Injurious Species

alt=A brown salamander with a yellow spotted belly crawls on green moss.
A small stripped mussel shell sits on a mossly green ball.

Keeping Risky Wildlife Species out of the United States

Preventing the introduction of new harmful species is the only way to fully avoid impacts of injurious species on local, regional, and national economies and infrastructure, and on the natural resources of the United States.

About Injurious WildlifeUnderstanding Injurious Wildlife Regulations

Injurious Wildlife Listing

Explore the full list of injurious species

Injurious wildlife listing began in 1900 and continues to the present under the oldest national invasive species law in the United States. Known as part of the Lacey Act, the statute (18 U.S.C. 42) allows the Secretary of the Interior to prohibit importation and some shipment of wildlife species that are officially designated as injurious. 

A black and brown tropical bat climbing through brush
A Century of Injurious Wildlife Listing Under the Lacey Act: A History
A look back at the effectiveness of a century of injurious wildlife listing.
The Unsung Success of Injurious Wildlife Listing Under the Lacey Act
This article looks at the 120-year history of injurious listing and then determined the effectiveness of the listings since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gained the listing authority in 1940.
A snake in grass
Injurious Listings Protect Native Wildlife
In the United States, invasive species cause an estimated $123 billion dollars in damages and costs every year to agriculture, natural resources, public health, and infrastructure. By prohibiting importation of potentially destructive species, we can prevent the spread of invasive species before they enter the environment.
Ecological Risk Screening Summaries
An Ecological Risk Screening Summary, or Risk Summary, provides a rapid evaluation of a species’ potential invasiveness.
A red dog with fluffy white fur on it's chest and coming out of it's ears in a forest
Categorical Exclusion for Listing Species as Injurious Wildlife
The categorical exclusion for injurious wildlife listings allows the Service the option to simplify the environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
A small brown salamander with a tan strip down its back perches on green moss.
List of Salamander Species Designated as Injurious
To help prevent a deadly fungus from killing native salamanders, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published an interim rule to list 201 salamander species as injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act.
bunch of mitten crabs tied up
Import, Acquisition, and Transport of Injurious Wildlife under the Lacey Act
Permits are needed to import and transport injurious wildlife, but they may only be approved for zoological, educational, medical, and scientific purposes. Learn more about necessary permits.
Carp jumping at Lake Barkley Dam
Implementation of USARK v. Zinke
Interstate transport requirements changed on April 7, 2017, when the D.C. Circuit held that 18 U.S.C. § 42(a)(1) does not prohibit transport of injurious wildlife between States within the continental United States. Read about our guidance on the court decision regarding interstate transport.