Climate Change Challenge
Shifting Distribution of Native and Invasive Species
Project Alignment with ResilientMass Plan Priority Actions
Assessment and management of invasive species
Climate Resilience Project Scope
The purpose of this project was to develop a series of invasive plant species fact sheets that can help support landowners, land managers, and the public to identify and manage invasive species that threaten our native natural communities. Providing the public with information regarding newly introduced species is critical to reduce their spread and protect biodiversity. The primary goal was to identify a list of important invasive species and develop their corresponding fact sheets. MassWildlife hired a seasonal contractor for 6 months who was responsible for conducting literature reviews, reaching out to local experts, and compiling all known information regarding the biology and management of these species. Herbicides and PPE were also purchased and used by staff to treat invasive plants within DFW managed lands.
Metrics and Results
MassWildlife hired Mark Fuller for 6 months to update the existing fact sheets as well as to develop fact sheets for species that have recently been identified in Massachusetts.
This project resulted in the development of 27 invasive plant species fact sheets that will be posted on the MassWildlife webpages.
Best Practices and Lessons Learned
The development of the project offered opportunities to learn more about invasive species. We learned that there is currently not much information for certain species in research articles and that it is important to look for information in other resources. The primary lessons learned for this project have been that management techniques can be very limited for new invasive species identified in Massachusetts. Reaching out to land managers and subject matter experts is an important tool in identifying management techniques that cannot be found in literature reviews.
The fact sheets are an important first step in getting this information out to the public but will require continued engagement with land managers.
Further Action
The goal moving forward is to continually update fact sheets while expanding the collection when new species are identified in Massachusetts. Other future actions would be conducting outreach to affected stakeholder groups to identify how they can help with curtailing the spread of invasive species. MassWildlife is currently working on adding all fact sheets to our website for the public to view.