The spread of invasive species remains one of the nation’s and the Refuge System’s most pervasive threats to ecological integrity and resilience. Climate change is likely to exacerbate the threat. Currently, the Refuge System is focused on controlling large, well-established infestations rather than pursuing early detection and complete eradication of smaller incipient populations. More emphasis on prevention and early detection and rapid response may be a more efficient and effective strategy in the long term.
In implementing Fulfilling the Promise, the Refuge System developed a strategic plan for invasive species. From that came development of invasive species strike teams to provide rapid response capability in certain areas. They have proved highly effective. A cooperative effort with the National Wildlife Refuge Association developed a volunteer and invasive species program, in which volunteers undertake early detection and mapping. The Service has worked with programs to eradicate rats and restore bird nesting colonies on a number of islands.
Recommendation: Update the Refuge System’s invasive species strategy to include implications of climate change and determine clear priorities and performance measures to guide future work.
Recommendation: To leverage limited federal funding resources available to wildlife refuges and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, mobilize 10,000 volunteers over the next 10 years to map, inventory and eradicate invasive species on wildlife refuges.
Comment below and/or move on to the next sub-section of Chapter 2 – Wilderness Stewardship
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The NWR system needs to fully engage in invasive species. A volunteer program is not going to cut it. Invasive species at many Refuges is much bigger than that. A program similar to the fire program is needed with funding and personnel. And much more involvement in research and exchange of information. There is no need for each individual Refuge to spend years trying to figure out what works best and safest. I am not looking for a bunch of money to be thrown at the program all of a sudden, but develop a well run, organized, well communicated, funded program.
1. I encourage you to read Toby Hemenway’s article on Invasive Species: “Native Plants: Restoring to an Idea” http://patternliteracy.com/nativeplantsres.html He makes some good points. Although I don’t agree with all his assumptions & conclusions.
2. IMHO the best way to deal with invasive plants long-term is through public education. If I were king, I would do the following:
- Offer a free training/certification program for identifying invasive plants in your area.
- Make some green flagging tape that says “Please remove this invasive plant” with a checklist of the most common invasives in your area, and a URL to a website with information on combating every type of invasive plant in every part of the country.
- Give the tape to the people who’ve been certified. Ask them to keep it with them when they are out in their neighborhood or the woods – along roadsides or trails. When they spot an invasive that is likely to “infect” that area, they stop, check the appropriate plant name on the flagging tape, and attach a piece of it to the plant.
- This would do several things: 1) it would help other people who drive/bike/walk by that place to learn what that invasive plant looks like; 2) it would let the landowner know that they are being a bad neighbor by allowing that plant to grow on their land; and 3) it would provide the landowner with the information they need to get rid of it.
I am very concerned with the problem of invasive species. I see the terrible problems snakes have caused in the Florida wetlands, how they are multiplying at a fantastic rate and are overtaking local species. I am forever horrified by an online picture of a dead large snake which had swallowed a gator whole, thus splitting open from the effort. Invasive specie control needs to be an aggressive program, whether through volunteers or agency employees, these animals need to be captured and returned to their native environment or euthanised, their breeding activity curtailed and severe penalty instituted for people who violate the law concerning import of non-native species. If the current law does not cover these animals then the government needs to establish ones that do. Owners of animals that are not native and would damage a local ecosystem if in the wild need to be held responsible and those animals removed. Consequences should extend to anyone who knew these exotic were being illegally held and did not report them. The time has passed for easy handling of invasive species and the people who carelessly bring them into an environment.
