200 



OTA REPORT Z>nV/ 



the expense of control. When prevention fails, 

 rapid response is essential. So far, such quick 

 action has prevented establishment of the 

 Asian gypsy moth, a major threat to Pacific 

 Northwest forests. Managing non-indigenous 

 pests presents hard choices because funds, 

 technology, and other resources are often 

 limited. Sometimes this means not control- 

 ling already widespread organisms, or those 

 for which control is very expensive, or those 

 having lower impacts. 



Chemical pesticides play the largest role 

 now in containing, suppressing, or eradicat- 

 ing MIS and they will remain important. An 

 increased number of biologically based tech- 

 nologies can be predicted. Genetic engineer- 

 ing will increase the efficacy of some. Those 

 who develop biological and chemical pesti- 

 cides face the same difficulties — ensuring 

 species specificity, slowing the development 

 of pest resistance, preventing harm to non- 

 target organisms, clearing regulatory hurdles, 

 and providing profits for manufacturers. 



A PATCHWORK OF POLICY 

 The Federal Government has responded to 

 harmful NIS with a largely uncoordinated 

 patchwork of laws, regulations, policies and 

 programs. Many only peripherally address 

 NIS, while others address the more narrowly 

 drawn problems of the past. At least 20 Fed- 

 eral agencies are involved, with the U.S. 

 Departments of Agriculture and Interior play- 

 ing the largest roles. Federal laws leave both 

 obvious and subtle gaps that most States do 

 not fill adequately. Significant gaps exist for 

 fish, wildlife, animal diseases, weeds, species 

 in non-agricultural areas, and vectors of hu- 

 man diseases. Many of these gaps also apply 

 to genetically engineered organisms because 

 they are commonly regulated under the same 

 laws. 



Federal agencies manage about 30% of 

 the Nation's lands, many with grim NIS prob- 

 lems. Yet management policies are often 

 inconsistent or inadequate. Even the National 

 Park Service, with fairly strict rules, finds 

 invasions threatening the very characteristics 

 for which some parks were founded. 



Federal and State agencies cooperate on 

 many programs related to agricultural pests, 

 but their policies can also conflict, e.g., when 

 agencies manage adjacent lands. Sometimes 



Thecuinulative 

 numbers of 

 non-indigenous 

 species in the 

 United States 



1790 



1840 



