Invasive species in the United States

[22] The federal government has historically promoted the introduction and widespread distribution of species that became invasive, including multiflora rose, kudzu, and others for numerous reasons.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is also involved in preventing the introduction of invasive species, largely through the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS.

[27] Many invasive species are spread inadvertently by human activities, such as seeds stuck to clothing or mud transporting firewood, or through ballast water.

Many of the policies used to contain invasive species, such as firewood transport bans or cleaning shoes and clothes after hiking, are effective only when the general public knows of their existence and importance.

There are also numerous government programs aimed at educating children,[37] as well as promoting volunteer efforts at removal and the many ways citizens can prevent the spread of invasive species.

In 1998, the United States Coast Guard, in accordance with the National Invasive Species Act of 1996, established a voluntary ballast water management program.

On December 2, 2010, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were denied their request to force the closing of the canal by the United States district court.

[49] The Copi renaming is a part of a Federal and state initiative to get the public to eat the invasive fish,[50] decrease its numbers in Midwestern waterways,[51] and prevent its introduction to the Great Lakes.

[52] The federal United States Environmental Protection Agency—the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative[53] - is funding the Copi rebrand of Asian carp.

The Invasive Species Working Group focuses on four key areas: prediction and prevention; early detection and rapid response; control and management; restoration and rehabilitation.

[56] Invasive species of particular concern in the Rocky Mountain region include: cheatgrass; leafy spurge; tansy ragwort; spotted knapweed; bufflegrass; saltcedar; white pine blister rust; armillaria root rot; introduced trout species; golden algae; spruce aphid; and banded elm bark beetle.

One of these, the Colorado pikeminnow, is the largest minnow native to North America and is known for its spectacular fresh water spawning migrations and homing ability.

Its juveniles and adults now must also compete with and are preyed upon by introduced northern pike, channel and flathead catfishes, largemouth and smallmouth basses, common carp, and other fishes.

[59] In 1994, the Everglades Forever Act of 1994 was passed to help in controlling Florida's water supply, recreation areas, and diverse flora and fauna.

[62] Currently the National Park Service is researching control measures for the Burmese python in order to limit the species effects on the delicate Everglades ecosystem.

[63] In the Pacific Northwest, non-native invasive species (NIS) present significant threats to native ecosystems, biological diversity, and the stability of soil and hydrologic systems.

[64] Invasive species are spreading in the Pacific Northwest at unprecedented rates due to large volumes of trade, tourism, and global climate change.

This plant has an incredible capacity to dominate competing organisms within its ecosystem, it owes this status to its short reproductive cycle, high genetic variability, and to the fact that it can survive in nearly any type of aquatic environment.

[citation needed] The most problematic terrestrial plant species of this region is the Chinese Tallow tree, which was introduced to the United States in the 1700s for the purpose of cultivation in commercial nurseries.

This tree has infiltrated the entirety of the Southeast United States, spanning from East Texas all the way to North Carolina, but it is especially prolific in the Gulf South Region.

This species is particularly damaging due to the fact that its root systems change the chemical balance of soil, which in turn serves to alter the composition and structure of the native ecosystem's plant life.

These trees have experienced a rapid expansion throughout the Gulf Coast region and, due to the fact that they out-compete much of the native vegetation, they threaten these areas by creating a lack of diversity which will inevitably lead to the creation of a dangerous mono-culture.

[71] Since the Pacific Northwest was one of last regions of the United States to be fully colonized by Europeans, a greater proportion of native ecosystems remain intact than elsewhere on the continent.

[72] Major conservation efforts are directed towards native Pacific Salmon because they provide substantial benefits to countless species and the general health and function of coastal ecosystems.

[76] The lack of knowledge on the present and future effects of climate change on the biota of the Pacific Northwest is vast, just a sprinkling of studies address this issue.

The ISCC is an inter-agency council that helps to coordinate and ensure complementary, cost-efficient, environmentally sound and effective state activities regarding invasive species.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation works with stewards of natural resources, non-profits and citizen scientists to detect, record and manage invasive species.

PRISMS perform the following tasks: plan regional invasive species management;develop early detection and rapid response capacity; implement eradication projects; educate the public in cooperation with DEC contracted Education and Outreach providers; coordinate PRISM partners; recruit and train volunteers; support research through citizen science.

Pennsylvania has a Governor's Invasive Species Council which devises action plans to deal with threats to the Commonwealth's agricultural and natural resources.

[101][102] Species of concern in Rhode Island include burning bush (Euonymus alatus), Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), and purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria).