National
Management Plan: Survey of Federal Roles and Responsibilities
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[Executive
Summary] | [Introduction] | [Survey
of Federal Roles & Responsibilities] | [An
Action Plan for the Nation] | [Conclusion]
| [Appendices]
Invasive species and the problems
they create are far from new. The River and Harbors Act of 1899
directed the Department of Defense's Army Corps of Engineers
to manage aquatic invasive plants. State laws requiring the eradication
or control of invasive weeds have been on the books for more
than 100 years. Many Federal laws, authorities, and programs,
as well as international agreements and treaties, have been established
as part of efforts to prevent, control, and manage the many different
types of invasive species and their impacts. More than 20 Federal
agencies now have responsibilities, authorities, and programs
that address some aspect of the invasive species issue. Some
of these programs are significant in their breadth and scope
[e.g., the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS)] and some focus on specific,
high profile aspects of the overall problem (e.g., the Department
of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs oversees a program
to control and contain the brown tree snake).
The major Federal invasive species
efforts currently in place are outlined in this section. Further
detail is provided in Appendix 2.
A list of legal authorities can be found in Appendix
3. Although many Federal programs and responsibilities cut
across several aspects of the invasive species issue, they have
been grouped under the headings of prevention; early detection
and rapid response; control, management, and restoration; research
and monitoring; international measures; public outreach and partnership
efforts; other interagency efforts; and related issues. More
complete reports describing Federal authorities are available
elsewhere (e.g., U.S. Congress, OTA 1993; National Plant Board
1999; U.S. General Accounting Office 2000).
The States have numerous programs
relating to the wide variety of invasive species issues and also
play a critical role in preventing and controlling the spread
of invasive species. Generally, the States, except on Federal
lands and where specifically provided by Federal law or international
treaty, have jurisdiction over resident fish and wildlife. Nothing
in this Plan alters or modifies existing State or Federal jurisdiction
in any way. A description or analysis of the wide variety of
State policies and programs is beyond the scope of this Plan.
However, coordination and joint action with State partners is
an important element of many of the Plan's action items (next
section). State, tribal, local, and foreign government participation
will be critical to addressing the U.S.'s invasive species problems.
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Overview
The Council's member Departments
spent approximately $631.5 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2000 on
invasive species issues (U.S. General Accounting Office 2000).
The Department of Agriculture (USDA), a Council co-chair, has
by far the largest budget to address invasive species, with USDA
agencies accounting for almost 90 percent of the spending. USDA
has jurisdiction over the importation and exportation of plant
species, plant pests, biological control organisms, and animals
considered to be plant pests or a threat to livestock or poultry
health. It also has authority over forest pests and management
of invasive species in the U.S.'s 190 million acre National Forest
and Grasslands System.
The Department of the Interior
(Interior) has a much smaller program - approximately $31 million
in FY 2000 - accounting for about 5 percent of the total Federal
invasive species expenditures (U.S. General Accounting Office
2000). Interior regulates the importation of animals found to
be injurious, enforces laws and regulations governing the import
and export of all wildlife into the U.S., plays a key role in
implementing actions to address aquatic invasive species and
has responsibility for management of invasive species on the
lands managed by its agencies.
The Department of Commerce, through
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is
trustee for the Nation's marine resources and has programs to
deal with aquatic invasive species. NOAA's primary focus has
been on research and outreach regarding aquatic invasive species.
In FY 2000, NOAA spent a total of $5.5 million on these programs.
The Department of Defense (Defense)
spent a total of $14.5 million in FY 2000 controlling invasive
species on its installations and ensuring that invasive species
are not transferred into the United States or to other nations
during its operations (U.S. General Accounting Office 2000).
Most of these funds ($9.1 million) were spent to control aquatic
plant growth (most of which are invasive species) and support
research on zebra mussels.
Other Federal Departments play
limited but important roles. For example, U.S. Customs Service
(USCS), works with USDA and Interior to enforce laws prohibiting
or limiting the entry of invasive species. The Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) regulates chemical pesticides and biopesticides.
It also reviews environmental impact statements.
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Prevention
The protection of agriculture
has been, and continues to be, the primary focus of Federal efforts
to prevent invasions of non-native species, but damage to natural
areas is increasing in priority. About half of the total Federal
expenditures on invasive species are for prevention activities.
