On the edge of the Grand Canyon, the Hualapai Tribal Council and the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher have the same problem: native plant communities are being overrun by a tenacious exotic tree called saltcedar.

For the flycatcher, this means a loss of vital habitat. For the Hualapai, this means a loss of plants important for food, medicine, crafts and religion.

This scenario is playing out across the country. A host of exotic plants and animals flourish today, causing severe ecological damage. More than 30,000 non-native species live in the United States and account for over $123 billion a year in economic losses, according to a recent study by ecologists at Cornell University.

“These species arrive in a variety of ways and once here have no natural predators to keep their populations in check, allowing them to spread rapidly,” said Sharon Gross of the Division of Fisheries. Gross is a coordinator for the multi-agency Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force.

The problem has become so prevalent that on February 3, 1999, President Clinton signed an executive order aimed at preventing the introduction of invasive species, providing for their control, and minimizing their economic, ecological and human impacts.

As a component of their habitat restoration efforts, the Service’s Coastal and Partners for Fish and Wildlife programs have been working to manage exotic species. Partners for Fish and Wildlife provides financial and technical assistance to private landowners to help them restore degraded wildlife habitat on their property.

The Coastal Program is a cooperative effort with other federal agencies, state and local governments, land trusts and private partners to protect and restore coastal habitat on private and public lands.

In many cases, restoration projects involve removing or managing exotic species. Examples of the work of both programs include:

• Working with the Hualapai Tribal Department of Natural Resources to remove saltcedar and restore the native vegetation in Arizona.

• Working with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife on the monitoring and management of the European green crab.

• Controlling melaluca, Brazilian pepper, Australian pine and many other damaging species in Florida.

• Working to reestablish native fish species in Maine that have been affected by landowners to develop and implement a cooperative, integrated approach to vegetation management.

The work of the Coastal and Partners programs goes beyond individual restoration projects; program staff also provide technical assistance to the public and other agencies for eradicating non-native species and on the importance of native species in the natural landscape. Examples of technical assistance include developing invasive species tracking systems, developing native plant display gardens, hosting workshops on native species and many other activities such as:

In California the Coastal Program has been working with the San Francisco Estuary Institute on “Strategies for San Francisco Invasive Species,” an initiative to develop strategies for invasive species management and learn more about effective control techniques.

In Montana, the Partners program has initiated the Blackfoot Ecosystem Demonstration Weed Management Area. Service biologists are bringing together land management agencies, county weed control officials, state agencies, and private landowners to develop and implement a cooperative, integrated approach to vegetation management.

“We may never fully eradicate exotic species in the United States, but we must try to reduce negative effects on our ecosystems,” said Benjamin Tuggle, chief of the Service’s Division of Habitat Conservation. “These are just a few examples of the many activities that the Service is involved in through Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and the Coastal Program. Working with others we may be able to get a better handle on the problem and move toward eliminating some invasive pests.”

Don MacLean, Division of Habitat Conservation, Arlington, Virginia