other realms – Page 6 – Center for Invasive Species Prevention

On the Road to Extinction, Invasive Plants Do Have Significant Impacts

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA — Lantana camarata

No studies have documented extinction of a native plant species caused by invasive ones. This has led to questions about whether invasive plants have truly significant impacts. (Of course, species extinction is not the only important impact).

These questions have been answered in a recent article by Paul Downey (of the Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra) and David Richardson (of the Centre for Invasion Biology at Stellenbosch University, South Africa). A link to the article is provided at the end of this blog.

Downey and Richardson argue that studies have documented instances of invasive plant species putting native plants on the path – or trajectory – to extinction. Furthermore, plants go extinct more slowly than animals, often over centuries. As result, current approaches to analyzing impacts of invasive plants underestimate the damage that non-native species cause because they assume extinction will not result.

The authors name six “thresholds” along the trajectory to plant extinction. Each is affected by invasive plants:

Plants die more quickly than they can be replaced by their offspring in some locations.
Plants disappear from some locations entirely, but seeds or spores remain that could regenerate a new cohort of individuals.
Some locations lose both individual plants and their propagules. This is a local extinction.
The last locations hosting a species lose their individual plants, but in some places seeds or spores remain in the soil.
The species is entirely lost in the wild with no individuals or propagules. The only survivors are held in botanic collections.
Extinction. The remaining plants are lost, and the remaining seeds or spores are no longer capable of becoming new plants.

By focusing purely on full extinction — step six — plant conservationists lose sight of the threats to species as they occur and accumulate at each stage of the process. Without such attention we fail to act on opportunities to protect the species and counter the wider impacts of its disappearance.

Downey and Richardson note that plant invasions affect each component of a plant species’ population dynamics: fecundity (seed production); death; immigration; and emigration (dispersal). Yet they could find no studies that have explored the effects of alien plants for all four components collectively.

A second explanation for scientists’ not documenting any extinctions caused by invasive plants is that it is extremely difficult to prove that every last individual or propagle of a plant species is dead . Many plant species have long-lived seed banks in the soil, or can regenerate from underground structures – so it is hard to know when that species is truly gone. This is especially true since seed banks are rarely monitored.

Furthermore, many of the conditions needed to demonstrate that alien plants have caused the extinction of native plant species have either not been measured, or have been examined for too short a time. The IUCN definition of extinction requires that data be collected over “a period that is appropriate for the life cycle of the species” (IUCN. 2014. Guidelines for using the IUCN Red List categories and criteria. Version 11. Prepared by the Standards and Petitions Subcommittee. Switzerland). Given the long persistence of plant species, the “appropriate period” exceeds the timeline almost all of even the few long-term studies in invasion ecology.

Downey and Richardson say that relying on changes in species richness to assess the impacts of alien plants will not adequately predict or describe the effects of invasion. Such analysis especially will not provide evidence for a species crossing from Threshold 1 to 2 or 3 . Indeed, they assert, collective species richness measures could mask losses of some species in instances where additional species are also recorded (i.e. the losses are off-set by additions).

The authors have found abundant evidence of invasive plants driving native plants along this extinction trajectory. They cite several examples of an invasive plant causing a “threshold effect” – that is, increases in alien plant cover or density result in decreased native plant species diversity or richness. They define this as the native species crossing from Threshold 1 to 2. Among the examples provided are several species in Australia and New Zealand and Lonicera maackii in the United States.

The authors also provide examples of species causing “extinction debts” – that is, a significant time lag between the introduction of an alien species initiating a native species’ movement along the trajectory and its actual extinction. One mechanism is by reducing native plants’ seed production. Again, Lonicera maackii is cited.

Downey and Richardson also note the potential downsides of invasive plant control measures.

In the end, the authors urge that scientists “… shift attention away from the end point of the extinction trajectory … to give due consideration of the full series of processes that drive declines of populations of native species.”

As Richardson has said in an interview with Oxford University Press, “… There is absolutely no doubt that alien plant invasions are eating away at native plant biodiversity. Many native plant species — probably HUNDREDS of species — are precariously close to being functionally extinct and survive as the ‘living dead’.’”

Source: Downey, P.O., D.M. Richardson. 2016. Alien plant invasions and native plant extinctions: a six-threshold framework. AoB Plants, 2016; 8: plw047 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plw047 ; open access, available at http://aobpla.oxfordjournals.org/

Posted by Faith Campbell

A Red List for Trees!

