B.25. WASHINGTON STATE AQUATIC NUISANCE SPECIES MANAGEMENT PLAN 
B.25.1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF WASHINGTON’S PLAN 
Washington s 2001 Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) Management Plan was written by 
the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) for the Aquatic Nuisance Species 
Committee (available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/ans/2001ansplan.pdf ) and is a revision to the 
1998 Management Plan. The 2001 Plan’s goal is to implement a coordinated strategy that 
minimizes ANS introductions, stops ANS spread, and eradicates or controls ANS to a minimal 
level of impact. The 2001 Management Plan supports this goal through six objectives to (1) 
coordinate ANS management; (2) prevent new ANS introductions; (3) detect, monitor, control, 
or eradicate ANS; (4) educate people about preventing introductions and spread; (5) conduct 
research on priority species; and (6) adopt regulations that promote prevention and control. 
Implementation tables are included. 
B.25.2. CLIMATE CHANGE AND AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES IN WASHINGTON 
Average warming in the Pacific Northwest is projected to increase by 3°F (1.7°C) by the 
2020s and 5°F (2.8°C) by the 2050s. Annual precipitation projections are less certain, ranging 
from 7% or 2 inches (5cm) to a 13% or 4 inches (10cm). Precipitation increases will occur in 
winter, with decreases (or smaller increases) in summer; for this reason, projections that show 
increases in annual precipitation also show decreases in water availability (Parson, 2001b). Sea 
level rise projects are greater for the Pacific than the Atlantic coast. Fligher mean sea level may 
increase sediment erosion and redistribution on the open coast (Parson, 2001b). 
Climate change will cause continued changes in coastal and estuarine ecosystems through 
changes in runoff and increased water temperatures, potentially increasing ANS introductions. 
The warm decade of the 1980s, following the shift to warm-phase Pacific Decadal Oscillation in 
the late 1970s, was characterized by a rapid expansion of exotic cordgrass (Spartina) in Willapa 
Bay that threatened local species (Parson, 2001b). Species tolerant of a wide range of water 
salinity and temperatures such as the Asian crab could become a greater threat in estuaries and 
tidal areas as salt water intrudes into freshwater areas with sea level rise. 
B.25.3. THE WASHINGTON PLAN’S CURRENT INTEGRATION OF CLIMATE 
CHANGE 
Table B-24 summarizes how Washington’s ANS Management Plan addresses and 
incorporates the projected effects of climate change. Although the Management Plan does not 
explicitly mention climate change, it does recognize that certain species have climatic 
boundaries. Additionally, it offers extensive strategies for preventing and monitoring ANS. 
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