Having once worked as a Biological Science Technician spraying and removing invasive plants for another Federal land agency, I know that unfortunately that once an invasive species problem is identified and a strike team is sent to deal with the problem, it is most likely too late to completely remove the invasive species. While using strike teams are helpful, the best methods are prevention and early detection. Prevention must start at the airports and seaports using FWS and other federal personnel to stop invasive plants and animals from entering the U.S. The FWS must also be a vocal proponent and partner in preventing the importation of new plant and animal species into the U.S. until they are proven in quarantine that they will without a doubt not become invasive. Prevention and early detection at the refuge level involves education; educating neighbors about plants and animals that they may release on their property could become a huge problem on the refuge, and educating visitors who often discover invasive species before FWS staff members ever do. Innovative training and educational materials need to be developed and improved at the regional and national level to help refuge staff educate their visitors and neighbors, and develop volunteers groups who can help out at their refuge. This education can also be done with local public meetings and signage. If there isn’t one already, a national program about preventing invasives from entering refuges on boats should also be implemented.
The impacts of invasives is hugh and control just within boundaries of a refuge seems shortsighted. I would recommend that this subject be given the same thought and energy as fire has.
I don’t really feel the urgency in this section that I know exists on our refuges. If our future budgets continue to decline, refuges are going to have to decide if they are going to do ANY invasive species identification, mapping, control, and public education. It is not feasible to do all of this with volunteers, as it takes a lot of training and coordination to manage volunteers, and we do not have the staff to support them. If our budgets are cut to the bone, will we still be working on invasive species control? I hope so, and would like this section to convey that message more forcefully!
The brevity of this section indicates a lack of interest, at least at the higher levels within the agency. As several of the earlier commenter’s noted, the problem is way beyond a volunteer work force. The sentence in the first paragraph – “More emphasis on prevention and early detection and rapid response may be a more efficient …” should be much stronger, stating that such an approach most definitely is more efficient. All evidence, from published literature to agency publications, supports a stronger statement.
I agree Carl- they lack interest as Salazar is a cattle rancher and MILLIONS of WELFARE CATTLE are the main cause of noxious weed explosion on our public lands and graze on public lands and on OUR LANDS managed by the USF&WS also. So their plan is to mobilize an army of volunteers to clean up the massive damage caused by subsidized welfare cattle / sheep grazing ? How about holding all those responsible to clean up their mess ? Those responsible would be BLM & USFWS and WELFARE CATTLE/SHHEEP RANCHERS whose destruction of our land, soil, water, wildlife, native plants and are the cause of noxious weed explosion.
There should be a Federal Invasive Species Database – including the NWRS – and a national process to help determine priorities for fighting invasives.
Invasive species are both plants and animals. In many areas of the southeastern U.S., nuisance feral pigs are destroying large amounts of native habitats and displacing native wildlife. The USFWS should direct NWR staff to work with state agencies on cooperative management plans to educate the public about the problem and to work to eradicate hogs on both public and private lands.
The FWS has provided a critical leadership and supporting role in establishing and maintaining a watershed-shed wide regional invasive species management area for the Sudbury-Assabet-Concord basin. The group, formerly launched in May 2009, has 32 member organizations including the National Park System, state agencies, municipalities, private land trusts, and important non-profits, such as Mass Audubon and the New England Wild Flower Society. The SUASCO CISMA has been the recipient of grants totaling over $110,000, including PTI and private grantors, such as the Sudbury Foundation. Through this funding, member organizations have been able to share resources and complete on-the-ground control projects of invasive species involving membership collaborations and thousands of hours of volunteer time.
The continued success of this group, which has been building significant interest and momentum, depends on the continued involvement of the FWS. Members can be so much more effective in their efforts to control invasive species with the resources and collaborations made possible by the CISMA.
Lynn Knight
Vice Chair
SUASCO CISMA Steering Committee
This group, called the SUASCO Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA), has implemented successful early detection/rapid response team, including community volunteers from each town in the watershed. Other efforts include on the ground sharing of equipment, information, best practices, leveraging resources, multiple species mapping and monitoring efforts
The SUASCO CISMA could not have formed and continued to move forward without leadership support, staff time and field expertise of from the Eastern MA Complex of the MA National Wildlife Refuge System of the US FWS. They have been key to our success.
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