16 dead sweet bay + grp F.T. Campbell dead sweetbay, Florida Everglades

At the global level, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) is the recognized leader in conservation. Information from the IUCN’s Red List has been widely used to inform conservation policies and legislation, as a tool for environmental monitoring and reporting, and to prioritize areas for conservation action.

The IUCN is holding its World Conservation Congress in Honolulu during the first half of September. The several sessions focused on both invasive species and forests have been grouped into “Journeys”. The invasive species Journey schedule is available here. The schedule for the forest Journey is available here I don’t think either puts much emphasis on the year-old Tree Specialist Group.

Over the decades, the Union has increasingly engaged on plant conservation issues. The plants under consideration now include trees! There are multiple ways that you can be part of this important effort. Details are below. One of the efforts’ leaders assures me that the IUCN process will address tree species not yet “endangered” but under severe pressure – currently or virtually certainly in the near future – from established non-native insects and pathogens.

The IUCN has noted that trees have high ecological, economic, and cultural value. Forests are being converted or degraded by many human-related activities, including overharvesting, fire and grazing – to say nothing of climate change and non-native pests. Yet – the impacts of forest conversion and degradation on tree species per se are largely unknown. How many tree species qualify for a “Red List” category: extinct, critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable? (For a discussion of the criteria applied in assigning categories, go here.

(Of course, full-scale extinction or endangerment of a species is the extreme; ecological damage begins earlier and more locally, as the species declines as the result of a suite of pressures …)

The IUCN has formed a Global Tree Specialist Group to conduct a comprehensive conservation assessment of the world’s tree species, linked to IUCN’s Red List. The effort is being led by the Tree Specialist Group and the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). The group’s mission, underlying considerations and process are described in an article published in the Oryx article cited below.

IUCN has recently completed analyses of extinction risk in selected animal groups. They concluded that 14% of bird, 33% of amphibian, and 22% of mammal species are either threatened or extinct.

Preparing the same type of analysis for tree species will be more complicated. First there are many more plant species than ones in the selected groups of animals. Scientists don’t know the total number of extant tree species. One estimate is 60,000. If that estimate is in the ballpark, the status of approximately 84% of tree species has not yet been assessed. Assessments of tree species begun in the 1990s have resulted in approximately 9,500 species being included in one of the Red List categories. They represent slightly less than half of all plant species listed.

To achieve the goal of assessing the status of all tree species by 2020, organizers plan to adopt the approach used successfully in the recent assessments of vertebrate groups – mobilizing global data sets (which have become more numerous and easier to use) and hundreds of volunteer experts.

To start, the Group is focused on specific plant families with high numbers of trees, e.g., Aquifoliaceae, Fabaceae, Fagaceae, Lauraceae, Meliaceae and Myrtaceae. Combined, these families include more than 20,000 species. Assessments of Betulaceae and Ebenaceae have already started, led by BGCI and the Missouri Botanical Garden, respectively.

Project leaders hope to complete 5,000 more tree assessments – new or updates – during 2016.

What is Under Way

Other IUCN specialist groups are assisting in assessing the status of trees in various geographic regions or with particular human uses. The IUCN Plants for People initiative is already assessing timber, medicinal and crop wild relatives. The Crop Wild Relative Specialist Group has prepared draft assessments for over 90 woody species of Malus, Prunus, Pistacia and Mangifera. Specialist Groups and Red List authorities in South Africa, Brazil, and East Africa and several island groups are contributing.

A third focus will be tree species presumed to be most at risk from climate change, e.g., montane and island trees. IUCN Specialist Groups in Hawai`i, New Caledonia, Galapagos, Mascarene Islands, Fiji, and Madagascar are working.

The BGCI is making progress on assessing Europe’s non-coniferous trees. If you wish to help, contact Malin Rivers at malin.rivers@bgci.org.

In North America, the U.S. Forest Service hosted a meeting on “Gene Conservation of Tree Species” at the Morton Arboretum in Chicago in May 2016. Murphy Westwood facilitated a special session during which “listing” experts from IUCN, NatureServe, USFS CAPTURE Program, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service compared their assessment processes and discussed how data might be shared more efficiently. A goal of completing the IUCN Red List of North American Trees was agreed on. The Morton Arboretum will help coordinate the effort. To contribute please contact Murphy Westwood at mwestwood@morton.org.

