A.21. SUMMARY OF AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT IN MARYLAND 
A.21.1. AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT PLAN 
No plan available. 
A.21.2. AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES 
• Maryland Marsh Restoration/Nutria Project Partnership, led by Maryland 
Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(USFWS) in partnership with 24 additional federal, state, and private organizations. 
The project involves behavioral/population research, reproductive research, testing of 
trapping methods, population control strategies, and marsh restoration. 
• Mute Swan Management, MD DNR, Wildlife and Heritage Service. MD DNR 
manages the mute swan population through (1) public outreach and education; (2) 
population management and resource protection (e.g., reducing recruitment by egg oiling, 
humane removal of adult swans, establishing Swan-Free Areas); (3) regulating the 
possession of mute swans; (4) relief of human safety and nuisance conflicts; and (5) 
population monitoring and research. 
• Zebra Mussel Prevention, MD DNR. This program educates boaters and divers about 
zebra mussels. The goal is to prevent mussels from becoming established in the state. 
• Water Chestnut Harvesting, MD DNR, Division of Tidewater Ecosystem 
Assessment. Water chestnut, recently rediscovered in the Upper Chesapeake Bay, is 
pulled by hand during Submerged Aquatic Vegetation surveys. 
• Snakehead Prevention, MD DNR, Fisheries Service. The service seeks to prevent the 
spread of snakeheads by conducting the following activities: circulating posters that ask 
anglers to kill and report all snakeheads; compiling regional data (database is maintained 
by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries [VDGIF]) for captures in the 
Potomoc River (these include MD DNR, VDGIF, and public captures); and annual 
monitoring that includes seine, electrofishing, and gillnet surveys. 
• Snakehead Control and Management Plan, USFWS. The creation of the Snakehead 
Control and Management Plan is a collaborative effort among industry, non¬ 
governmental organizations (NGOs), state and federal agencies, and citizens. The goal is 
to create a management plan that identifies action items to guide agency activities and 
funding priorities, in addition to goals for industry, citizens, and NGOs. The plan will 
focus on control priorities for the Potomac/Northeast U.S. region, as well as general 
prevention, early detection and rapid response, research, and outreach/education priorities 
in other regions the snakehead could potentially invade. 
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