How to reduce the risks of introducing and spreading invasive species in a major disaster

Disaster impacts are exacerbated by invasive species, which are harmful, non-native organisms that can be introduced and spread by disasters, including disaster response and recovery operations. Mechanisms are available to reduce risks from invasive species in a disaster, but those mechanisms are rarely used because invasive species experts and emergency managers – the two groups that can address the issue by working together – are siloed. Federal invasive species experts and emergency managers wrote this paper in a deliberate attempt to raise awareness within and improve communication between these two expert groups. The focus is on Stafford Act major disasters, and the goal is to lessen the burden from invasive species in a disaster, improving outcomes for the local communities and ecosystems affected by disasters.