News & Action
NECIS Comments to EPA on Renewable Fuel Standard and Invasive Species
The National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species (NECIS) submitted comments to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson yesterday. NECIS provided recommendations in relation to how renewable fuel pathways under the renewable fuel standard (RFS) program could potentially lead to the introduction or spread of invasive species.
Click on the link below to read the full comments on plant species like Giant Reed (Arundo donax), Napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum), Camelina sativa, and Energy Cane.
NECIS Thanks US Forest Service for Invasive Species Policy
The National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species thanked Mr. Tom Tidwell, Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, the the recent adoption of the National Forest System Invasive Species Management policy. By adopting the policy, the U.S. Forest Service has demonstrated its leadership in addressing the serious threats posed to our natural resources by invasive species.
The new Policy provides a framework and guidance under which each National Forest and Grassland can work with partners to:
(1) design management practices to reduce or mitigate the risk that invasives might be introduced to the unit through various pathways and vectors;
(2) ensure that forest management practices are adjusted to minimize the risk that actions might facilitate invasion;
(3) ensure that activities of contractors & permittees are so conducted as to prevent and control invasive species introduction, establishment, and spread; and
(4) enhance and expand efforts to eradicate or control invasive species that have already been introduced to the unit.
The letter addressed to Chief Tidwell can be viewed by clicking the link. USFS Final Thank You
NECIS Brownbag Lunch During National Invasive Species Awareness Week
The National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species presents a brownbag lunch during National Invasive Species Awareness Week (February 26 – March 3rd, 2012):
New Studies and Policy Solutions to Invasive Species Threats
- NAPPRA, Q-37 and Invasive Plants
- Separating the Mississippi and Great Lakes basins
- Invasive Species + Climate Change = ?
When: Thursday, March 1, 11:30am to 1:00pm
Where: Defenders of Wildlife, 1st floor conf. room,1130 17th Ave NW,Washington, between L and M streets (Farragut North Metro). Tel: 202.682.89400
Lunch: BYO (shops and take-outs nearby, such as City Deli and Potbelly’s further south on 17th)
Why: Key new studies and regulations have come out in recent months onU.S. invasive species crises — and how to resolve them. Experienced policy advocates from NECIS and other speakers will present on those studies and discuss how to move national policy forward on key issues.
Moderator: Bentley Johnson, National Wildlife Federation
Each session will be 20 minutes – 15 for presentation and 5 for Q&A and discussion.
****Session 1. Preventing the Introduction of New Invasive Plants
After years of review, USDA has recently strengthened their tools for screening plant imports. How can NAPPRA and Q-37 be implemented to best protect theU.S.from future invasive plant introductions? Those working across the country on invasive plant management can play a key role in making the new tools function effectively.
Speaker: Doug Johnson is executive director of the nonprofit California Invasive Plant Council. He serves on the executive committee for the National Association of Exotic Pest Plant Councils, was the first chair of California’s state-appointed Invasive Species Advisory Committee, and is NAEPPC’s representative to NECIS.
****Session 2: Separating the Connections between the Great Lakes and Mississippi Basins
A significant priority for the Great Lakes region is preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species between the Great Lakes andMississippiRiver basins through possible separation between the two watersheds. This issue has attracted national attention in recent years due to concerns about Asian carp entering theGreat Lakesvia the Chicago Area Waterway System. Learn about new recommendations on how to separate the two mighty basins just released by the Great Lakes Commission and Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.
Speaker: Katherine Glassner-Shwayder is senior project manager at the Great Lakes Commission where she manages projects on aquatic invasive species and serves as coordinator for the Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species. Kathe also participates on the national Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, representing Great Lakes interests.
****Session 3: Invasives + Climate Change=? What You Need to Know.
Invasive species and climate change are both daunting challenges in their own right. Those working on invasive species will need to know to how climate change could entirely change conventional understanding of invasive species.
Speaker: Doug Inkley from the National Wildlife Federation. He is NWF’s Senior Scientist, working on the issue of safeguarding wildlife from climate change. His work includes implementing on the ground climate smart conservation, and exploring the nexus between climate change and invasive species.
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The National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species (www.necis.net ) is an NGO network dedicated to strengthening our nation’s prevention and management policies.
Thanks to National Invasive Species Awareness Week for featuring this event. See www.nisaw.org for more information.
Obama Administration Releases Rule to Prohibit Import of Some Large Constrictor Snakes
Environmental groups say the rule is a small but important step toward preventing entry of animal imports that pose significant risks to ecosystems and public safety.
