Basis for Species Selection

In Spring 2001 the Chesapeake Bay Program's Invasive Species Workgroup began work to meet the Chesapeake 2000 goal of identifying and ranking non-native, aquatic and terrestrial species which are causing or have the potential to cause significant negative impacts to the Bay's aquatic ecosystem. The workgroup developed a questionnaire asking the Chesapeake Bay Program partners, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, National Park Service and U.S. Geological Survey, to list the top five aquatic nuisance species presently affecting their jurisdiction and the top five nuisance species expected to enter and adversely affect their jurisdiction.

The following criteria were included in the questionnaire. Each species should have the potential to:

1. Have an ecological or economic impact on the health of the Bay by impacting rare habitats or "natural areas," or native species' habitat such as marsh or other wetland or riparian habitats AND commercial fisheries, industries, outdoor recreation, or other revenue generating activities that support your state.
   
   
2. Have political significance, with management of the species impacting vocal and/or conflicting constituency groups like commercial seed producers or plant nurseries, the pet or fish bait industry, animal welfare, sportsmen, outdoor recreationists, commercial fishermen, farmers, or other constituents who may oppose or support certain management approaches.
   
   
3. Have human health significance by being vectors of disease organisms affecting humans.

The results of the initial survey are summarized in Table 1.

Upon receiving and tabulating the species from the survey, the workgroup further discussed each one in the context of its potential or documented impacts on the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and the level of support that each jurisdiction was willing and able to provide toward joint management plans or risk analyses. A further consideration was whether a given species was having a negative impact on specific Chesapeake 2000 Agreement goals, such as restoration of fisheries and submerged aquatic vegetation and displacement or out-competing native species and/or impacting listed species. With these considerations in mind, the species were placed into four categories. These groups are summarized in Table 2. Most of the species identified as a top priority by two or more signatory jurisdictions were selected for management plans. The exception is Asian clam (Corbicula), which the group agreed to place on a risk assessment list (low priority) as it is naturalized in the Bay and management or removal may be unrealistic.

Table 1. Priority Invasive Species

Table Key:
P - Ranked in the top 5 by the jurisdiction or federal agency.
J - Identified as a priority by the jurisdiction or state agency but was not in the top 5.
F - Identified as a potential threat.

* Priority Invasive Species are species that have been documented or are believed to have the greatest ecological or economic impact on the water quality or environmental health of the Bay or tributary and have the greatest political significance, i.e., management of the species impacted by vocal and/or conflicting constituency groups. (Note that West Virginia and the National Park Service have not yet completed the survey.)

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