State Invasion Portfolios

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special features
State Invasion Portfolios

Zooming in on some key states

photo: grass carp - USGS

Our new series of invasion portfolios spotlights the environmental and economic damage that invasive species cause in individual states. We focus closely on a few states to make the damage tangible on a local level, and to highlight concrete, responsible policy solutions for this urgent environmental problem. We choose states based on the scale or type of threats that invasive species pose; the potential for increased awareness to leverage improved policies locally, in other states, and nationally; and the availability of relevant information on invasives in each state.

Texas, West Virginia, and Alaska. Many experts in each state helped prepare and review our invasion portfolios.

What You'll Find

Each state's 16-page booklet begins with a common section introducing invasive species; describing the severity of the problem in the United States; defining a species "introduction" and the point at which this process becomes a harmful "invasion;" and showing how invasive species move between ecosystems.

Then each document has state-specific sections: numbers of non-native and invasive species; trends; species that are likely to become larger threats; how invasive species are transported between ecosystems; economic impacts; environmental damage and what is at stake in each state; details on several of the most harmful species; and the public and private organizations that deal with the problem, with suggestions for strengthening their work.

In addition, Congress has proposed a National Aquatic Invasive Species Act (NAISA), intended to protect our nation's aquatic ecosystems more comprehensively. We've created individual pages describing how NAISA, as proposed, would benefit each state.

How You Can Use Our Material

Please use our documents in your work. Let them help you:

Learn about the issue;
Discuss the issue with your neighbors;
Brief classroom or seminar participants;
Spur interest at meetings or conferences;
Inform your local, state, and/or federal legislators during a visit or by delivery;
Develop a column for a newsletter or newspaper;
Write an editorial or letter-to-the-editor for your local or regional newspaper; and
Introduce the topic to the public through your local or university library.

The Texas and West Virginia documents are the first available. You can download them, in PDF format, from the Related Links box above. If you would like to recieve a hard-copy of an invasion portfolio, please contact us at ssi@ucsusa.org.

Page Last Revised: 06/19/06