Rehabilitation

The rehabilitation phase is the most essential final part of an eradication and reclamation program. Fast-growing native plants that will outcompete any surviving nonnative plants must be planted or released. Native plant seeds and seedlings are becoming increasingly available (http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/). If the soil seed bank remains intact, native plant communities may naturally reclaim many areas after nonnative plants are controlled. Constant surveillance, treatment of new unwanted arrivals, and rehabilitation of current infestations are the necessary steps in managing nonnative plant invasions. (SFS-Britton)

Unless affected forest ecosystems can be made more resistant, they will probably be reinvaded. It may be impossible to restore an affected ecosystem to its prior condition because of the residual influence of the pest infestation and because the ecosystem lacks resiliency. At present, it appears feasible only to establish plant components that are resistant to nonnative invasive organisms and leave it to natural processes, such as plant succession, to complete the process. (SFS-Britton)

Education and Extension

Informed individuals are needed to combat the invasive nonnative problem. Much of the problem from invasive organisms is perpetuated and exacerbated by an unaware and poorly informed populace. Our Federal Government was designed to react slowly to broad swells of concern raised by the constituency to the attention of its leaders. Managers can only react when they perceive the threat and have the resources, and the citizen consumer will stop spreading nonnative organisms when they are made aware of the dangers. Public education programs might be more successful if we inform the traveling public, in advance of their foreign travel, of the threat to our natural resources from smuggling forbidden products. Once they have made their purchases and packed them away in their suitcases, the option to ignore this issue is much more tempting. (SFS-Britton)

Similarly, a proactive “plant natives” program (http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov) might be easier to promote than the negative message “Don’t buy nonnative pest plants.” Beneficial characteristics of native plants, such as better adaptation to local climate, less irrigation requirements, and the joys of restoring natural ecosystems in your own backyard should be stressed in homeowner education programs. (SFS-Britton)