What is an Invasive?
Invasive species are non-native organisms that are purposefully or accidentally introduced to an area and have the potential to cause harm to the environment, the economy, and/or to human health. Invasive species have several traits that allow them to outcompete native species, including a lack of natural predators and an ability to spread aggressively. According to the US. Fish and Wildlife Service, costs of economic damages in the U.S. resulting from invasive species impacts are estimated at around 100 billion dollars each year.
Invasive species also have substantial environmental damages. In 2006, the US. Forest Service stated that invasive species have lead to a 49% decrease in threated and endangered species survival. At the same time, they reported that 133 million acres (the size of California and New York combined) are infested with invasive species and this area continues to increase by about 1.7 million acres per year. The threat is not only in new plants but introduced insects, disease, mollusks, mammals, fish, birds, and crustaceans. Each individual invasive presents new difficulties for management and treatment.
SMIST Priority Invasive Species
Beech Leaf Disease
Spotted Lanternfly
Black Swallow-wort & Pale Swallow-wort
Litylenchus spp.
Black Swallow-wort & Pale Swallow-wort
Black Swallow-wort & Pale Swallow-wort
Black Swallow-wort & Pale Swallow-wort
Vincetoxicum nigrum & Vincetoxicum rossicum
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more About SMIST CISMA
CISMA stands for Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas and is a program set up to bring non-profits, government agencies, tribal governments, businesses, and individuals together to deal with invasive species in their area. How the CISMA deals with invasive species depends on the direction of the region's CISMA program and that region's challenges. Services may include education on prevention, identification, and reporting/ mapping of invasive species, some CISMA's can offer management services for certain species.
Branch, Hillsdale, and St. Joseph County fall under the SMIST CISMA. As a grant-funded program, services available will change based on funding year to year. At times SMIST may offer surveying/ mapping and treatment in various forms from the strike team, goats, and injector rentals in addition to education material and talks.
Other Sources of Information
Michigan Invasive Species
Michigan Invasive Species is the State website for information on priority invasive species, laws, outreach, and more.
MISIN
MISIN is a service run by Michigan State University and is a great way to learn how to identify and report invasive species.
Play Clean Go
Play Clean Go is a great program that aims to spread awareness of invasive species but not the species themselves. They have useful tips on how to avoid accidentally spreading invasive species to new sites, general invasive species information, and more.
Don't Move Firewood
Don't Move Firewood is an informative website about invasive species that can spread when firewood is transported long distances. Some of the information they provide is invasive species information, firewood map, and more.
Ripple
Ripple is a state program with information about helping to prevent the spread of Invasive species and Michigan laws about invasives.
Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers!
Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers is a program geared towards recreational users and how they can help stop the spread of aquatic invasives species to help keep our waterways clean.
Michigan Clean Water Corps
Michigan Clean Water Corps is a volunteer program with EGLE that monitors water quality collecting data.
Michigan Clean Boats, Clean Waters
Michigan Clean Boats, Clean Waters is a non-profit that is dedicated to providing information on lake monitoring and invasive species education.
US Forest Service Invasive Species Quick Fact Sheet
The US Forest Service Quick Facts on invasive species is a good source for seeing the economic and land impact of invasive species.