The new Plant Protection Act (PPA), which consolidated the authorities
in the Plant Quarantine Act, Federal Plant Pest Act, Federal
Noxious Weed Act, and other plant-related statutes, authorizes
USDA to prohibit or restrict the importation or interstate movement
of any plant, plant product, biological control organism, or
plant pest. "Plant pest" is defined very broadly to
include almost any living organism (other than humans) that damages
or causes disease to any plant. The PPA specifically authorizes
USDA to hold, seize, quarantine, treat, or destroy any plant
or plant pest moving in interstate commerce if necessary to prevent
the movement of a plant pest or Federally listed noxious weed
into a new area. In addition, USDA "preclears" some
shipments before they can be exported from foreign countries
to the United States to ensure that they are free of certain
invasive species. It has long been recognized that the resources
for USDA's exclusion activities have not kept pace with the increased
volume of trade and tourism.
USDA also has authority to regulate
the importation and interstate movement of certain invasive animal
species under a number of statutes collectively referred to as
the animal quarantine laws. These laws authorize USDA to prevent
the introduction and dissemination of communicable diseases and
pests of livestock and poultry. The USDA also regulates the importation
or exportation of veterinary biological products and prohibits
the importation or shipment of any veterinary products that are
contaminated, dangerous, or harmful.
The movement of seed is regulated
under the Federal Seed Act, which prohibits the importation of
any agricultural or vegetable seed containing high-risk weed
seeds. The Federal Seed Act also allows the interstate transport
of seed containing other specifically listed weed seeds, as long
as the shipment is accurately labeled and the density of those
weed seeds does not exceed the tolerance levels for the State
in which it is offered.
Interior regulates the importation
of animals found to be injurious under the Lacey Act. The species
that have been specifically listed as injurious include 12 genera
of mammals, 4 species of birds, 1 reptile, 1 mollusk, and 1 crustacean.
Interior's port inspection program is relatively small - in FY
1999, the budget was just over $3 million. Several provisions
within the Lacey Act limit Interior's ability to comprehensively
address invasive species introductions. Most notably, the Act
is limited to only vertebrates, mollusks, and crustaceans.
A number of Departmental agencies
are charged with preventing and controlling the introduction
of aquatic nuisance species under the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance
Prevention and Control Act of 1990. The Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS), NOAA, the EPA, USDA, Defense, and the Departments of Transportation
(Transportation), and State (State) are all represented on the
Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force (ANSTF), which coordinates
Federal activities to implement the Act. Transportation is charged
with issuing regulations to prevent introductions through the
ballast water of vessels. Specifically, they have issued regulations
requiring management of ballast water in the Great Lakes and
Hudson River, and issued voluntary guidelines to prevent the
introduction and spread of non-native species from ballast water
in ships entering other U.S. waters from outside the exclusive
economic zone.
Defense transports large shipments
of equipment into the U.S. that could harbor invasive species.
These shipments are inspected by USDA agents. In addition, Defense
and other departments ship a great number of items to other countries
and take actions to ensure they don't cause problems in other
countries. The U.S. Customs Service assists USDA and Interior
in the enforcement of plant and animal regulations by detaining,
where applicable, imported or exported products pending their
clearance by agency inspectors.
The Federal land management agencies
in both USDA and Interior have internal prevention strategies
as well as interagency programs such as Noxious Weed-Seed Free
Forage and Mulch program and the Slow the Spread program (which
is intended to prevent the further spread of gypsy moth in the
eastern forests).
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Early
Detection and Rapid Response
A number of Federal Departments
have programs to detect, assess, and respond to invasions by
non-native species. This section specifically addresses Departments
that have special or emergency authority to identify and address
new or incipient invasions rapidly - before invasive species
can become established or widespread, while eradication is still
cost effective and possible. Only USDA has emergency authority
to deal with an incipient invasion. Both the PPA and the animal
quarantine laws described above provide authority to seize, quarantine,
destroy, hold, and treat prohibited species that are imported
into the United States or moved between States. These authorities
also authorize the USDA to declare an extraordinary emergency
in order to address a situation in which the prohibited species
has not been moved but a State is unable or unwilling to take
appropriate action to prevent dissemination of a plant pest or
a communicable disease of livestock or poultry.
