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Invasive Non-Native Species: Background and Issues for Congress

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Invasive Non-Native Species: Background and Issues for Congress Order Code RL30123 Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web Invasive Non-Native Species: Background and Issues for Congress Updated November 25, 2002 M. Lynne Corn, Eugene H. Buck, Jean Rawson, Alex Segarra, and Eric Fischer Resources, Science, and Industry Division Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress Invasive Non-Native Species: Background and Issues for Congress Summary For the first few centuries after the arrival of Europeans in North America, plants and animals of many species were sent between the two land masses. The transfer of non-natives consisted not only of intentional westbound species ranging from pigs to dandelions, but also intentional eastbound grey squirrels and tomatoes. And for those centuries the remaining non-native species crossing the Atlantic uninvited and often unwelcome, were ignored if they were noticed at all. National focus on non-native species arose in the 19th Century, primarily over losses in agriculture (due to weeds or plant diseases), the leading industry of the time. A few newly-arrived non-natives, and new estimates of adverse economic impacts exceeding $100 billion annually, have sharpened that focus. Very broadly, the unanswered question regarding non-native species is whose responsibility is it to ensure economic integrity and ecological stability in response to the actual or potential impacts of non-native species? As this report shows, the current answer is not simple, and may be “no one.” It may depend on answers to many other questions: Is the introduction deliberate or accidental? Does it affect agriculture? By what pathway does it arrive? Is the potential harm from the species already known? Is the species already established in one area of the country? Finally, if the answers to any of these questions are unsatisfactory, what changes should be made? The specific issue before Congress is whether new legislative authorities and funding are needed to address issues of non-native species and their increasing economic and ecological impacts. Such legislation could affect domestic and international trade, tourism, industries dependent on bringing in non-native species, those dependent on keeping them out, and finally, the variety of natural resources which have little direct economic value and yet affect the lives of a broad portion of the public. In the century or so of congressional responses to harmful non-native species, the usual approach has been an ad hoc attack on the particular problem, from impure seed stocks to brown tree snakes on Guam. A few notable attempts have begun to address specific pathways (e.g., ship ballast water), but no current law addresses the general concern over non-native species and the variety of paths by which they enter this country. A 1998 Executive Order takes a step in bringing together some of the current authorities and resources to address a problem that has expanded with both increasing world trade and travel and decreasing transit time for humans and cargo. Bills have been introduced on this subject in the 105th, 106th, and 107th Congresses. This report compares an approach based on a species-by-species assessment, vs. one based on pathways of entry. It also assesses the choice of an emphasis on prevention vs. post hoc control and intra-state quarantine. It describes existing federal laws and federal agency roles, federal interagency cooperation, and the federal interaction with state governments. Finally, it outlines effects, costs, and issues surrounding 47 selected harmful non-native species. Contents Overview and Current Status.........................................1 The Size of the Threat ..........................................1 Dollar Impacts................................................1 Major Laws and Executive Order .................................3 Executive Order 13112 .....................................4 Preliminary Options for A Complex Problem ........................4 Predicting an Invasion: Black and White? ..........................5 Threat of Harmful Non-Native Species.................................7 Numbers of Non-Native Species in the United States..................9 A Brief History of Introductions .................................10 Geographic Origins of Non-Native Species.........................11 Pathways of Invasion..........................................12 Basic Methods of Pest Prevention and Control ......................14 Baits and Attractants ......................................16 Traps ..................................................16 Fumigants, Repellents, and Barriers Designed for Confined Spaces . 16 Herbicides and Pesticides ..................................17 Biological Control........................................18 Bounties and Commercial Exploitation........................19 Cultivation Control .......................................19 Mechanical Removal......................................19 Site Removal ............................................19 Unusually Susceptible Habitats..................................20 Available Estimates of Costs and Impacts ..........................21 Industries That Benefit from Non-native Species ....................23 Harm to the Natural Environment: Diffuse Responsibilities ............24 Federal Laws ....................................................25 Lacey Act ...................................................25 Animal Damage Control Act....................................26 Federal Seed Act .............................................26 National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 (NEPA) .................27 Endangered Species Act (ESA)..................................28 Federal Noxious Weed Act .....................................29 Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act ..........29 National Invasive Species Act...................................30 Alien Species Prevention and Enforcement Act of 1992 (ASPEA) ......32 Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992 (WBCA) ......................32 Hawaii Tropical Forest Recovery Act of 1992 ......................32 Plant Protection Act of 2000 ....................................33 Executive Order 13112 ........................................34 Agency Responsibilities: Programs and Implementation...................................36 Interagency Efforts............................................36 National Invasive Species Council ...........................36 Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) Task Force...................39 Federal Interagency Committee for Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds (FICMNEW) .........................39 Department of Agriculture......................................39 Agricultural Research Service (ARS) .........................39 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service....................40 Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES)..........................................41 Economic Research Service (ERS)...........................41 Farm Service Agency (FSA) ................................42 Forest Service (FS) .......................................42 Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)................42 Department of Commerce ......................................42 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) .......42 National Sea Grant College Program..........................43 Department of Defense ........................................44 Army Corps of Engineers ..................................44 Department of the Interior......................................44 Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) ..............................44 Bureau of Land Management (BLM)..........................45 Bureau of Reclamation (BOR)...............................45 Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).............................45 Geological Survey (USGS) .................................46 National Park Service (NPS)................................46 Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) ....47 Department of State...........................................48 Department of Transportation ...................................48 Coast Guard.............................................48 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).......................48 Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) .....................49 Executive Office of the President ................................49 Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) ......................49 Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) ...............49 Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) .........49 Independent Agencies .........................................49 Environmental Protection Agency............................49 National Science Foundation ................................50 Smithsonian Institution ....................................50 State Efforts.................................................50 International Efforts...........................................51 Coverage of Laws or Policy: Actions and Approaches....................55 Federal Agency Actions: A Patchwork ............................56 Interaction of State and Federal Programs..........................58 Approaches to Regulation: Species-by-Species vs. Pathways...........58 A Few Legislative or Policy Options..............................59 A Gallery of Harmful Non-Native Plants and Animals....................63 Microorganisms..............................................63 Whirling Disease, Myxobolus cerebralis .......................63 Plants......................................................63 Leafy Spurge,
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