Council for Agricultural Science and Technology
Issue Paper Number 13
February, 2000

Barbra H. Mullin, Montana Department of Agriculture
Lars W.J. Anderson, USDA-ARS Exotic and Invasive Weed Research
Joseph M. DiTomaso, Department of Vegetable Crops, UC-Davis
Robert E. Eplee, USDA-APHIS
Kurt D. Getsinger, US Army Engineer Research and Development Center

Summary

Invasive plant species are one of the greatest threats to croplands, rangelands, aquatic areas, and wildlands in the United States. They degrade the productivity and biological diversity of all ecosystems. W.M. Lonsdale (1994) noted that "A mine that modified the landscape on a similar scale (to invasive plants) would be subjected to intense scrutiny by the environmental impact assessment process and would probably not be approved." The problem increases each year as new species are introduced and established. We can overcome and reverse this trend only if we are willing to commit and use national resources to combat the problem. The formula for success must include a coordinated effort at the federal, state, institutional, and private sector levels that will involve long-term commitments of adequate planning, funding, scientists, and facilities to produce results based on sound science. Programs based on arbitrary geopolitical boundaries must be replaced by approaches based on ecosystem-scale realities.

Increased and consistent funding to support public and industry educational programs, a centralized detection and reporting system, and expanded mitigation and research programs are critical to reducing the continued spread and current damage caused by invasive weed species. In addition, greater uniformity and consistency among state and federal regulatory and enforcement agencies, coordinated through an effective national plan, would reduce the potential for invasive weed introductions into the United States and between states into sensitive habitats throughout the nation.