In addition, Interior has established
four exotic plant management teams to identify, eradicate, or
control small, localized infestations on lands managed by the
National Park Service. Many departments have interagency and
interdepartmental rapid response teams. All Federal rapid response
actions must comply with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA).
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Control,
Management and Restoration
All Federal land and water management
agencies within Interior, NOAA, and Defense have authority to
control and manage invasive species as well as restore affected
areas on their lands and waters. This authority arises from the
various agency organic acts and other statutes that govern management,
uses, and planning on the lands and waters under their jurisdiction.
The level of effort and budgetary resources for management, control,
and restoration vary with each Department. None of them has the
resources to control every invasive species present on Federal
lands and waters. Departments and their agencies also work in
partnership with States and private landowners to control invasive
species on public lands. These efforts are summarized below in
the section on Partnership Efforts.
The Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance
Prevention and Control Act (NANPCA) enables the Federal members
of the ANSTF to undertake control actions in addition to prevention
and monitoring activities. NANPCA also provides regulatory authority
to FWS, NOAA, and Transportation for control activities. To date,
this regulatory authority has not been used because it is only
applicable to unintentional introductions, and there is uncertainty
as to the extent of the authority.
The EPA has authority under three
statutes that can be used to control and manage invasive species.
The EPA may have authority under the Clean Water Act to control
and manage invasive species through permits or other requirements
and programs and is currently reviewing its authorities under
the Clean Water Act relative to invasive species. The Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) requires
manufacturers and importers who produce or sell a pest control
product to register the compound with the EPA. FIFRA is a critical
statute for invasive species whenever pesticides are used to
control or reduce the impact of invasive species. Examples include
the use of a pesticide to control lamprey populations in the
Great Lakes and the use of herbicides to control noxious weeds.
FIFRA also gives EPA review authority for biopesticides when
they are used to control invasive pests. Finally, EPA reviews
all environmental impact statements under NEPA. This review,
conducted in EPA's regional offices, now includes an explicit
consideration of the proposed action with regard to invasive
species.
A number of Departments are involved
in control and management efforts. USDA has authority under the
PPA and other statutes for the control and management of invasive
species. The PPA specifically authorizes USDA to develop integrated
management plans for noxious weeds for the geographic region
where the weed is found. The Emergency Watershed Program gives
NRCS authority to provide technical and financial assistance
to carry out restoration following declaration of a disaster.
Defense manages aquatic plants and other invasive species in
562 reservoirs, 237 navigation locks, 962 harbors, 75 hydropower
projects, and 25,000 miles of inland and coastal waterways through
its operations and maintenance activities.
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Research
and Monitoring
Almost all the Departments with
major responsibilities in the areas of prevention and control
of invasive species also have research and monitoring programs
to support their efforts. For several agencies with USDA, Interior,
and NOAA, research and monitoring are very significant activities.
USDA regularly monitors its emergency programs to determine efficacy
and potential environmental impacts, and through the Cooperative
Agriculture Pest Survey program has developed a database system
to store information collected in the surveys of agricultural
pests, which is called the National Agriculture Pest Information
System (NAPIS). USDA also conducts significant research efforts
on invasive species under its various authorities. It provides
leadership in developing biological control technologies, as
well as research on invasive insects and pathogens of concern
to forest, rangelands, and wetlands. It also establishes partnerships
for the integrated management of invasive species. Defense has
a number of research programs focused on aquatic plant problems
and zebra mussels. In addition, EPA conducts research on the
risks associated with invasive species and monitors the extent
of invasive species spread by ecosystem type as part of its Research
and Development authority. Interior coordinates important information
systems on non-native aquatic species in ecosystems.
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Information
Management
Departments engaged in invasive
species prevention and control activities have developed a variety
of databases and decision support tools to increase predictive
capacity for preventing introduction of new invasives and to
improve control efforts in both agricultural production and conservation
areas. The Smithsonian Institution and various research and development
bureaus and agencies of the Council (especially USDA, Interior,
and NOAA) have incorporated computer-assisted digital photography
and rapid dissemination to taxonomic experts via the World Wide
Web to speed identification of pests and noxious weeds in trade.