One suggestion was to conduct an IUCN Red List assessment for the genus Fraxinus. Two ash species – one Asian, one Central American – are included in the IUCN Red List (although one needs to be updated). Jeanne Romero-Severson of Notre Dame University has offered to undertake assessments for green ash, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, and black ash, Fraxinus nigra. If you wish to help, contact Sara Oldfield at sara@saraoldfield.net.

(I think several other species also warrant IUCN assessment, including redbay Persea borbonia, tanoak Notholithocarpus densiflorus, and whitebark pine Pinus albicaulis)

This IUCN effort represents yet a fourth set of people examining tree-pest interactions – people integrated into traditional, internationally-focused conservation organizations. There are at least three other groups already involved: (1) forest pest experts in academia and government agencies, (2) people who focus on invasive species, and (3) phytosanitary officials. I think that these latter three groups already interact less smoothly than would be ideal. How can we all combine our efforts to enhance protection programs?

Might more of the scientists who work on insects and pathogens attacking tree species join the IUCN Tree Specialist group? Might organizers of meetings make a greater effort to engage people from all four silos in discussions of strategies? Might some virtual for a be established that could facilitate communication across the gaps – perhaps emphasizing the gap between invasive species experts and phytosanitary officials?

Finally, how can we use the new focus on tree species’ degree of endangerment to enhance efforts to prevent and respond to invasions by non-native insects and pathogens? How do we link these concerns to existing attention to the ecological and economic impacts – which begin to manifest long before a species qualifies as “endangered”. How can the various approaches reinforce each other?

SOURCES

Newton, A., S. Oldfield, M. Rivers, J. Mark, G. Schatz, N. Tejedor Garavito, E. Cantarello, D. Golicher, L. Cayuela, and L. Miles. 2015. Towards a Global Tree Assessment. Oryx, Volume 49, Issue 3, July 2015, pp. 410-415.

Explanatory information available at

https://www.bgci.org/plant-conservation/globaltreeassessment/

Click to access GTALeaflet%20FINAL.pdf

The GTSG Newsletter is apparently available only to those who are part of the IUCN network.

For more information, contact Sara Oldfield, Co-Chair GTSG, at sara@saraoldfield.net

Posted by Faith Campbell

European study buttresses case for revolutionary changes to phytosanitary system

rhododendron in Europe sickened by P. ramorum; photo from EPPO website

A recently published study by European researchers [Jung, T. et al. 2015] documents the failure of current European and global phytosanitary programs and calls for “a new holistic and integrated systems approach”. The authors specifically criticize Article VI.2 of the International Plant Protection Convention because it requires that a plant pest be identified and its risks assessed before a country may adopt a phytosanitary measures. The authors call this requirement “paradoxical” given the large number of potentially damaging plant pests that remain unknown to science.

The study focuses on the genus Phytophthora, which contains about 150 identified species and perhaps 500 species not yet identified by scientists. The identified species include plant pathogens which are responsible for more than 66% of all fine root diseases & more than 90% of all collar rots of woody plant species. Examples include the pathogens responsible for the Irish potato famine, sudden oak death, Port-Orford-cedar root disease, the die-off of many endemic plant species in Western Australia and damage to many other species in Europe and North America, and mortality and decline of oaks and alders across Europe.

The authors note that

Most of the ~150 currently known species and designated taxa of Phytophthora were unknown to science before they turned up in new environments on other continents as invasive aggressive pathogens of native plants.
Forty-four of the 64 Phytophthora taxa detected in the present study were unknown to science before 1990.
None of the 59 putatively exotic Phytophthora taxa detected in the present study had been intercepted at European ports of entry. (Some of these introductions are known to be recent; see UK reports on the 4^th P. ramorum lineage ) and P. lawsonii detections in the U.K., France and the Netherlands in 2010.)
In many cases, had a Phytophthora been detected, the detection would not have resulted in rejection of the shipment because only 5 Phytophthora species are regulated under European regulations.
Spread of the quarantine organism ramorum was not halted despite the presence of strict quarantine regulations.

