Project Overview

Reports

Commodities

• Community and Urban Pest Management: commercial, institution/shelters/municipal buildings/public places, other

• Ecosystem: Ecosystem

Target Pests

• Target Pests: invasive terrestrial plants

Practices

• Pest Management: cultural control, decision support system, eradication, forecasting, monitoring/scouting, prevention

Invasive plants threaten biodiversity, natural resources, and agriculture throughout the US, with risks steadily growing as climate change may shift plant ranges. Because invasive species management programs differ among states, and because invasive plant distributions and spread do not adhere to state borders, it is imperative for states to work together regionally and nationally to build continuity in their invasive plant efforts. To this end, individual state members represented in the National Association of Invasive Plant Councils (NAIPC) have joined together to coordinate projects focusing on invasive plant listing and enhancing the impact of such lists. Together, these efforts will advance the shared goal of reducing impacts of invasive species nationwide. Here, we propose to create a southeastern working group to compare state-based assessment protocols to determine if they follow NAIPC best practices and to facilitate a conversation to bring more invasive plant councils (IPCs) into compliance. State and regional IPCs were established across the US to address needs of diverse stakeholders regarding education and management recommendations. These IPCs engage in many activities including maintaining lists of invasive plants that are used in prioritization of invasive plant management, local regulation of invasive plants, and the establishment of early detection-rapid response watchlists. There are approximately 30 entities (invasive plant councils, exotic plant councils, advisory councils, and invasive plant task forces) across the US with publicly available plant lists. A few councils have employed similar criteria for plant listing (e.g. Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee), but overall there is little continuity across councils. In 2017, the National Association of Invasive Plant Councils (NAIPC) addressed this lack of consistency by publishing a checklist for the development and updating of invasive plant lists. A recent review of IPC listing methodology against the NAIPC standards revealed a 17-53% compliance across individual standards and no IPCs were in total compliance with NAIPC standards (D. Lieurance, upubl. data). In an effort to bring more IPCs in our region into compliance, thereby improving list rigor and ability to crosswalk between lists, we propose to develop a Working Group with representatives of southeastern IPCs to discuss methods for plant listing and coordinate efforts to improve listing protocols through the adoption of NAIPC standards. This Working Group will consist of council members from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The ultimate objective of this effort is increased compliance and consistency in invasive plant listing across the region. This framework can then be replicated across the US. This will be facilitated through group discussion and the creation of individualized action plans for each IPC. This project aligns with SIPMC initiatives as it directly addresses the Center’s Signature Program on Invasive Species and Re-Emerging Pests. The project is also structured to improve information exchange and knowledge sharing, as well as improve environmental impacts – both desired outcomes of the SIPMC’s Working Group Grants Program.

Planned Outputs and Anticipated Outcomes: