National Invasive Species Information Center

National Invasive Species Information Center
A. H. Baldwin for the United States Department of Agriculture · Public domain · source
Name	National Invasive Species Information Center
Formation	1998
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Parent organization	U.S. Department of Agriculture

Contents

National Invasive Species Information Center

The National Invasive Species Information Center provides centralized United States Department of Agriculture information on invasive species, acting as a clearinghouse that aggregates resources from agencies such as the United States Geological Survey, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and National Park Service. It links to scientific, regulatory, and management materials from institutions including the Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Interior, and Food and Drug Administration. The Center supports stakeholders ranging from researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and managers at the Yellowstone National Park to policymakers in the United States Senate and representatives in the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Overview

The Center compiles bibliographies, databases, and outreach content spanning flora such as Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth) and fauna such as Puercoespín del Norte (North American porcupine) alongside pathogens like Phytophthora ramorum; it curates links to federal statutes like the Lacey Act and programs including the National Invasive Species Council and the Invasive Species Advisory Committee. Users can navigate resources associated with agencies including the National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, United States Geological Survey Biological Resources Discipline, and international bodies such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The Center provides search portals, fact sheets, and connection points to databases maintained by the National Agricultural Library, Global Invasive Species Database, and the Integrated Taxonomic Information System.

Established in 1998 under the aegis of the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Agricultural Library, the Center emerged amid policy actions like the creation of the National Invasive Species Council and guidance from presidential directives such as the Executive Order 13112. Development involved ties to academic partners including Cornell University, University of Florida, University of California, Davis, and international collaborators such as the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Bank. Over time the Center integrated datasets from the United States Geological Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to support management in locations like the Great Lakes, Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, and the Everglades National Park.

The Center provides searchable bibliographies, technical reports, and regulatory summaries linking to pages at the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Science Foundation, and United States Army Corps of Engineers. It aggregates invasive species profiles for organisms such as Bromus tectorum, Mytilus galloprovincialis, Didymosphenia geminata, and Agrilus planipennis, while offering management guidance drawn from agencies like the Natural Resources Conservation Service and institutions including The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund. Educational materials reference work by researchers at Oregon State University, Michigan State University, Texas A&M University, and conservation plans used by Glacier National Park and Denali National Park and Preserve.

Users access the Center via online portals that index materials from the National Agricultural Library Digital Collections, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, the Integrated Taxonomic Information System, and the United States National Herbarium. The platform offers search and retrieval interoperable with repositories such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and datasets from the United States Environmental Protection Agency Ecotox Database. It supports stakeholders including staff from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Directorate, scientists at the Smithsonian Institution Department of Botany, legal advisors in the Office of Management and Budget, and international researchers at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

The Center amplifies federal responses to invasive species threats cited in reports by the Government Accountability Office, and informs management actions in regions such as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the Chesapeake Bay Program. Outreach activities link to educational efforts by National Science Teachers Association, community programs like the Master Gardener Program, and public awareness campaigns coordinated with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Sanctuary System and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge System. The Center’s compilations support grant proposals to funders such as the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and philanthropic organizations including the Ford Foundation.

Critics have noted limitations in centralized resources similar to critiques levied at institutions like the National Agricultural Library and databases maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency and United States Geological Survey, including concerns about timeliness, completeness, and accessibility for stakeholders such as tribal governments represented by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and local managers in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Debates involving statutory authority reference laws such as the Lacey Act and discussions in committees like the House Committee on Agriculture and Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works over funding, interagency coordination, and prioritization have shaped perceptions of efficacy. International observers comparing information hubs run by the European Commission, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, and Canadian Food Inspection Agency sometimes critique the scope and integration of datasets.

Category:Invasive species organizations