I have written several times about the threat to U.S. trees and forests from insects and – especially – pathogens introduced via the trade in live plants; see Fading Forests II and III . Fading Forests II discusses the threat from unknown pests and the roadblocks to managing that threat raised by the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the implementing procedures adopted by the International Plant Protection Convention. Fading Forests III discusses USDA APHIS efforts to adopt more effective regulatory approaches through adoption of both international and regional standards (ISPM#36 and RSPM#24) and revision of its own Q-37 regulations.

Jung and his 65 (!) coauthors present some frightening facts about the situation in European nurseries and forest, landscape, and ornamental plantings:

They found a total of 68 Phytophthora taxa (species, informally designated taxa, and previously unknown taxa). 49 taxa were found in nurseries, 56 in forest and landscape plantings.
91% of the 732 nurseries analyzed had at least 1 Phytophthora taxon present; in the 101 infested nurseries in which more than 5 stands were tested, an average of 3.6 Phytophthora taxa per nursery were detected
66% of forest & landscape plantings had at least 1 Phytophthora taxon present
The majority of infested plants in nurseries did not display symptoms; the sampling methods for plantings relied to a large extent on symptoms, so the presence of symptomless plants could not be evaluated.
Hundreds of previously unknown Phytophthora–host associations were observed.
One or more of 19 Phytophthora which can attack native European or widely-planted trees and shubs were isolated from 84% of ornamental planted stands. Two such pathogens were detected in 11.8% of those stands.
In a single British ornamental and amenity planting, 15 different Phytophthora taxa were isolated from 33 different species and varieties of plants. Smaller numbers were isolated from smaller numbers of sampled plants in other countries.
The infestation rate for various types of plantings ranged from 94% for riparian plantings through 83.1% for horticultural plantings to 79.3% for forest plantings. About half of amenity and ornamental plantings had one or more infestations.
64% of oak plantings were infested by at least one Phytophthora species associated with decline of mature oak stands. Eight of the 9 plantings of Laurus nobilis in Spain and the UK hosted Phytophthora. Rates varied for other types of trees.
In total, 755 ornamental plantings of 281 broadleaved woody and herbaceous species were sampled in 8 countries. 45% had at least one of the 21 Phytophthora taxa known to damage a wide range of European and widely planted exotic tree and shrub species. About 10% of the tested stands had more than one.

As the authors state, their results clearly demonstrate that the vast preponderance of nursery stands across Europe are infested by a large array of Phytophthora species. Nurseries and other plantings relied on as sources of plants for afforestation and other outplantings are routinely infected by the most aggressive Phytophthora pathogens that attack the respective tree or crop species. The result is continuous high-frequency spread of these aggressive pathogens to planted forests and horticultural systems — and will inevitably result in their introduction to the wider environment.

They estimate that 4.8 million ha of the 6 million ha of new forests planted in Europe over the past 20 years are potentially infested by Phytophthora pathogens. Another 17.6 million ha of forests replanted after harvesting or fire were possibly established with Phytophthora-infested nursery stock.

Why has this happened? The authors note that under current nursery growing practices, individual plants often flow largely unregulated through several nurseries both within and between countries before being sold to a consumer. In addition, such common nursery practices as reusing containers, irrigating with unfiltered surface water or recirculated water, poor drainage and failure to remove dead plants and debris all contribute to establishment and spread of Phythothora. These same criticisms have been made by U.S. scientists – and incorporated into APHIS’ revised regulations for management of sudden oak death and the nursery-regulatory SANC program now being tested.

Is the situation equally bad in North America? Jung et al. cite several publications that cumulatively demonstrate high infestation rates of U.S. ornamental nurseries with at least 31 Phytophthora species. They say that the situation in forest nurseries is largely unknown.

Certainly both continents are at high risk of additional introductions. U.S. plant imports reached 3.2 billion in 2007 (Liebhold et al. 2012). I am unaware of a more recent calculation … In 2010, ten European countries cumulatively imported 4.3 billion living plants from overseas; almost all were imported first to the Netherlands. The principal source was Africa (3.6 billion). Asia shipped 456 million plants; North America 181 million; South America 81 million; Oceania only 2.4 million plants. Between 2007 and 2010, the volume of imported woody plants increased by 44%, and in 2010, the proportion of woody plants reached 20.8% of all imported plants. Only 3% of the imported consignments are subject to phytosanitary inspections.

As Jung et al. note, their study joins an ever-longer list of analyses that have concluded that current international plant health protocols based on random visual inspections for symptoms of listed quarantine organisms have failed and must be changed fundamentally. (See, for example, the writing of Clive Brasier and the Montesclaros Declaration.

