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The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) reports that invasive quagga mussels have been detected for the first time in Texas. The quagga mussel discovery was made by National Park Service (NPS) staff at the International Amistad Reservoir in the Rio Grande basin along the Texas-Mexico border near Del Rio. Quagga mussels are a close relative of the zebra mussel, which has invaded 33 Texas lakes across six river basins since it was first introduced in Texas in Lake Texoma in 2009. In addition to being the first detection of quagga mussels in Texas waters, this is also the first finding of any invasive mussel species in the Rio Grande basin.

TPWD and partners monitor for invasive mussels in Texas lakes, but anyone who finds them in lakes where they haven’t been found before should report them immediately by emailing photos and location information to AquaticInvasives@tpwd.texas.gov.

Financial resources available for quick containment or eradication of newly detected species. Recognizing the importance of timely action, the Department of the Interior is working with partners to identify, enhance, and collaborate on Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) activities, including the establishment of a Rapid Response Fund for aquatic invasive species.

Invasive aquatic species are known to be one of the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss, and their management especially in marine environments is incredibly challenging. To tackle this issue, the GloFouling Partnerships, led by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and in collaboration with the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA), World Sailing, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has published a new Biofouling Management for Recreational Boating Report [PDF, 13.4 MB]. The aim of the report is to stop the spread of invasive aquatic species which can adhere to hulls and other areas of recreational craft by addressing how to manage biofouling.

Both scientists and regulators have had a lot to say about the growing problem of herbicide resistance and how weed management techniques need to change in response. But there have been few organized opportunities for farmers to make their voices heard and to share their experiences in managing herbicide-resistant weeds.

The European Commission has adopted a comprehensive new Biodiversity Strategy to bring nature back into our lives and a Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system. The two strategies are mutually reinforcing, bringing together nature, farmers, business and consumers for jointly working towards a competitively sustainable future. The new Biodiversity Strategy tackles the key drivers of biodiversity loss, such as unsustainable use of land and sea, overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, and invasive alien species. The strategy proposes to, among others, establish binding targets to restore damaged ecosystems and rivers, improve the health of EU protected habitats and species, bring back pollinators to agricultural land, reduce pollution, green our cities, enhance organic farming and other biodiversity-friendly farming practices, and improve the health of European forests. The strategy brings forward concrete steps to put Europe's biodiversity on the path to recovery by 2030, including transforming at least 30% of Europe's lands and seas into effectively managed protected areas and bringing back at least 10% of agricultural area under high-diversity landscape features.

The Aquatic Invasive Species Commission and key partners received input from and engaged in dialogue with key stakeholders, federal and state decision makers, and leading experts. Recommendations focus on modernizing marine fisheries laws, making strategic investments, and improving collaboration among federal, state, local, and tribal agencies. The purpose of this collaborative process was intended to assess the current threat from aquatic invasive species (AIS), explore gaps in public policy and funding, and offer recommendations for how AIS can be addressed more effectively at the federal, state, tribal and regional levels.
See also: The new report Report and Recommendations: Improving the Prevention, Eradication, Control and Mitigation of Aquatic Invasive Species (Feb 2023) [PDF, 908 KB]

A new report has identified an international 'bug superhighway' capable of carrying a large variety of environmentally destructive overseas insects into Australia. The study, led by Monash University, rated the environmental harm being caused by 100 of the worst overseas insect species and recommends a string of actions to keep them out of Australia. The most dominant group of invasive insects by far are the hymenopteran insects – ants, bees and wasps – making them the world's most environmentally harmful invasive insect species.

"Our report found that environmentally harmful bugs, beetles, ants and moths are most likely to hitch a ride into Australia along an international bug superhighway made up of imported plants, nursery material and the timber trade," said report author Professor Melodie McGeoch from Monash University. The report identifies the international trade in cut flowers and foliage as a high-risk pathway for more than 70 of the species studied. Invasive Species Council CEO Andrew Cox said this is the first time Australian and international scientists have comprehensively analysed which invasive insects overseas are doing the most environmental harm and could therefore threaten Australia's natural environment if they breach the nation's borders.

Widespread sampling for invasive crayfish had never occurred in Kansas lakes – that is, until the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) recently funded a university project focused on the freshwater crustacean. KDWP's Aquatic Nuisance Species Program and Ecological Services section funded the project with the overarching goal of establishing sampling protocols that could then be used for long-term monitoring of both native and invasive crayfish in Kansas. During capturing efforts at McPherson State Fishing Lake – one of several small waterbodies slated to be inspected in the state – university researchers collected multiple Rusty Crayfish. Rusty Crayfish have not previously been documented in the wild in Kansas, making this official "discovery" the first of its kind.

Anglers, boaters and watersport enthusiasts are encouraged to keep their eyes open for this invasive species, which can be identified by its trademark large, black-tipped claws and rust-colored spots on its upper shell. If one is discovered, freeze it in a sealed plastic bag, note the date and location of capture, and contact KDWP's Emporia Research and Survey Office at (620) 342-0658.

North American beavers have wiped out 30 percent of forests along rivers and streams in Tierra del Fuego, a remote archipelago at the southern tip of South America, causing the greatest landscape change to these fragile forests in the last 10,000 years. It’s no surprise, then, that the governments of Chile and Argentina want the invasive beavers gone. But eradicating them has proven to be difficult, researchers found, because it requires the participation of every single landowner in the area.

