How do we tell what is and is not invasive? Several groups have taken on that task, applying scientific research and enabling INPS to advocate for legislation that would curb the sale of highly invasive plants in the nursery trade.
Background
The Nature Conservancy and numerous other agencies and organizations came together from 2000 to 2006 to assess which plant species threaten natural areas in Indiana and to develop recommendations regarding the use of specific plant species. The resulting Invasive Plant Species Assessment Work Group (IPSAWG) compiled detailed information on those species regarded as invasive. For each species, IPSAWG assessed invasion status (where found and how extensive) and assigned point values to its ecological impacts, potential for expansion, difficulty of management, and commercial value.
From this, IPSAWG developed detailed recommendations—for example, developing policies against selling the species, providing education on why not to use it, or removing it from city planting lists, etc. Their excellent Fact Sheets present four-color photos of each species, a description, plant origin, invasiveness rating, recommendations, and native plants that can be planted as alternatives.
View IPSAWG Species Assessments
Read “Invasive Horticultural Plants in Indiana: Some Answers,” an article by Ellen Jacquart, published in the Indiana Nursery & Landscape Association journal, about how the IPSAWG list is being used. View the article
Indiana Invasive Species Council
The Indiana Invasive Species Council (IISC) was established in 2009 by the state legislature to enhance the ability of government agencies to detect, prevent, monitor, and manage new and long-established invasions, as well as increase public awareness about these growing threats.
The Council’s most important function is to give citizens and industries a way to voice concerns and opinions about the management of invasive species in Indiana while providing science-based, relevant information about current or emerging issues. To this end, they conduct a public informational meeting every two years.
Invasive Plant Advisory Committee
Created in 2010 by the Indiana Invasive Species Council, the Invasive Plant Advisory Committee (IPAC) picked up where IPSAWG left off, creating a science-based, transparent invasive plant list for Indiana. Dawn Slack led the invasive plant list project and a successful effort to have it amended by the IISC in December 2019.
Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS)
The Survey’s “Most Unwanted” Invasive Plant Pest List identifies invasive plant pests (bugs) regulated by state or federal laws and the distribution of pests that may threaten the state’s plant resources, whether cultivated or natural plant communities. Updated yearly, the list helps determine how resources for surveys, outreach, and educational programs are best spent to protect Indiana.