Jung et al. call for adoption of a pathway regulation approach based on pathway risk analyses, and risk-based inspection regimes performed by an adequate number of skilled staff using molecular high-throughput detection tools. Nurseries wishing to ship plants internationally would have to comply with mandatory best practices. The requirements must be supported by rigorous enforcement and bold outreach campaigns. This approach would minimize the risks of further introductions and dissemination of both known and, even more importantly, unknown potential pathogens.

MY CONCLUSION

Revising the international phytosanitary regime will be difficult, requiring 170 countries to agree to amend both the World Trade Organization’s SPS Agreement and the International Plant Protection Convention. The difficulties will be not only political. Allowing countries to regulate unknown organisms that are potential pests will open a door to protectionist restrictions. The countries that wrote these agreements have long sought to block protectionist restrictions by requiring that phytosanitary measures be based on scientific analyses of specific risks.

However, as Jung et al. – and before them many others, especially Clive Brasier – have demonstrated, the current requirement that each pathogen be identified and its risk analyzed before regulations are adopted is counter to the scientific fact that most pathogens and arthropods are not known to science. The knowledge gap is many times greater when the question is how those microorganisms and arthropods will interact with millions of plant species if introduced to novel habitats.

Meanwhile, USDA APHIS has begun trying to close some of the regulatory gaps. In 2011 APHIS adopted regulations creating a temporary holding category, called “Not Authorized (for importation) Pending Pest Risk Analysis,” or NAPPRA. Now, APHIS has authority to temporarily prohibit import of certain types of plants, from specific countries of origin, that it considers to pose a particular pest risk. The temporary ban gives APHIS time to complete a pest risk analysis and then enact appropriate safeguards to ensure that imported plants will be as pest-free as possible. However, APHIS has been unable to utilize this new power. The agency proposed a second round of “NAPPRA” species in May 2013, but nearly 3 years later it has not finalized that action. Even if fully implemented, NAPPRA does not address the problem of unknown pests and pathogens.

APHIS has also proposed a major revision of its plant import regulations (called “Q-37”). This change would implement the IPPC standard on living plants (ISPM#36) and authorize APHIS to require foreign suppliers of plants to apply hazard identification and mitigation practices to ensure plants are pest-free. APHIS proposed this rule change 3 years ago, in 2013. Again, the change has not yet been finalized.

What You Can Do

Write to your member of Congress and Senators and ask them to urge the Secretary of Agriculture to finalize the two pending regulations – to add the second round of species to the NAPPRA list and to update the Q-37 regulations.

SOURCES

Jung, T. et al. 2015 “Widespread Phytophthora infestations in European nurseries put forest, semi-natural and horticultural ecosystems at high risk of Phytophthora disease” Forest Pathology. November 2015; available from Resource Gate

Liebhold, A.M., E.G. Brockerhoff, L.J. Garrett, J.L. Parke, and K.O. Britton. 2012. Live Plant Imports: the Major Pathway for Forest Insect and Pathogen Invasions of the US. www.frontiersinecology.org

Posted by Faith Campbell

New IUCN report notes invasive species threat to World Heritage Sites – Including U.S. National Parks

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has just released a report, IUCN World Heritage Outlook 2014 (for press release, click here; for the full report, click here)
that names invasive species as the second most significant threat World Heritage sites with outstanding natural values. (Poaching is the greatest threat).

World Heritage sites have “outstanding universal values” – either natural or cultural. Natural sites are areas either of exceptional beauty or representative of major stages of Earth’s history, significant ongoing ecological processes, or significant habitats for biodiversity and threatened species.

The 2014 assessment examined 229 natural World Heritage sites and found that 104 are affected by invasive species. Unsurprisingly, island sites are especially heavily impacted. Two-thirds of the affected island sites (24 out of 36) are in the tropics.

The most widespread or common invaders are plants; they are named in 55 of the 104 affected sites. Invasive vertebrate animals affect at least 12 sites. These frequently include fish (mostly trout), cats, and rodents (especially rats).

The report calls for effective management strategies to protect the World Heritage sites. Such strategies include well-defined plans as well as strict bio-security measures, including limiting materials entering the site or the eradication of problem-causing species. Ideally, these actions involve local communities. Among the 104 natural World Heritage areas affected by invasive species, 87 have management projects addressing at least some invasive species or related issues.

