The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is awarding $16 million in strategic investment in more than 100 projects in 37 states and two territories to combat the spread of invasive species threatening ecosystems. Thanks to the Forest Health provision of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Forest Service has invested $56 million to combat invasive species since 2022.
These investments are part of a broader series of investments made by the Biden-Harris Administration aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change, improving forest and grassland resilience and aiding in post-fire recovery.
“Invasive species pose a major threat to our national forests,” said Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. “Destructive invasive species can increase wildfire risk to communities, destroy habitat, degrade water quality, and displace native species. These Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investments are critical to efforts to stem the spread across public and private lands and address the harm invasive species are causing to landscapes across the country.”
Economic impacts from non-native forest pests are estimated to cost between $4.2 billion and $14.4 billion annually. Over the past 50 years, the global economic cost of invasive species is estimated at $1.28 trillion.
Invasive species can quickly transform and negatively impact entire landscapes, threatening the way ecosystems function. The impact extends beyond forested landscapes, degrading rangelands, wetlands, rivers, and marine environments. They threaten the economy, agricultural productivity, food security, biodiversity, climate resilience, quality of life, and human health and livelihoods.
The investments were awarded to tribes, states, public and private organizations, and local landowners, as well as Forest Service research stations. Funded projects include a wide range of activities to combat invasive species, including species detection, prevention, eradication, and research.
For more information on how the Forest Service is investing through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address invasive species, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/invasive-species/funded-projects.
About the Forest Service: The USDA Forest Service has for more than 100 years brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology– and rooted in communities–the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.
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