Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers is an ANS Task Force public awareness campaign intended to educate the public on aquatic nuisance species (ANS) and stop or reduce unintended spread of ANS to new habitat by recreational activities such as boating, fishing, swimming, waterfowl hunting, SCUBA diving or snorkeling, windsurfing, seaplane operations, personal watercraft use, and recreational bait harvesting. This campaign is supported by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the U.S. Coast Guard.
What You Can Do
Selected Resources
The section below contains selected highly relevant resources for this subject, organized by source. To view all related content for this subject, click on "View all resources for subject" in the top left of this page.
Council or Task Force
Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force. Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers.
Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. Washington Invasive Species Council.
The most effective way to do away with an invasive species is to prevent it from establishing in the first place. WISE presents easy options for how you can prevent the spread of invasives. Be part of the solution!
Partnership
Great Britain Non-Native Species Secretariat.
The Be Plant Wise campaign, launched by Defra and the Scottish Government, is designed to raise awareness among gardeners, pond owners and retailers of the damage caused by invasive aquatic plants and to encourage the public to dispose of these plants correctly. We have developed resources with advice for gardeners and pond owners and are working closely with retailers of aquatic plants to provide information in stores. These pages contain the detailed information you need to Be Plant Wise.
TexasInvasives.org.
The Invaders of Texas Program is an innovative campaign whereby volunteer "citizen scientists" are trained to detect the arrival and dispersal of invasive species in their own local areas. That information is delivered into a statewide mapping database and to those who can do something about it. The premise is simple. The more trained eyes watching for invasive species, the better our chances of lessening or avoiding damage to our native landscape.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; USDA. Forest Service.
Interagency partners in Minnesota have launched PlayCleanGo, an education and outreach campaign for outdoor recreationalists. The goal is to encourage outdoor recreation while protecting valuable natural resources. The objective is to slow or stop the spread of terrestrial invasive species (those that occur on land) through changes in public behavior. See how you can take action and stop invasive species in your tracks.
Federal Government
USDA. FS. Invasive Species Program.
The documentary video, Defending Favorite Places, was produced on DVD as part of the National Invasive Species Threat Campaign. Linking invasive species management principles with the hunting and angling conservation ethic is critical as invasive species threaten the future of hunting and fishing.
DOI. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Welcome to the What You Can Do page of the USFWS Invasive Species Web Portal. Invasive species is a global problem and everyone can play a part in preventing the introduction and spread of invasive species. The goal of this section is to provide information for the general public, via USFWS content and links to existing information, on what they can do for invasive species prevention.
USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
This site can help you determine what items can be brought into the U.S. Bringing food and other items back from your travels could impact the health and safety of American agriculture and natural resources. For example, travelers cannot bring in most fresh fruits and vegetables because they can carry plant pests or diseases. Just one pest could devastate multiple agricultural industries.
State and Local Government
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Do you hike? Boat? Or camp? Check out these fact sheets for tips to reduce the chance of spreading invasives when you recreate on DCNR lands and in your own backyard.
Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Do you hike, ride, bird, camp, fish, or otherwise recreate in state parks, forests or wildlands? Lend YOUR eyes to help Maryland's biodiversity! The Maryland Natural Heritage Program designed Statewide Eyes to allow volunteers and researchers alike to collect more information about invasive plants on state lands quickly. Volunteers (like you!) use a free mobile application called the Mid-Atlantic Early Detection Network (MAEDN) to identify, photograph and map the location of invasive plants, focusing on ecologically significant sites.
Academic
University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.
See also: Georgia Invasive Species Task Force Publications for more resources