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The Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) announced today that they expanded the spotted lanternfly quarantine to include all portions of New Castle County north of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. This is due to recent detections of established populations outside of the initial quarantine zone enacted in February 2019 that included eleven zip codes. "This expansion is necessary in our attempt to eradicate, control, and prevent the spread of spotted lanternfly in Delaware and to surrounding states," said Secretary of Agriculture Michael T. Scuse. The spotted lanternfly is a destructive invasive plant hopper that attacks many hosts including trees, shrubs, orchards, grapes, and hops. For more detailed information regarding the quarantine, permitting, treatment, or to report a sighting of spotted lanternfly, visit the Delaware Department of Agriculture’s dedicated spotted lanternfly webpage or call the dedicated spotted lanternfly hotline at (302) 698-4632.

See also: Maryland Invasive Plants Prevention and Control for more information about the Maryland Invasive Plant Regulations

At a ceremony today, USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach declared the United States free of plum pox virus. Under Secretary Ibach signed a proclamation marking this historic announcement. "Today, our 20-year fight against plum pox disease is officially over,” Under Secretary Ibach said. “Working with our partners, we’ve eliminated this disease and protected the United States’ $6.3 billion stone fruit industry." Plum pox is a serious disease impacting stone fruit such as plums, almonds, and peaches. No other countries where plum pox disease is known to occur have successfully eradicated the disease. The disease was first detected in Pennsylvania in 1999.

Feral swine are an invasive species which cause extensive damage to crops, property, and the environment. They are also known to carry over 30 diseases and 37 parasites that can be transmitted to livestock, people, pets, and wildlife. When feral swine are sighted in North Dakota, the State Board of Animal Health should be notified immediately. Attempts will be made to identify whether the swine are truly feral or if they are escaped domestic swine which are private property. Individuals who encounter feral swine should not destroy them unless they encounter feral swine on their own property and there is a threat of harm or destruction of property. As soon as possible following destruction of the animal, but always within 24 hours, the individual must notify the State Board of Animal Health (BoAH) at 701-328-2655.

Spotted lanternfly is a threat to Maryland and the U.S. The Maryland Department of Agriculture issued a quarantine October 28, 2019 in an effort to contain the invasive species in Cecil and Harford counties after the spotted lanternfly was spotted in Cecil’s northeastern corner and along Harford’s northern border. See additional resources on the Maryland Department of Agriculture's site for Spotted Lanternfly for up-to-date information.

For questions related to the quarantine, permitting, treatment, or to report a sighting of the spotted lanternfly, especially outside of the quarantine zone, call 410-841-5920 or email DontBug.MD@maryland.gov. If you report a spotted lanternfly via email, please provide the location of the sighting and your contact information.

In 2019, the Alaska Office of the State Veterinarian, in collaboration with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the University of Alaska, began the Alaska Submit-A-Tick Program. Through this program, individuals who find ticks on themselves, their family members, pets, or wildlife (e.g. hunted or trapped animals) can submit ticks for species identification and pathogen testing. Researchers are asking Alaskans to submit ticks to help determine which tick species are currently in the state. Tick submissions will also help us learn more about how ticks are being imported into Alaska so that we can create effective strategies to limit their introduction. Ticks can transmit bacteria, parasites, and viruses that can cause diseases in humans and wildlife. Pathogen testing allows us to assess tickborne disease risk in the state.

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 Great Lakes Fishery Commission today reported that populations of the invasive, parasitic sea lamprey remain at near-historic lows, below targets, in Lakes Michigan and Ontario, and above target, but holding steady, in Lakes Huron, Superior and Erie. Sea lamprey populations in Lake Huron are close to target levels and have been holding steady for the past five years. Abundances in Lakes Superior and Erie remain above target but have also decreased significantly since the near-record highs observed in 2017. Sea lampreys are the worst of the alien species to invade the Great Lakes. Before control, sea lampreys destroyed many times the human fish catch. Today, sea lamprey control is the foundation of the $7 billion Great Lakes fishery. The Commission and its partners are encouraged by the overall decrease in abundance of sea lampreys throughout the Great Lakes basin during 2019, but caution that environmental conditions, such as a prolonged spring and high precipitation events, contributed to the decrease.

The mission of RiversEdge West (formerly the Tamarisk Coalition) is to advance the restoration of riparian lands through collaboration, education, and technical assistance. One of the most challenging aspects of conducting restoration work can be acquiring and maintaining adequate funding to support the full spectrum of restoration efforts. To that end, RiversEdge West has developed a variety of tools intended to help practitioners secure funding to support this work.

The Mid-Atlantic Panel on Aquatic Invasive Species (MAPAIS) is offering a small grants competition to encourage interested groups and individuals to submit proposals for possible funding.

The commission funds projects submitted to the Fishery Research and Sea Lamprey Research Programs ranging from U.S.$20,000 to U.S.$100,000 per year (average approximately U.S.$55,000) that generally run for 3-4 years. For more information, review the current call for proposals. Projects that meet particular criteria can also be funded as pilot projects or through the Technical Assistance Program or Technical Assistance for Fisheries Research.

In 1997, the Colorado Legislature established the Colorado Noxious Weed Management Fund to provide additional financial resources for on-the-ground noxious weed management. Organized private interests, conservation districts, municipalities, and counties have been eligible to apply for assistance provided that awarded funds are used to enhance weed management efforts within the State of Colorado.

The Invasive Plant Management Section funds scientific research projects at Florida's universities to improve the state's invasive plant management programs by finding more cost-efficient control techniques and also insuring these control methods are effective, safe, and environmentally compatible.

The primary purpose of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture's (ISDA's) noxious weed cost share grant program is to accelerate the attack on invasive weeds by supplementing local funds and resources, not replacing them. Cost sharing is also intended to provide additional incentives for local landowners, officials, and citizens to work collaboratively to develop a more comprehensive and effective noxious weed management program.

Courtesy boat inspections are the cornerstone of the state's invasive aquatic species prevention program. Limited funds are available for locally initiated CBI programs. Grants up to $2000 are available to municipal and county governments, quasi-municipal organizations (including water districts) and 501C(3) eligible organizations such as lake associations. The State of Maine also uses a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to solicit applications for plant control work.

Grants are available to assist with prevention, detection, eradication and control of terrestrial and aquatic invasive species in Michigan. Each grant program has specific goals, eligibility requirements and application deadlines.

Counties, municipalities, and weed management entities (including weed management areas) may apply for grants to address noxious weeds and invasive plants, with priority given to species on the noxious weed list. This grant request is not to be confused with the Cooperative Weed Management Area (CWMA) grant program administered by the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR).

Funding programs include Forest Health Monitoring Program, Evaluation Monitoring (EM), Special Technology Development Program (STDP), Forest Service Pesticide Impact Assessment Program (FS-PIAP), and Biological Control of Invasive Forest Pests (BCIFP).