Sea Grant and Invasive Aquatic Plants: A National Outreach Initiative

The National Sea Grant College Program is a NOAA-funded, university-based research and outreach program located in universities in 30 coastal and Great Lake states and Puerto Rico. With a primary mission to "foster the responsible use and protection of coastal and marine resources," Sea Grant has been funding research and outreach efforts related to invasive aquatic species since the introduction of the zebra mussel to the Great Lakes in the late 1980s brought the issue to national attention. A recently funded national outreach initiative on invasive aquatic plants brings together five Sea Grant programs and a national panel of experts representing research, industry and regulatory agencies to identify invasive aquatic plants of current or potential national or multiregional significance and to prepare educational materials and programs. The project goal is to reduce invasive aquatic and wetland plant introductions, and enhance early identification of new invasive plant outbreaks by educating water gardeners, riparian landowners and lake associations, landscapers, resource managers and field staff from natural resource protection and land management agencies, and businesses and to promote the use of native aquatic plant species. Through this initiative, with partners both old and new, Sea Grant will help meet the objectives of the National Strategy for Management of Invasive Plants and aid ongoing efforts to slow the spread of invasive aquatic plants.