MEDIA ADVISORY
For immediate release
March 03, 2006

The Ecological Society of America Calls for Federal Leadership to Control Invasive Species

From combustible cheat grass to voracious carp to the West Nile virus, harmful, non-native species are spreading into U.S. lands and waters at an accelerating pace. Their damage to economic activity, ecosystems, and human welfare is accumulating. Without an improved national strategy based on science, these invasive species will cause increasing damage to the nation's natural and economic resources, reports a new position paper by the Ecological Society of America ( ESA ), Biological Invasions: Recommendations for U.S. Policy and Management .

“Invasive species that cause harm to ecosystems are a major challenge to the nation's economic and environmental welfare,” says ESA President Nancy Grimm. “This position paper provides insight into both the ecology of invasions and key, science-based recommendations that will be useful for policy makers grappling with the effects of invasive species.”

Globalization of trade and travel is fueling an increase in invasions of the U.S. and elsewhere. The U.S. , as the world's largest economy and home to many of the world's richest ecosystems, is especially at risk of additional biological invasions. Yet current U.S. strategy on invasive species lacks coordination or cost-effectiveness. ESA believes an urgent need exists for more effective means of prevention, eradication, and control of invasive species.

The ESA position paper recommends that the federal government, in cooperation with state, and local governments, take the following six actions:

• Use new information and practices to better manage commercial and other pathways to reduce the transport and release of potentially harmful species.
• Adopt new, more quantitative procedures for risk analysis and apply them to every species proposed for importation in the country.
• Use new, more cost-effective diagnostic techniques to increase active surveillance and sharing of information about invasive species, so that responses to new invasions can be more rapid and effective.
• Create new legal authority and provide emergency funding to support rapid responses to emerging invasions.
• Provide funding and incentives for cost-effective programs to slow the spread of existing invasive species, in order to protect still uninvaded ecosystems, social and industrial infrastructure, and human welfare.
• Establish a National Center for Invasive Species Management (under the existing National Invasive Species Council) to coordinate and lead improvements in federal, state, and international policies on invasive species.

(more)

“Our recommendations are firmly rooted in the science of invasion biology,” says lead author David Lodge. “We believe that putting them into practice will substantially reduce future harm from invasive species.”

The position paper highlights the key processes common to all biological invasions and appropriate policy responses for each stage of invasion. In the first stage, species are transported and introduced to a new geographic area. Many go extinct in the new location, but some survive to establish a local population, marking the next stage of invasion. Established populations may then spread widely, wreaking havoc on agricultural production, natural resources, and native ecosystems and even cause human illness.

Prevention is the best medicine, according to the authors. Once a species becomes established, it is much more expensive to halt its rapid spread. So policy makers should focus on preventing the transport of potentially invasive species and on preventing the spread of such species upon their arrival in the U.S. Newly developed methods of risk analysis, screening, and monitoring provide the scientific framework for effective prevention.

Some species will inevitably slip through the cracks of preventative measures. But strategies to detect newly established populations and destroy these incipient invasions can still prevent damage. But once a harmful, non-native species becomes widespread, management options are limited.

“The nation often simply bears the costs,” says Lodge. “But we recommend a much more cost-effective system of prevention, early detection, and rapid response – before the damages are irreversible.”

Despite the great diversity in invasive species, they share a set of biological processes and pathways to introduction. This commonality provides the opportunity for a stronger government response to invasive species, at all levels of government. Incorporating the ESA 's recommendations into national policy on invasive species would establish a science-based, cost-effective approach to protecting the nation's ecosystems, economy, and welfare.

Co-authors of the paper are David Lodge (University of Notre Dame), Brian Leung (McGill University), Susan L. Williams, Peter Moyle (University of California-Davis), Keith Hayes (CSIRO Marine Research), Hugh MacIsaac (University of Windsor), Sarah Reichard (University of Washington), Richard N. Mack (Washington State University), Maggie Smith (Ecological Society of America), David Andow (University of Minnesota), James Carlton (Williams College-Mystic Seaport), and Anthony McMichael (Australian National University).

*Copies of the paper are available online at: http://www.esa.org/pao/esaPositions/

The Ecological Society of America is the world's largest professional organization of ecologists, representing 10,000 scientists in the United States and around the globe. Since its founding in 1915, ESA has promoted the responsible application of ecological principles to the solution of environmental problems through ESA reports, journals, research, and expert testimony to Congress. ESA publishes four print journals and one online-only, open-access journal Ecosphere and convenes an annual scientific conference. Visit the ESA website at www.esa.org or find experts in ecological science at www.esa.org/pao/rrt.

To subscribe to ESA press releases, contact Nadine Lymn at .