Databases at USDA record and analyze information on pests intercepted
at ports of entry. Research and informatics programs at the USDA
Forest Service and the Interior's U.S. Geological Survey document
and analyze the spread of invasive species such as forest pathogens
and aquatic nuisance species. These structured databases and
other new technologies under development for locating and treating
aquatic and terrestrial invasive species have greatly enhanced
the ability of land and water managers to stop the spread of
some of the most invasive species. Interior and USDA have joined
efforts to combine components of the National Biological Information
Infrastructure (NBII) and various research and bibliographic
databases at the National Agricultural Library (NAL) to assist
the Council in its charge to implement a web-based network capability
for information sharing among professionals and the public at
large.
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International
Measures
The global dimensions of the
invasive species problem increase as trade, tourism, and transport
expand. Any realistic strategy to prevent the spread of invasive
species must be built upon international agreements, cooperation,
and capacity building. The U.S. Government plays an active role
and provides leadership in efforts to prevent and control invasions
of non-native species internationally. For example: USDA leads
U.S. negotiations under the International Plant Protection Convention
(IPPC) and works with the World Trade Organization to facilitate
regulations concerning imports to prevent invasions under the
Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. The Office
of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) leads or directs U.S.
negotiations with other countries through meetings of the World
Trade Organization (WTO) and the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA). Interior leads the United States in negotiations on
invasive species in the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). State leads
negotiations under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
and is providing financial support to several international meetings
of policy makers. Transportation has led U.S. efforts to address
the issue of ballast water management within the International
Maritime Organization (IMO). It has also sponsored the resolution
adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
that calls for participation by ICAO and national aviation authorities
in the prevention and control of invasive species transported
by air. Defense undertakes agreements on the management of invasive
species with the defense departments of other nations and supports
the development and implementation of regional programs of cooperation
on invasive species, such as the South Pacific Regional Environment
Programme (SPREP). The EPA leads U.S. activities under the North
American Agreement for Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). In
the Great Lakes region, the EPA and NOAA work on invasive species
issues in close association with the governments of Canada and
the Baltic region, the U.S.-Great Lakes Fisheries Commission,
and the U.S.-Canada International Joint Commission (IJC). The
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) supports projects
to control invasive species in developing countries, especially
when food, water, or health security are at risk. The National
Science Foundation (NSF) promotes exchanges of scientists and
research collaborations with other countries.
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Public
Outreach and Partnership Efforts
Given the scope and pervasiveness
of the invasive species problem, outreach and partnership efforts
play a center stage role in many Federal efforts. Prevention
efforts will not be fully successful without the participation
of an informed public. Control efforts in many cases cannot be
successful unless all affected landowners --- including State,
local, tribal, and private -- cooperate and coordinate the control
action. A number of Federal Departments have special projects
and programs that provide information to the public or assistance
to State, local, and private landowners for control efforts,
especially agencies within the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture
and Commerce. Commerce conducts outreach efforts on aquatic invasive
species. USDA conducts public information campaigns directed
at travelers and their extension specialists provide information
to the public.(See Appendix 3,
Public Outreach and Partnership Efforts).
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Other
Interagency Efforts
There are a number of Federal
entities that provide coordination among Federal agencies regarding
different aspects of the invasive species problem. The Executive
Order on Invasive Species specifically directs the Council to
work with three of these, the:
1) Aquatic Nuisance Species Task
Force (ANSTF), which coordinates activities relating to aquatic
invasive species;
2) Federal Interagency Committee
on the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds (FICMNEW), which
coordinates weed management efforts on Federal lands; and
3) Committee on Environment and
Natural Resources (CENR) of the National Science and Technology
Council (NSTC), which coordinates research efforts.
There are many other important
organizations and interagency efforts that Council members have
and will continue to work with on invasive species issues.
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Related
Issues
A number of related issues repeatedly
emerged during the development of information on Federal roles
and responsibilities. The first issue is whether existing legal
authorities are sufficient and whether and how they can be better
utilized. The second issue is whether existing legal and regulatory
authorities are being adequately enforced. These issues will
be addressed in the analysis required under the leadership and
coordination section of the plan. The third issue is whether
human and financial resources are adequate to address the problem.
A number of action items in the Plan highlight the need for additional
resources.
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