News & Action
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.
—————————
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.”
###
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
NECIS Comments on First Species Proposed for Screening List
On September 26th, the National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species (NECIS) submitted recommendations to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on an important new rule as part of the regulations that govern the importation of plants.
NECIS has worked for years to strengthen federal screening of horticultural imports. In 2011 USDA APHIS completed a new rule that created a category listing plants that are “Not Authorized Pending Pest Risk Assessment” (NAPPRA). This category allows APHIS to better protect the country from plant invaders while minimizing adverse impacts. NECIS prepared comments to APHIS on the first list of species to be considered for NAPPRA listing. Click the link below to view those comments.
NECIS letter to APHIS on Q37 2011 09 26 (2)
Economics Study Shows Risk Assessment of Potentially Invasive Animal Species Pays Off
Findings demonstrate substantial returns on screening program relative to current costs of open-door policy
WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2011 — In a major new study published in the journal Ecological Economics, scientists and economists have, for the first time, statistically demonstrated the net benefits of doing risk assessments for the live wild animal trade. The study estimates that the long-term expected net benefits from implementing a risk screening system range from approximately $54,000 to $150,000 per species assessed, assuming typical import scenarios and mid-range impacts of non-native reptiles and amphibians.
The federal government has come under sharp criticism for allowing invasive animal species into the country, which 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 Burmese python, Asian carp, and red lionfish are together costing federal, state and local governments tens 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.
“Managing the introduction of non-indigenous species is becoming a major goal of policy makers,” said the lead author of the study, Michael Springborn, Ph.D., of the University of California at Davis. “How do we as a nation balance the benefits of trade against the risk of invasive species establishment? Our study integrated biology and economics to tackle that question.”
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, and the Lacey Act, the 111-year-old law that governs the wildlife trade, has only 25 entries on the restricted “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.
“Using over a decade of data on reptiles and amphibians imported to the United States as a case study, we described economic outcomes over a range of scenarios and demonstrated benefits of a risk screening program compared to our current basically ‘open-door’ policy,” said co-author Christina Romagosa, Ph.D., of Auburn University.
The results add to the published literature showing that preventing the import of particularly risky species is preferable economically to allowing the trade and suffering the consequences of establishment.
“While we knew from a prior study that risk screening for the plant import trade leads to large economic and environmental benefits, this is the first paper to show comparable benefits for the live animal trade, which is huge in this country,” said co-author Reuben Keller, Ph.D., of the University of Chicago.
For several years, Congress has considered bills mandating stricter risk assessment procedures, but the legislation has stalled. Currently, Senator Bill Nelson of Florida is promoting the Invasive Wildlife Prevention Act to modernize the Lacey Act injurious species listing process.
“The old saying ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ was ahead of its time when it comes to invasive species policy,” said Peter Jenkins, spokesperson for groups in the National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species, which is working with members of Congress to modernize the Lacey Act. “This economics study provides Congress with strong financial justification to adopt a thorough risk assessment approach for live animal imports coming into this country.”
The study is: Springborn, M., Romagosa, C.M., Keller, R.P., The value of non-indigenous species risk assessment in international trade, Ecol. Econ. (2011), doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2011.06.016.
For more information about the study and the authors, please visit: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092180091100262X#FCANote.
Established in 2003, the National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species is a national partnership of 17 major conservation and environmental organizations that provides a united expert and scientific voice on invasive species policy. Its leaders include scientists, lawyers, activists and advocates with many years of experience on invasives policy. For more information, please visit www.necis.net.
« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Next »