Ill 



Forest Service Activities 



The Forest Service has also been active in revising its regulations and cooperative 

 efforts at the program level for exotic plants and noxious weeds. 



In 1993, the Forest Service conducted a field review to evaluate its current policy 

 relative to noxious weeds. In December 1993, the current policy was published in 

 the Federal Register to request public comments. The results of the field review and 

 the public comments will be used to finalize Forest Service policy on noxious weeds 

 and to incorporate an ecological approach to weed management. 



The Forest Service has been effective in implementing both prevention and control 

 programs for noxious weeds on national Forest System lands. We emphasize pre- 

 venting the introduction of a noxious weed as the most important action. The most 

 effective prevention programs are cooperative efforts with State and county weed or- 

 ganizations and surveys for invading noxious weeds conducted cooperatively by the 

 Forest Service and livestock permittees on rangelands. In wilderness and 

 backcountry areas, we are working with outfitters, guides, volunteers, and 

 recreationists. In addition, noxious weed information for the public is provided at 

 ranger district offices and recreation trailheads. A new prevention program devel- 

 oped for national Forests in Colorado and Wyoming will require all hay brought 

 onto national Forest System lands to be certified as weed-fi-ee. 



If prevention efforts fail, operations to control the noxious weed must be con- 

 ducted. Similar to prevention programs, the most effective control operations are co- 

 operative efforts between Federal, State, county, and private landowners. The con- 

 trol programs are usually designed to eradicate a noxious weed within a watershed 

 to prevent the re-establishment of the noxious weed by water or animals after the 

 control operation. To encourage these cooperative efforts to prevent and control nox- 

 ious weeds, the Forest Service has helped to estabUsh the Western Weed Coordinat- 

 ing Committee which focuses on coordinating noxious weed programs among all 

 landowners. Other coordination actions include the sharing of equipment and per- 

 sonnel, combined training, and biological and chemical controls. 



Research Efforts 



When a new exotic pest is discovered in the United States, a series of immediate 

 research activities must be conducted. These include research on how to survey and 

 determine the extent of the infestation, how to prevent the spread of the pest, how 

 to eradicate it, and what, if any, damage it will do in our ecosystems. Because intro- 

 ductions of exotic pests cannot be anticipated, it is difficult to build funding for this 

 research into our program of work. We are working to solve this problem because 

 this research is some of the most cost effective research we can do. Quickly coming 

 up with the answers to prevent an exotic pest fi-om becoming established or spread- 

 ing can save billions of dollars. 



In response to the exotic plant problem in Hawaii, the Forest Service is cooperat- 

 ing with the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Hawaii State 

 Deoartment of Agriculture, the State Forester, and the University of Hawaii in a 

 biological control program. The Forest Service's contribution to this effort is biologi- 

 cal control using insects. We have been successful in finding, testing, and securing 

 approval to release three insects on gorse, a weed that is particularly damaging to 

 open rangelands in Hawaii. 



A similar problem exists on national Forest System lands. As I mentioned earlier, 

 many species of exotic plants are invading these lands. The Department of Agri- 

 culture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) conducts much of the research on 

 these exotic plants. ARS is presently conducting research on the 10 species that are 

 of concern on pasture, forage, and rangelands. This means there is still research 

 that needs to be completed on exotic plants affecting forest ecosystems. To initiate 

 research efforts on these forest and rangeland ecosystem noxious weeds, the Forest 

 Service is currently evaluating a proposal to co-locate a biological control research 

 and development staff in Bozeman, MT, with ARS and Montana State University. 

 Summary 



Exotic pests have changed the composition of our forest and rangeland ecosystems 

 and have caused billions of dollars in damage to wildlife habitats, local economies, 

 and forest resources. The costs of trying to control these pests and the cost of re- 

 search have also been high. 



The Forest Service supports the conclusions by the Office of Technology Assess- 

 ment and others that exotic pests are a major threat to our native forest and range- 

 land ecosystems. 



The Forest Service along with other agencies in the Department of Agriculture 

 will continue to develop a more effective and coordinated response to prevent the 