According to the report, future invasive species management will be even more challenging, especially because of climate change. Climate change, itself, could become the biggest threat to natural sites in future.

dead sweetbay in Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

The United States has 21 World Heritage sites. Nine were chosen for their outstanding natural values. These include the following National parks: Everglades, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Hawaii Volcanoes, Redwood, Yellowstone, and Yosemite National parks; and – jointly with Canada – Kluane / Wrangell-St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek and Waterton-Glacier National parks.

Several of these natural wonders are well known to be threatened by invasive species – including some tree-killing insects and pathogens.

Everglades National Park. In Everglades, pythons have decimated populations of small to medium native mammals. Lionfish are killing vast numbers of fish in the shallow bay. Numerous invasive plants, especially Australian pine, Melaleuca, Brazilian pepper, and old world climbing ferns transform the natural sawgrass prairie and mangroves. Some, e.g., Melaleuca, are under control thanks to persistent effort over decades.

Laurel wilt has almost eliminated swamp bay trees from the hammocks. Bromeliad weevil has killed many bromeliads in 12 genera (of the 16 present in Florida).

Tillandsia utriculata bromeliad in Florida

Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The outstanding biological diversity of the forested Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been severely undermined by chestnut blight, hemlock woolly adelgid, balsam woolly adelgid; and is now under attack by more recent invaders, including beech bark disease, emerald ash borer, and thousand cankers disease of walnut. Descriptions of all these pests are available here. At ground level, feral hogs damage plants, soil-dwelling invertebrates and small vertebrates, even birds. Rainbow trout compete with native trout in the streams. More than 380 non-native plants compete with the native species. The Park’s website features another invader, the Asian jumping worm (Amynthas agrestis), which has been introduced through bait.

The Great Smoky Mountains are the center of biological diversity for salamanders which are likely soon to face danger from the “Bsal” pathogen – unless the Fish and Wildlife Service acts to restrict imports of salamanders by the pet trade. See how CISP tries to counter this threat.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. As I wrote in my blog of October 7, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is fighting feral hogs, goats, and a plethora of invasive plants (the Park’s flora contains nearly twice as many exotic flowering plants as native species). The Park’s birds are threatened by two non-native diseases, avian pox and avian malaria. As noted in the earlier blog, Hawaii Volcanoes has also been invaded by koa wilt and `ohi`a rust; and is about to be invaded by `ohi`a wilt.

Web-based information from several parks in the western part of the continent focuses on the threat from invasive plants: Grand Canyon, Olympic, Yellowstone, and Yosemite. Redwoods National Park notes the damage caused by sudden oak death to its principal hardwood species, tanoak. Yellowstone National Park has a website describing its whitebark pine forests and mentioning that up to 30% of the taller whitebark pines have been attacked by white pine blister rust; I could find little information about the disease’s impact on the Park’s limber pines, which are also susceptible.

Yosemite National Park has a website with a table listing 16 non-native insects and pathogens that could threaten trees in the park. White pine blister rust is already present in the Park’s sugar pines. I am pleased to see that the website features goldspotted oak borer and the risk of pest introduction via firewood. I just wish Yosemite actually prohibited visitors from bringing firewood into the Park! And carefully restricted commercial suppliers! I addressed Yosemite’s failure to protect itself in my blog of 10 August.

The National Parks Conservation Association is the principal NGO that advocates for protection of the National parks. It issued a report in 2008 that found invasive species were a limited concern in 90% of the parks evaluated, a widespread or chronic concern in 38%. In Hawaii Volcanoes specifically, the natural resources were ranked in “poor” condition due primarily to non-native plants and animals.

Many individual parks have “Friends” groups ….

I ask these groups to help the National parks counter invasive species. To be effective, they need to go beyond the many volunteer “weed pulls” and outreach programs educating park visitors who might transport invasive species (for example, boaters and fishermen who can spread New Zealand mudsnails, rock snot, and invasive mussels; and campers who carry firewood that can transport pests). I ask them to also lobby for policies that would prevent invasions and for increase funding for the parks’ resource management programs (the programs that tackle invasive species). I suggest specifically that supporters of National parks advocate for improvements in programs run by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These agencies, more than any other, determine whether prevention succeeds or fails.

Posted by Faith Campbell