National Management Plan Maps Strategy for Controlling Invasive Species

AIBS Washington Watch, February 2001

Beth Baker

In January, the high-level National Invasive Species Council (NISC) unveiled its first National Management Plan, aimed at preventing and controlling the spread of nonnative plants, animals, and microbes. "The National Management Plan is very significant," says Chris Dionigi, NISC assistant director for domestic policy, science, and cooperation. "It provides a workable blueprint for coordinated action."

Second only to habitat loss, invasive species pose the greatest threat to the survival of native biota in the United States and other countries, according to NISC. The cost to the nation is estimated at $125 billion annually. Moreover, nearly half the species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act are vulnerable to competition or predation from nonnative species.

In 1997, 500 scientists and resource managers signed a letter to the Clinton administration, sharing their concerns about the threat of invasives and urging heightened federal action to deal with the problem. In response, President Clinton signed an executive order creating NISC in 1999. The council, which is housed in the Department of the Interior, is made up of eight cabinet secretaries, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, and the heads of the National Science Foundation and the US Agency for International Development.

NISC was charged with releasing a national management plan (NMP) every 2 years to guide education, research and action efforts. "This first one [NMP] is a good diagnosis of the situation we�re in," says David M. Lodge, professor of biology at University of Notre Dame, who chairs the Invasive Species Advisory Committee. "I�m optimistic that it will lead to much more effective federal coordination, leadership, and resources, particularly in the area of prevention."

The advisory committee, made up of scientists, government agency staff, environmentalists, and industry stakeholders, was deeply involved in developing the plan. In addition, NISC solicited public comment.

To succeed, the plan depends on a considerable amount of research, Dionigi says. Such basic questions as why particular habitats are prone to invasion need to be answered.

An important new line of inquiry is how to prevent invasions. "If you look at the way in which research on invasive species has happened in the past, it�s been largely reactive to invasions," Lodge says. "While that�s very valuable, we need to add a whole other type of research that will inform efforts to prevent species from establishing."

For example, some researchers are developing risk assessment methods to predict which species are likely to invade and what problems they will cause. Sarah Reichard, a researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle who also serves on the advisory committee, has developed statistical models for terrestrial plants, which show strong associations between certain plant characteristics and invasiveness. In Lodge�s lab, researchers are developing similar models for fishes in the Great Lakes.

Among the many other areas of research identified in the National Management Plan are investigations into the consequences of invasions on ecological, agricultural, economic, social systems and the health of animals and humans; and development of environmentally sound ways to control invasives.

A cautionary note in the plan is a familiar one�lack of funding. NISC has no money to support its ambitious research goals, let alone the rest of the National Management Plan.

By FY 2003, NISC will develop a "crosscut budget" to determine where the various agencies are spending money on invasive species. The budget will include an initiative to adequately fund federal research programs. "We�re certainly working to increase the awareness and understanding of the problem," Dionigi says. "Whether that results in greater resources for research, I can�t say."

Lodge finds reasons to be optimistic. For one, NSF was recently added to the council. "The importance of that cannot be overstated as far as increasing funding for research," he says.

For another, there is a growing awareness among many interest groups about the threat of invasives. "In the advisory committee, there�s a good spirit of cooperation and a recognition from all parties that invasive species are a very serious environmental problem," Lodge says. "It�s been encouraging that there�s a willingness from academic researchers and industry representatives to talk together about how we can approach issues that have long been very thorny."

This broad range of interest groups could translate into a strong constituency to pressure Congress to increase funding for research on invasive species. On the legislative front, Senator Larry Craig (R�ID) reintroduced the Harmful Nonnative Weed Control Act (S. 198) to battle noxious weeds, many of which are spreading from federal lands to private property. In addition, legislation to battle aquatic pests, such as zebra mussels, is up for reauthorization this year.

To learn more, and to see the full text of the National Management Plan, visit the NISC Web site at www.invasivespecies.gov.

Beth Baker is a freelance writer based in Takoma Park, Maryland.

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