Randy Westbrooks
Friday, October 17, 2008 - 8:30-9:00
To minimize the establishment and spread of invasive plants in the United States, a National Early Detection and Rapid Response System (EDRR) for Invasive Plants is being developed. To achieve this goal, the USGS is working with a number of interagency groups to develop system elements and processes, including: early detection and reporting of suspected new plants (trained volunteers and agency field personnel); identification and vouchering of new plants (cooperating herbaria); archival of new invasive plant records in regional and national plant databases [e.g., the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England (IPANE)]; rapid assessment of confirmed new records (by federal and state scientists); and rapid response to confirmed new invaders (e.g., the Carolinas Beach Vitex Task Force). Currently, the effort is focused on establishment of State EDRR Coordinating Committees to lead development of state and local elements of the system – in particular, the Early Detection and Reporting Network. To date, IPANE has trained over 900 volunteers to detect and report on 100+ high priority invasive plants throughout New England. The value of this approach to survey and mapping can be seen with near real time maps on the IPANE website (http://IPANE.org) that combine historical herbarium records with verified field reports from IPANE volunteers. Another near term goal is development of an Online EDRR Tool Box, which will include information on the EDRR system, a partner contact directory, as well as EDRR support documents such as a State EDRR Committee Work Plan, Guidelines for Volunteer Training, and Guidelines for Rapid Assessment.
Keywords: EARLY DETECTION AND RAPID RESPONSE, INVASIVE PLANTS, COORDINATING COMMITTEE, TRAINED VOLUNTEERS, IPANE