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See also: Other Publications and Reports

This funding guide includes information on DOI funding opportunities that could support projects that manage invasive species (e.g., prevention, detection, control/eradication, restoration). It is important to note that information is subject to change. All funding opportunities are subject to the availability of appropriated funds; a program that is listed may not offer funding in any given year. The guide is a starting point. Other DOI funding opportunities may exist that are not included here or that are broader in scope yet could be appropriate for invasive species management. This product helps to advance implementation of the DOI Invasive Species Strategic Plan by increasing awareness of Interior's financial assistance programs that may be available to fund invasive species management activities.
See also: DOI Invasive Species Coordination for related information

Pursuant to the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (Public Law 116-9), the Department of the Interior (Interior) has released the final Interior-wide invasive species strategic plan. The Act became law on March 12, 2019. Title VII Section 7001 of the Act directs relevant Secretaries to take actions concerning invasive species. This includes the development of a strategic plan (Plan) in coordination with affected eligible States, political subdivisions of eligible States, in consultation with federally recognized Indian tribes, and in accordance with the priorities of Governors of eligible States.

The Plan sets out a vision for effectively managing invasive species through collaborative conservation to protect our nation’s environment and natural and cultural resources; economy and infrastructure; and public health. It both reflects ongoing work by Interior and its partners and leverages opportunities to respond to emerging issues.  This Plan will guide Interior’s work on invasive species in the next five years.

Officials at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) announced in June 2017 that DOI would coordinate with the Western Governors' Association, states, tribes, federal agencies, and other partners in a project to help strengthen existing efforts to address invasive mussels. The actions described in the 2017 report, Safeguarding the West from Invasive Species, Actions to Strengthen Federal, State, and Tribal Coordination to Address Invasive Mussels [PDF, 1.3 MB], vary from policy and program reviews to on-the-ground efforts to prevent, contain, and control invasive mussels. One recommendation in Safeguarding the West was the development of a reference manual to facilitate rapid response activities in the event of mussel introductions in the Columbia River Basin. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently finalized and released this manual, Dreissenid Mussel Rapid Response in the Columbia River Basin: Recommended Practices to Facilitate Endangered Species Act Section 7 Compliance (Oct 2019) [PDF, 4.3 MB].

On Monday April 8, 2024, a total eclipse of the sun will be visible in a roughly 115 mile wide swath (called the path of totality) crossing North America as it passes over Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. Millions of travelers are expected to camp out over the weekend so they can be in the best viewing area on Monday to see the amazing spectacle of a complete solar eclipse. The Nature Conservancy is asking everyone that plans to use firewood for the solar eclipse celebration weekend to buy local firewood near their destination, bring packaged certified heat-treated firewood, or gather their firewood responsibly on site if permitted by the campground or landowner.

Provides great examples of consistency and thoroughness in their outreach on firewood and forest health.

The Michigan departments of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and Natural Resources confirmed a report of didymo, a nuisance freshwater alga, in a stretch of the Upper Manistee River in Kalkaska County. Also known as rock snot despite its coarse, woolly texture, didymo can grow into thick mats that cover the river bottom. The Manistee River finding marks the first detection of didymo blooms in the Lower Peninsula. In 2015, extensive mats of didymo were found on the Michigan side of the St. Marys River near Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula.

If you observe didymo in the water, either as small, cotton ball-sized patches or thick blankets with rope-like strings that flow in currents, take photos, note the location and report it by using the Midwest Invasive Species Information Network, available online at MISIN.MSU.edu or as a downloadable smartphone app. The MISIN smartphone app will take a GPS location point if a report is made at the site; it also will allow you to upload photos with a report. Find more information on didymo and how to identify it at Michigan.gov/Invasives.

See also: Ground Covers, Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Ornamentals Fact Sheets for more resources

Early detection and rapid response (EDRR) is a key tenet of invasive species management, where “detection” is the process of observing and documenting an invasive species, and “response” is the process of reacting to the detection once the organism has been authoritatively identified and response options have been assessed.

The NISC FY 2020 - FY 2022 Work Plans identified priority activities in the area of rapid response, including:

• Rapid Response – Tools and Lessons Learned: Support national level rapid response efforts by documenting tools and lessons learned. NISC White Paper (Oct 2022) -- Rapid Response to Invasive Species: Federal Agency Roles [PDF, 577 KB]
• Rapid Response Fund - Criteria and Considerations: Increase resource streams for rapid response to new detections of invasive species. NISC White Paper (May 2022) -- Federal Invasive Species Rapid Response Fund:  Criteria and Considerations for Establishment [PDF, 823 KB]

The University of Guam received another round of funding in September under the U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Protection Act for the surveying and monitoring of invasive pests of solanaceous crops that are on USDA’s Priority Pest List for 2021. Solanaceae, or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that include tomato, eggplant, and chili pepper. As part of the national effort this year, UOG was awarded $38,000 to survey and monitor for two pests: Tuta absoluta, which is a moth and type of leafminer capable of destroying an entire crop, and Ralstonia solanacearum race 3 biovar 2, which is a bacterium, known as a bacterial wilt, that infects through the roots and is deadly to plants.

The work through UOG better prepares the island to manage these invasive species if or when they arrive. "There are certain pathogens and insects that have a reputation of being really bad. These are two of them," said project lead Robert L. Schlub, a researcher and faculty member of UOG Cooperative Extension and Outreach with a doctorate in plant pathology. "They aren’t on Guam, but if they show up, we want to know so we can help get them under control."

U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2012–5162. The NPS I&M Program, in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Status and Trends Program, compiled this document to provide guidance and insight to parks and other natural areas engaged in developing early-detection monitoring protocols for invasive plants. While several rapid response frameworks exist, there is no consistent or comprehensive guidance informing the active detection of nonnative plants early in the invasion process. Early-detection was selected as a primary focus for invasive-species monitoring because, along with rapid response, it is a key strategy for successful management of invasive species.

The lighting of USDA's Jamie L. Whitten Building is part of Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month and United Nations International Year of the Plant Health Celebrations.

A worm is a worm is a worm, right? Except that there are more than 7,000 species of worms, and the longer you look, the more complex their world becomes. Earthworms compete. Earthworms invade. Earthworms… jump?

Harvesting and eating invasive plants may add a new dimension to “local foods.” Many invasive plants and animals started out as old world food that escaped from colonial gardens.

An Ecological Risk Screening Summary, or Risk Summary, provides a rapid evaluation of a species’ potential invasiveness. These evaluations give us, as well as our natural resource stakeholders and the public, a quick way to determine which species are most likely (high risk) and least likely (low risk) to cause damage if they spread outside of their natural range, and which ones have insufficient information to make such a determination (uncertain risk).
See also: Search the Ecological Risk Screening Summary (ERSS) Database