PARENT SESSION
Workshop: Weed List Criteria
Tuesday, November 4, 2003, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Key West
Criteria for invasive plant and weed lists: A call for standardization.
Lyman, Betsy*,1, Gordon, Doria2,3, Fox, Alison3, 1 National Park Service, Bushkill, PA2 The Nature Conservancy, Gainesville, FL3 University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
ABSTRACT- We reviewed criteria for the development of lists of invasive plant and weed species in natural and agricultural areas. These lists are produced for various regulatory and advisory purposes by state or national agencies and professional organizations. Stated criteria may be absent, consist of a single statement, or include multiple-option questionnaires requiring varying levels of data and transparency. Processes for developing weed lists varied in complexity, participant expertise, stakeholder involvement, requirements for evidence and documentation, and degree of quantitative ranking. Evidence required, for example, ranged from anecdotal to peer-reviewed publication of scientific research. Binary listing systems only result in permitted versus prohibited status, while other systems provide a range of recommendations or options. Geographic scope addressed by these systems also varied from local to regional or national scales. Some systems had unclear mechanisms for the evaluation of new species under the stated criteria or lacked timeframes for reassessing species. As a consequence of the multiple approaches underway, there is variation in the robustness of these systems to external challenges from those opposing the listing of certain species. However, common themes in these criteria can be identified and may be used to develop a more standardized listing process that is less vulnerable to challenge.
Key words: regulatory lists, listing criteria, advisory lists