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We promote, facilitate and build science-capacity for cost-effective invasive species management that is prioritized for trust resources and the biological integrity of the National Wildlife Refuge System through collaboration and coordination with partners.

The threats and impacts of invasive species, also known as non-native or noxious species, to our lands are great. We work with our managers to limit further impact through prevention, early detection and rapid response, inventory and monitoring, treatment and restoration, and education.

Our branch also provides technical support, assistance, and coordination to National Wildlife Refuges, other Fish and Wildlife Service Programs, State and Federal Agencies, and the public to limit the effects of invasive species. Our primary focus is terrestrial invasive plants, but we also assist with other pests through integrated pest management.

We are involved in several aspects of invasive species management:

• Design of invasive species inventory and monitoring projects at the Refuge, landscape, state, and national levels.
• Facilitate habitat management planning efforts to help prioritize invasive species treatments by considering impacts to wildlife, habitat management objectives, and feasibility.
• Strategize which resources to use for prevention, eradication, suppression, or containment with appropriate integrated weed management, based on site conditions and least environmental harm.
• Assist with invasive species data management and conducts trainings.
• Integrate adaptive management and habitat suitability models for evaluating threat and risk of invasive species.
• Use invasive species strike teams to implement the early-detection rapid-response strategy.

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The Inventory and Monitoring Initiative addresses the National Wildlife Refuge System’s critical need to monitor the status and trends of fish, wildlife, and plant populations. We help plan and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation and management activities that advance fish and wildlife conservation. We coordinate with other conservation partners to monitor and address critical global and local natural resource issues such as impacts of climate change and other environmental changes. By doing so, we increase effectiveness and reduce costs. We support and/or provide guidance for on-the-ground management, such as:

• Inventorying abiotic resources and physical features.
• Creating and interpreting geospatial data.
• Providing data management and analysis.
• Providing baseline inventories of plants, animals and vegetation.
• Establishing status and trends of priority fish and wildlife species.
• Conducting comprehensive ecological assessments.
• Assessing natural disturbance regimes.
• Providing inventories and assessments of water resources.
• Supporting adaptive management at multiple scales.
• Assessing vulnerability to climate change.

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The Wildlife Health Office conducts critical work in wildlife health and disease surveillance, response, and management to address the impacts of environmental changes on wildlife health. Our office addresses and supports the wildlife conservation, population monitoring, and management goals of the National Wildlife Refuge System by providing technical assistance in the field, training and outreach.

Our office, equipped with tools and skills, serves as a long-term, proactive resource for wildlife management in the Refuge System. Maintaining healthy animals and healthy populations through preventive actions is far more efficient and cost effective than reacting to diseases once they become a problem. Preventive actions require actively focusing on the roots of wildlife health problems, which are often human-caused, rather than applying remedies to the symptoms of the disease.

We support such activities such as:

• Establishing wildlife health baselines.
• Identifying existing and emerging wildlife health and disease risks.
• Ensuring wildlife disease preparedness and prevention.
• Developing, guiding, and implementing management actions.
• Providing an early warning system for wildlife diseases which have the potential to impact humans, as well as poultry and livestock agri-business.