WASHINGTON (January 17, 2012)—Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) issued a final rule that will list four species of huge, non-native constrictor snakes as “injurious species” under the federal law that gives the FWS the power to prohibit their importation to the United States and their use in interstate commerce.
In 2010, the FWS proposed rule included the listing of nine species of huge constrictor snakes. The final FWS rule drops five of these species and lists a total of four non-native constrictor snakes as injurious species. The four species that will be listed as injurious are the Burmese python, yellow anaconda, northern African rock python, and southern African rock python. The five snakes that were dropped from the list finalized by FWS are the reticulated python, boa constrictor, DeSchauensee’s anaconda, green anaconda, and Beni anaconda.
“While we are pleased that four extremely harmful constrictor species will no longer be allowed into this country, we are disappointed that five of the proposed snakes were not included in the rule,” said Peter Jenkins, spokesperson for the National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species (NECIS). “The snakes that were excluded pose a serious threat to our already fragile ecosystems and to humans. If your boat is leaking, why would you only plug some of the holes?”
“Of the nine species originally proposed three are already found outside of captivity and breeding in the wild in Florida. Of those three, only two were listed,” said Kristina Serbesoff-King who directs The Nature Conservancy’s Florida Invasive Species Program. “Four of the five that were dropped from the final list have not yet become established in U.S. ecosystems, and that’s the very reason they should be restricted. We believe this is an important iterative step, but also strongly encourage the FWS to develop regulations aimed at preventing the import of harmful species, rather than trying to close the proverbial barn door after these species have already taken hold within our lands and waters and are virtually impossible to eradicate.”
This rulemaking process initially began in 2006 at the request of the South Florida Water Management District, and, after a lengthy process of agency action and a public comment period, the resulting rule had been awaiting release by the Office of Management and Budget since March 2011. The Administration was approached by numerous members of Congress from all over the country, both Republicans and Democrats, as well as almost the entire south Florida congressional delegation to encourage the release of the rule.
“A small but vocal sector of the pet industry concerned with importing and breeding these dangerous exotic snakes seems to have put a stranglehold on a sensible rule,” said Dr. Bruce Stein of the National Wildlife Federation. “Unfortunately, when it came to weighing the economic interests of these few breeders against the enormous economic and ecological damage these snakes can cause, the Administration was sold a bottle of snake oil.”
For years the federal government has come under sharp criticism for allowing invasive animal species into the country that have caused major damages to the environment and agriculture, leading to economic costs and environmental and safety risks. Recent invasions by imported animal species such as the constrictor snakes, Asian carp, and red lionfish are together costing federal, state, and local governments hundreds of millions of dollars annually in efforts to control them. These costs could have been avoided if authorities had considered their risks beforehand and restricted their importation.
“This listing is one step toward limiting the massive flow of harmful species into this country, but the current listing approach doesn’t even come close to keeping up with the 21st century trade of live animals,” said Jenkins. “We are urging Congress and the Administration to advance broader regulatory reforms of the injurious species listing process.”
As a leading import market, the United States receives hundreds of millions of non-native animals each year, which represent thousands of different wildlife species. In practice, very few risk assessments are done before these animals arrive in the country, and the111-year-old law that gives the FWS regulatory authority to prohibit importation has only 25 entries on the injurious species list. These species were typically restricted only after years of importation, and damage had already occurred. In contrast, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel require all new animal species to be assessed for the likelihood of invasion before they are allowed into those countries.
“For several years, Congress has considered bills that would modernize our antiquated and broken regulatory system, but the legislation has stalled,” said Jennifer Nalbone, director of Navigation and Invasive Species for Great Lakes United. “Right now, the next damaging invader could be on its way here. All species being proposed for trade into the United States must be screened to weed out the next Burmese python or Asian carp.”
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Contact: Cindy Yeast, 720-542-9455
202-236-5413 (c) cdyeast@earthlink.net
The National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species is a partnership of 17 major conservation and environmental organizations that provides a united expert and scientific voice on invasive species policy. www.necis.net
Harmful Animal Invaders: The Economic Realities
Cash-strapped federal state and local agencies, as well as private landowners, are expending scarce resources to control harmful invasive species, such as the Burmese python, red lionfish and Nile monitor, while the species are still legally being sold to the public.
The United States can save money by stopping the introduction of non-native animal species that pose a high risk to the economy, the environment, and human and wildlife health through modernizing the injurious wild animal import program.
To learn more about the impacts of non-native species, especially as those impacts relate to our economy, check out the link below for a fact sheet that NECIS put together.
Factsheet_necis_economics_final
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