King County Executive Dow Constantine raised awareness about the harm done by invasive species here at home as well as nationally with an Executive Proclamation declaring February 21-27, 2016 National Invasive Species Awareness Week. NISAW is a annual national campaign to increase citizen and government action to prevent the spread of invasive species. Many NISAW events occur in Washington D.C. to support invasive species awareness and local governments and organizations around the country hold events and awareness activities to highlight local invasive species impacts and efforts.

On a national level, the US Department of Interior made news this week by releasing an ambitious framework to increase efforts to detect and respond to invasive species threats. The broad-reaching report is called Safeguarding America’s Lands and Waters from Invasive Species: A National Framework for Early Detection and Rapid Response.  See the DOI News Release for more information.