The $900,000 grant will help Virginia Tech researchers see if the spotted lanternfly can help spread a fungus that kills the tree-of-heaven. The goal of the grant is to develop a native fungus as a biocontrol for the tree-of-heaven. Researchers are investigating whether the spotted lanternfly could help transmit the fungus from tree to tree, reducing the need for human intervention.

The Lionfish Challenge 2022, the seventh annual, is a summer-long tournament that rewards divers for their lionfish harvests. The tournament boasted a total of 707 registered participants, the most in the program’s history. 196 divers conducted a total of 676 trips throughout the state during the 3-month tournament and brought in a whopping 25,299 lionfish.

The Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is asking Rhode Islanders to monitor their beech trees for signs of leaf damage from Beach Leaf Disease (BLD). Early symptoms of BLD include dark striping on the tree's leaves parallel to the leaf veins and are best seen by looking upward into the backlit canopy. Drastic leaf loss occurs for heavily symptomatic leaves during the growing season and may appear as early as June, while asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic leaves show no or minimal leaf loss. BLD was detected in the Ashaway area of Hopkinton, Rhode Island, in 2020 and in coastal Massachusetts. Before these findings, the disease was only known to be in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut.

Because of the seemingly random nature of disease in Rhode Island, DEM encourages homeowners and forest landowners to monitor their beech trees and report any suspected cases of BLD on DEM's Invasive Species Sighting Report webpage. Although BLD is relatively new in the U.S. and information is limited, links to additional information about the disease and photos are posted on the Division of Forest Environment's Current Threats page. If people have further questions, they should contact a licensed arborist or email Nancy Stairs, forestry program supervisor in DEM's Division of Forest Environment, via Nancy.Stairs@dem.ri.gov.

The Port of San Diego, along with the Southern California Caulerpa Action Team (SCCAT), the City of Coronado, and the Coronado Cays Homeowners Association (CCHOA), are responding to the discovery of an invasive seaweed scientifically known as Caulerpa prolifera in the Coronado Cays area of San Diego Bay.

In late September, divers found a small patch of Caulerpa prolifera while conducting an in-water pre-construction eelgrass/Caulerpa dive survey as a permit condition for a dock replacement project. Additional patches were discovered nearby during follow-up surveys. The total find within the Cays is about one-quarter of an acre. The SCCAT has prepared a Rapid Response Eradication Plan to address the immediate need to eradicate this invasive species.

Today, Environment Minister Dustin Duncan introduced the Government of Saskatchewan’s new Aquatic Invasive Species Strategy during an address to the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation’s (SWF) annual convention in Weyburn. The new framework is designed to help the province prevent, address and manage aquatic invasive species (AIS) threats. The ministry and the SWF are partners on the province’s AIS Task Force – which focuses on additional education and monitoring activities – along with other government agencies, conservation groups, non-government organizations and universities. "This strategy emphasizes the need for collaboration and co-ordination with provincial and federal government agencies, non-government organizations and neighbouring jurisdictions to prevent the introduction and spread of high-risk aquatic invasive species," Duncan said. 
See also: Aquatic Invasive Species Strategy for information about AIS and fishing

ITP is pleased to announce that Sawfly GenUS is now complete. Developed in cooperation with the Washington State Department of Agriculture, Sawfly GenUS is an interactive identification tool for all sawfly genera found in the United States and Canada. This tool is intended to help recognize exotic sawfly introductions and provide access to general information on affected plants, range, and diversity of these insects. This tool should be useful for port identifiers and screeners, provincial and state departments of agriculture, university extension professionals, and any non-expert with an interest in sawflies.

For more than 30 years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has worked with Vermont and New York to control this invasive species and protect Lake Champlain. Fortunately, sea lamprey woundings are now at an all-time low.

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources officials are warning anglers that if the invasive Northern snakehead fish is caught in the Palmetto State, anglers should kill it immediately and by all means NOT release it back into the water. In early October, a Georgia angler reported catching a Northern snakehead, an aquatic invasive species, in a pond located on private property in Gwinnett County, Ga. This is the first time the Northern snakehead has been confirmed in Georgia waters. In the Southeast, Northern snakeheads have also been found in North Carolina and Florida. If you believe you have caught a Northern snakehead:

• DO NOT RELEASE IT
• Kill it immediately (remember, it can survive on land) and freeze it.
• If possible, take pictures of the fish, including closeups of its mouth, fins and tail.
• Note where it was caught (waterbody, landmarks or GPS coordinates).
• Report it to the SCDNR by calling 1-800-922-5431.

The plot could have come from Hollywood — an insidious alien invader threatens to overrun the land, but intrepid scientists discover a secret weapon in the far-off, exotic land of Nepal and bring the pestilence to heel. But this is not fiction; it's true. The air potato plant (Dioscorea bulbifera) is an exotic vine from Asia that was introduced to Florida about 115 years ago to make medicine. After escaping from the lab, it multiplied and smothered native plant communities in all of Florida's 67 counties. It spread beyond to large swaths of land in the southeastern United States. All attempts to manage the air potato – mechanical, chemical, or physically gathering the bulbils — were unsuccessful; they were either too labor intensive and costly or caused collateral damage to native and endangered species. According to Min Rayamajhi, a plant pathologist at the Agricultural Research Service's (ARS) Invasive Plant Research Laboratory (IPRL) in Fort Lauderdale, FL, the vines return every season, repeating the growth cycle and expanding the invasion at a rate of about 6 inches per day. Rayamajhi and retired ARS scientist Bob Pemberton traveled to Nepal and accidentally discovered the air potato beetle.