Role of Local Governments in Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Efforts

In 2020, the National Sea Grant Law Center and project partner, Creative Resources Strategies, LLC, received funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct research on the role of local municipalities and entities (e.g., counties) in aquatic invasive species (AIS) prevention efforts. The role of local governments in invasive species management is often overlooked, despite the fact that invasive species impact local drinking water supplies, agricultural land, highway rights-of-way, and recreational areas.

Although the extent of their authority varies by state, cities and counties generally have the ability to enact and enforce local laws to protect the welfare, safety, and health of their citizens. Municipalities, therefore, often have the authority to enact ordinances that address invasive species risks provided they do not conflict with state law. Different levels of government that work together collaboratively, instead of developing policies separately, can more efficiently prevent, mitigate, and control invasive species risks.

Local Government Aquatic Invasive Species Toolkit

The outcome of the project was the creation of an online toolkit, the Local Government Aquatic Invasive Species Toolkit. The toolkit includes background information on local governments and aquatic invasive species, a decision tree to help local governments determine if a local regulation is needed or helpful in addressing aquatic invasive species, examples of local regulations addressing specific pathways of introduction from throughout the United States, examples of federal, state, and local aquatic invasive species-related laws, examples of governmental invasive species plans, background information on risk assessments, and case studies illustrating examples of how different local entities throughout the United States can assess their situation and evaluate if enhancements can be made to local regulations to improve invasive species prevention efforts.

Webinars

In January, the National Sea Grant Law Center and Creative Resource Strategies hosted a series of webinars to announce the launch of the website. The webinars were advertised for regional audiences with a focus on Western states (January 11), Midwest states (January 22), and Eastern states (January 27).

Local Government Aquatic Invasive Species Toolkit (January 11, 2021)

Local Government Aquatic Invasive Species Toolkit (January 22, 2021)