Invasive Species

Invasive Species is a Division B and Division C event during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. It was a trial event for Division B at the 2013 National Tournament. Previously, it was a trial event for Division C in Wisconsin under the name Invasives. The event tests participants on invasive species found on a tournament-specific invasive species list.

The official national list for the 2017 season can be found here. Note that state organizations may choose to modify this list. They should be available at the state website. A directory of state websites can be found here

The Event
In this event, competitors will have to identify invasive species and answer various questions about them. The event will often be run in station format, each usually with a photograph or physical specimen of an invasive species and a set of questions regarding it. Tests are also run as a presentation. Each team may bring one three-ring binder for reference.

Examples of questions that may be asked about specific invasive species include, but are not limited to:
 * Where is the species is native to?
 * Where has the species been introduced to or has spread to?
 * How is the species controlled?
 * How many eggs does it produce?
 * What are some similar species and how are they distinguished?
 * How does this species impact the economy and ecology of areas it invades?
 * How is this species successful?

Binder
For the 2016-17 season, teams are allowed to bring one binder of any size, with all notes contained in the rings. Resources in the binder must be secured so that no matter what its orientation (for example, if shaken), nothing falls out. Sheet protectors are allowed, and may help with flipping pages more quickly and smoother.

Although a binder is allowed for reference, some information is best committed to memory (such as scientific names, general impacts, and basic identification) so that questions may be answered quickly without needing to search for the information in the binder. The binder is best used for more specific information (such as specific control methods, life cycles, and habitats). Color pictures on separate identification pages are often useful for identifying obscure aspects of species.

What are Invasive Species?
Invasive species are organisms that have been introduced into an ecosystem (an introduced or alien species) that reproduces and spreads in the environment, leading to the damage and degradation of the area's natural flora and fauna, the health of humans, and/or the economy. For example, they can be harmful to the other organisms that occupy the same ecosystem, as they will use resources and occupy niches of native organisms. This results in competition and, if the introduced species can out compete the natural organisms, the degradation of natural flora and fauna. This can in turn negatively impact human industry, resulting in economic loss.

Traits that invasive species generally have include, but are not limited to:
 * Fast growth
 * Rapid reproduction
 * High dispersal ability
 * Phenotypic plasticity (the ability to alter growth form to suit current conditions)
 * Tolerance of a wide range of environmental conditions (Ecological competence)
 * Ability to live off of a wide range of food types (generalist)
 * Association with humans
 * Prior successful invasions

Humans mediate the spread of non-native species in many ways, including, but not limited to:
 * Importing plants or seeds for horticulture
 * The trade and distribution of exotic pets
 * Having the non-native species stow away in/on transport vehicles
 * May be introduced intentionally for a feeling of acclimation (e.g., American colonists imported birds and other organisms from Europe) or for economic gain (e.g., mediating the expansion of a species’ range for further harvesting)

Federal

 * The Lacey Act (1900) is the Act under which the Branch of Invasive Species conducts its activities pertaining to listing an organism as Injurious Wildlife.
 * The Federal Noxious Weed Act of 1974 established a federal program to control the spread of noxious weeds. It authorized the US Secretary of Agriculture to declare plants "noxious weeds"; limit the interstate spread of such plants without a permit; and to inspect, seize, and destroy products, and quarantine areas, if necessary to contain, or limit the spread of such weeds. Was amended in 1990. Much of the Act was superseded in 2000 by the PPA.
 * The Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act Of 1990 (amended Dec. 29, 2000.) is the Act under which the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) Branch of Invasive Species manages the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force and its Aquatic Nuisance Species Program.
 * The National Invasive Species Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-332), a reauthorization and amendment of the NANPCA of 1990 (Public Law 101-646), is intended to prevent invasive species from entering inland waters through ballast water.
 * The Alien Species Prevention and Enforcement Act of 1992 makes it illegal to ship plants or animals that are covered under the Lacey Act or the Plant Protection Act through the U.S. mail.
 * On February 3, 1999, Executive Order 13112 was signed establishing the National Invasive Species Council. The Council is an inter-departmental body that helps to coordinate and ensure complementary, cost-effective Federal activities regarding invasive species.
 * Council members include: Department of Agriculture. Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Department of the Interior, Department of Transportation, Department of the Treasury, Environmental Protection Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and U.S. Agency for International Development.
 * The Plant Protection Act of 2000 consolidates and modernizes all major statutes pertaining to plant protection and quarantine (Federal Noxious Weed Act, Plant Quarantine Act) and permits APHIS to address all types of weed issues. It also authorized APHIS to take both emergency and extraordinary emergency actions to address incursions of noxious weeds.
 * The Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide financial assistance to the State of Maryland and the State of Louisiana for a program to implement measures to eradicate or control nutria and restore marshland damaged by nutria.
 * The Noxious Weed Control and Eradication Act of 2004 amends the Plant Protection Act of 2000 that requires the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program to provide assistance to eligible weed management entities to control or eradicate noxious weeds on public and private land.
 * The Brown Tree Snake Control and Eradication Act of 2004 addresses the control and eradication of the brown tree snake on Guam and prevents introduction of the brown tree snake to other areas of the United States.
 * The Clean Boating Act of 2008 (Jul 29, 2008) allows the EPA to develop management practices for recreational vessels to reduce effects from recreational boat discharges, such as bilgewater, graywater and deck runoff, that may spread invasive species.
 * 18 U.S. Code § 46 - Transportation of water hyacinths - prohibits interstate transportation, delivery, receipt or sales of alligatorweed (Alternanthera philoxeroides), water chestnut plants (Trapa natans), water hyacinth plants (Eichhornia crassipes), or the seeds of those plants.

State
State laws and regulations pertaining to invasive species may be important to know for regional and state competitions. For information on state regulations, see this directory.