New tool for tracking and predicting tamarisk and other unwanted invaders

Tamarisk, an invasive, riparian shrub common throughout western watersheds, is thriving and spreading, but where will it hit next? Can it be prevented from entering noninfested areas? At the Invasive Species Advisory Committee meeting in Washington, DC, October 11-14, USGS scientist Tom Stohlgren will address these questions and describe a new modeling tool for identifying and predicting invasive species distribution. The Invasive Species Forecasting System, developed by NASA in partnership with the USGS and Colorado State University, has successfully been tested on tamarisk in the Southwest. The model generates maps of "hot spots" vulnerable to invasion. Stohlgren will also present on this system and its ramifications for invasive species management at the Tamarisk 2005 Symposium in Grand Junction, Colo., on October 13, sponsored by Colorado State University Cooperative Extension, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, the National Invasive Species Council, and the Tamarisk Coalition.

 For more information contact: Tom Stohlgren

See Also:

 Ecological Forecasting: A Strategic Partnership to Predict and Manage Biological Invasions

 

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