Invasive Species

Facilitated by global transportation, forest fragmentation, roads, and other regional corridors, invasive species regularly colonize our forests.

The Threat

Invasive pests and pathogens, both exotic and native, exert significant ecological and economic consequences on our landscape, such as:

• high costs for inspecting, removing, and replacing infested plants and trees
• decimation of native forest species such as hemlock, beech, and elm
• interruption of traditional food webs on which wildlife depend.

The Solution

Sustainably managing the region's forest cover to encompass a broad range of ecological conditions and habitat corridors would help our native species to adapt over time to disturbance from invasive species.

Our Role

A new, collaborative citizen and scientist research group is working to better understand the role of invasive species in our changing forests.