The Pacific Southwest Region Aquatic Invasive Species Program provides general invasive species materials and information at festivals, fishing derbies, boating shows, sportsmen shows, and other events. The program also provides outreach materials involving invasive plants and animals.

What is an Invasive Species

Invasive species are plant or animal species that are:

• not native to an ecosystem
• are capable of becoming established
• once establish can cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health

What is an Aquatic Invasive Species

An invasive species that lives at least part of its life in an aquatic environment.

Species of Concern

• Quagga and Zebra Mussels
• Chinese Mitten Crab
• New Zealand Mudsnail
• Caulerpa

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point planning for natural resource management is a five step tool to reduce the risk of spreading invasive species and other non-targets (non-target = anything that you do not want to move from one place to another) in human related pathways (pathway = An activity or process through which a species may be transferred to a new location where it could become introduced). This tool defines the critical point in a given activity whereby the risk of a hazard (hazard = non-target or invasive species movement) can be reduced to an acceptable level. At this critical control point, the risk of a hazard is reduced by means of a control measure. This control measure is then evaluated to ensure that the control measure is operating as intended.

Invasive Species Risk Assessment and Planning (ISRAP)

Invasive Species Risk Assessment and Planning is a tool that manages the risk of moving non-targets (non-target = anything that you are not intending on moving from one place to the next) in natural resource management activities. The first step in the risk management process is to conduct a risk assessment of potential pathways (A pathway is an activity or process through which a species may be transferred to a new location where it could become introduced). The risk assessment determines the significance of potentially moving species to an area where they may become invasive. Once it is determined that a pathway poses a significant risk, then a plan is implemented to reduce this risk. The plan is created using the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) planning process.

As part of campaigns to help prevent the spread of invasive by increasing awareness, HACCP has become a recognizable brand. HACCP training workshops, a website, and an international standard have been created. The ISRAP process takes advantage of this pre-existing HACCP brand and planning process (with a few modifications) and combines them with the risk assessment to create a tool that is focused on preventing the spread of invasive species.

The 100th Meridian Initiative is a cooperative effort between local, state, provincial, regional and federal agencies to prevent the westward spread of zebra/quagga mussels and other aquatic nuisance species in North America. The lastest version of the Zap the Zebra brochure can be found at the 100th Meridan website.