Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Breaking Down Barriers To Consistent, Climate-Smart Regulation Of Invasive Plants - A Case Study Of Northeast States, Bethany A. Bradley, Evelyn M. Beaury, Emily Fusco, Lara Munro, Carrie Brown-Lima, William Coville, Benjamin Kesler, Nancy Olmstead, Jocelyn Parker

Environmental Conservation Faculty Publication Series

Efforts to prevent the introduction and spread of new invasive plants are most effective when regulated species are consistent across jurisdictional boundaries and proactively prohibit species before they arrive or in the earliest stages of invasion. Consistent and proactive regulation is particularly important in the northeast U.S. which is susceptible to many new invasive plants due to climate change. Unfortunately, recent analyses of state regulated plant lists show that regulated species are neither consistent nor proactive. To understand why, we focus on two steps leading to invasive plant regulation across six northeast states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, …