as possible. Native to Southeast Asia, pythons pose a significant threat to Florida’s native wildlife. Under the direction of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) have teamed up with the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee and other partners to support the Committee’s Ocean to Everglades (O2E) initiative, which features the Python Bowl. It’s not too late! People interested in taking part in the Florida Python Challenge™ 2020 Python Bowl can still register at FLPythonChallenge.org.