Rita Beard
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 - 10:30-11:00
After habitat loss, invasive or exotic species are considered the greatest threat to global biological diversity; they are implicated in the listing of 42 percent of all species protected by the Endangered Species Act. Additionally, approximately 1.5 million acres of National Park Service (NPS) lands are infested by invasive plant species. Therefore, the threat of invasive species has grave implications for the preservation of natural and cultural resources throughout the NPS system. To effectively combat exotic plant species the National Park Service’s established the Exotic Plant Management Teams (EPMT) in 2000. The EPMTs are modeled after the coordinated rapid response approach used in wildland fire fighting. The first test of the EPMT concept was conducted in 1997 at Lake Mead National Recreation Area (Nevada and Arizona). The success of Lake Mead's EPMT led to the establishment of EPMTs through funding from the Natural Resource Challenge. There are 16 EPMTS’s serving over 209 parks controlling harmful invasive species that threaten natural and cultural resources. Partnerships are vital to the success of each of the teams. Through these partnerships the teams have been able to effectively and efficiently enhance regional invasive plant efforts.
Keywords: INVASIVE, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, PARTNERSHIP