Halting the Invasion in the Chesapeake Bay

1
Halting the Invasion in the Chesapeake Bay

• Preventing Aquatic Invasive Species Introduction
  Through Regional Cooperation
• Read Porter
• Environmental Law Institute

Art courtesy of David Brenner and Michigan Sea
Grant Archives
2
ELIs Invasive Species Program

• Launched in 2000 as part of the State
  Biodiversity Program
• Landmark publications

3
Study Assumptions

• No federal assistance states go it alone
• Prevention is the most effective tool to address
  invasive species

4
Barriers to Cooperation

• Multiple agencies/legal authority
• Federal
• State
• Regional
• Different perspectives
• Headwater v. coastal states
• Economic interests
• Multiple invasion pathways

5
Types of Regulation

• AIS lists
• Dirty list harmful exotic species
• Clean list beneficial exotic species
• Use limitations
• Subject listed species to restrictions, e.g.
  importation, possession
• Compliance and enforcement provisions
• Permitting and inspection
• Fines and criminal penalties

6

• Recommendations

7
Six Categories

• Regional body collaboration
• Interstate collaboration
• Fix existing legal authorities
• Create new legal authorities
• Compliance enforcement
• Regional prevention planning
• What can MAP do?

8
Regional Body Interaction

• Seek LRC responses to MAP recommendations
• Support river basin commissions in AIS planning
• Seek full headwater state agency representation
  (WV)
• Work with ISCs to form multistate workgroup for
  information-sharing

9
Cooperative research for existing laws

• Consolidate, harmonize, strengthen AIS lists
  and use limitations
• Legislative/regulatory responsibility
• MAP role
• identifying candidate species
• developing information for listing
• increasing focus on aquatic plants

10
Building Support for New Legal Authority

• Quantify impact of vessel-borne invasions in the
  bay?
• Studying new enforcement tools
• Predict adaptive management needs
• Climate change
• Sea level rise
• Effects of new invaders

11
Regional Prevention Planning

• Develop a region-wide AIS prevention plan
• Models Lake Champlain Basin, Great Lakes
• Existing ANSTF funds