Lecture 19
Moving from a dirty to a clean list: Challenges
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US
Vast, contiguous borders with Canada, Mexico
World’s largest importer – worldwide trading partners
Multiple points of entry including inland areas
Decentralized political system (states have power)
Aversion by many people to centralized government and regulation
Large swaths of people are ecologically ignorant
Powerful lobby groups and nearly unlimited resources for achieving
favorable legislative outcome
New Zealand
• small, two main points of entry
• Relatively small volume of trade, mostly from only a few countries
• Island
• Centralized government
• Ecologically educated public
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Major Laws Covering Invasive Species
Lacey Act (1900, amended 1998, amended 2008)
• Prohibits importation of designated species (but allows importation
of virtually any species for scientific, medical, education, exhibition, or
propagation)
Plant Quarantine Act (1912)
• Gave APHIS authority to regulate importation of nursery stock and
other plants.
Federal Seed Act (1939)
• Required accurate labeling and purity of imported seeds
Federal Noxious Weed Act (1974)
• Prohibits importation of any plant that can directly or indirectly injure
crops, useful plants, and livestock...........including fish and wildlife
resources
National Invasive Species Act (1996)
• Although specifically dealing with invasives, scope is narrow,
encompassing only aquatic species introduced through ballast
discharge
Executive Order 13112 (1999)
Plant Protection Act (2000)
• Replaces Federal Noxious Weed Act and many other APHIS authority
acts (consolidation of 10 existing plant protection laws).
Executive Order 13112 (Clinton Administration)
Important advance in developing a more cohesive approach to managing invasives
at the federal level.
The formation of the National Invasive Species Council facilitated cooperation
among federal departments and agencies. Involvement of non-governmental
stakeholders through the National Invasive Species Advisory Council provides
balanced and expert input from diverse groups on invasive issues.
New York’s NYISC and NYISAC framework is modeled after the federal system
Executive Order 13112
Do Laws and Policy work to effectively prevent invasion?
For laws to work, you need
• Education
• Compliance
• Enforcement
• Penalty
Often laws are enacted without some of these components being considered.
Eg., US and Canada have strict ballast water exchange rules for ships entering the St.
Lawrence. However, compliance estimates are based primarily on self-reporting
and occasional inspection, and achieving full compliance is technologically
impossible in many older ships.
• Why might current ballast water policy be inadequate?
• Flushing at sea inadequate
• Falsifying logs / inadequate inspection
• Residual swish / sediment in NOBOBS (ships designated no ballast on board)
• Other parts of the ship serves as refugia (e.g., sea chests)
Nonetheless, there have been no new ballast water introductions (at least no new
detections anyway) in the Great Lakes in 7 yrs (previously about 1 every 1.5 yrs).
Unclear if this is cause and effect, but promising.