Running head: DANGER OF INVASIVE SPECIES

Environmental Threat: Invasive Species in State and National Parks

Grace A. Brown

Legal Studies Academy

First Colonial High School

DANGER OF INVASIVE SPECIES

Abstract

The threat of invasive species has the potential to cause irreversible damage to the environment.

State and national parks are one of the many factors that these foreign invaders will cause

destruction to. These parks around the United States are there to preserve the natural

environmental history of the surrounding regions, and invasive species are changing the

landscapes of what was once naturally there. Through human activity, ballast water, and even

weather, foreign species are coming into the United States and competing with the naturally

occurring species in their own ecosystems. Efforts have been made in order to slow down the

damage, including the Clean Water Act and the Environmental Protection Agency. Economical

and social damages are some of the many effects these non native species have in America.

There are simple conservation efforts that can be made to help stop the spread of these non

native species and put an end to the destruction of our local ecosystems.

Keywords: Invasive species, state parks, national parks, ecosystems, environment, native,
invaders.
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Environmental Threat: Invasive Species in State and National Park

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the

ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change we seek'' (Obama, 2008). Invasive species are

an unwelcome and dangerous threat to the environment, and for decades the problems have been

swept under the rug. State and national parks around the United States don’t have the luxury of

avoiding the problem, and yet this big threat gets little to no coverage. By definition, invasive

species are, “A species occurring, as a result of human activities, beyond its accepted normal

distribution and which threatens valued environmental, agricultural or other social resources by

the damage it causes”(Cleland, 2001). State and national parks have been in the United States

since the 1800s, originally created with the motive to protect and preserve the natural

environment of the area. Invasive species are coming into these parks in different ways and

disturbing the peace and naturally occurring ecosystems into foreign, useless habitats. These

invaders are brought to the United States through many forms of transportation, including water,

foreign ships, travelers, railways, and even air. The environment has many great threats for the

world to look after and invasive species is a problem that is often overlooked and under-funded.

Invasive species impose a great threat to both state and national parks that have long-lasting

effects on society and have the ability to cause great social, ecological, and economical damage.
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Historical

Invasive species have been naturally present as long as mankind has been around. There

is no true origin or date in which the transplanting of foreign plants and animals occurred, mostly

because it is a natural process. In 1859, Charles Darwin wrote about a study of his predicting the

invasiveness of species. He wrote about the progression of invasive plants and animals stating,

“consequently been advanced through natural selection and competition to a higher stage of

perfection or dominating power” (Orenstein-Brown, 2014). Darwin is inferring that a naturally

occurring plant in its habitat fought to claim and perfect itself to become a species of its home. If

invasive species come into these habitats, it is going to become a competition that will drastically

affect the land and animals of the ecosystem.

Invasive Species

Non native species are everywhere, whether it is in the river of a small town or a garden

built in the neighbors backyard. These invaders can be both plants and animals that are spread

through thousands of acres of land by one mistake. They are foreign, distant organisms that pose

a great threat to many natural ecosystems in the United States.

Transportation

Invasive species are in the forms of both plant and animal. They can be aquatic, and they

come in all forms and range from various habitats around the world. Invasive plants and animal

species are often spread by naturally occurring human life, usually without the person knowing.

Often these species are harmlessly brought back from travels only to infect the natural

environment without the person knowing. Human activity is the number one source of the cause

of the spread of these foreign species (National Wildlife Federation, n.d.). Aquatic invasive

species are brought through ships that carry ballast water with them into local waterways and are
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dumped back out of the ships in ports. Ballast water can hold dozens of species through the

foreign water picked up along the way. Invaders reduce biodiversity and try to survive and

overtake native plants and animals and completely change the ecosystem. Common invasive

plant and animal species found in the United States include kudzu, zebra mussels, northern

snakehead fish, and bamboo, all of which pose great threats to our naturally occurring plants and

animals.

State and National Parks

Over one million acres in the United States contain either an exotic plant or animal

species that are posing a threat to the environment (National Park Service, n.d.). Hundreds of

parks in the country have already been infected with these foreign species and the numbers are

constantly growing. One of the greatest threats is the unnatural aquatic species contaminating the

waters of the beaches that are managed by the park systems in America. Zebra mussels,

snakehead fish, lionfish, and many more species are threatening the native species in the

waterways and are completely wiping out populations that are vital to the ecosystem in these

waters (Chesapeake Bay Program, n.d.). Exotic plants are no better, producing an undesirable

and unnatural landscape of these parks that have overtaken the species that preserved these lands

for thousands of years. The staff in these parks can only do so much with the methods they use to

do their best to reduce the spread of these invaders.

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Implications

The number one cause of decline in natural and domestic species for both plants and

animals in the United States is invasive species (Dueñas, 2018). Foreign invaders come in all

shapes and sizes and from all corners of the world, leaving destruction in their wake as they

conquer vital habitats all over the United States. Both state and national parks derive their

business from around the country on the promise of displaying the natural ecosystems and

wildlife to visitors. The parks are there to both protect and prevent changes like this occurring

but there is only so much they can do before the populations get too big to put under control.

Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act is a federal law put in place to help maintain a safe and healthy

environment through the waterways in the United States. This act checks up on organizations

like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make sure they are all doing what they are

supposed to in order to maintain a good environment in these bodies of water. Invasive species is

among their list of harmful impacts that are interfering with keeping a safe and healthy

environment. The Clean Water Act helps with the prevention of not only invasive species, but

pollution and gives protection to the marine life in these waterways.

Environmental Protection Agency Guilty

Many environmental conservation agencies around the country are there to watch over

and look after the affairs of the environment for protection against many predators and threats, a

major one being invasive species. Sadly, many of these agencies fall short of their duties and

allow harm to be done to the environment on their watch. Cases like these can have legal

implications so the companies can understand the damages that they have caused not only the

environment, but the economy and the populations around the affected places. For example, the
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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was found guilty in 2015 of failing to protect many

important bodies of water including the Great Lakes, the Long Island Sound, the Gulf of Mexico,

and the San Francisco Bay from invasive aquatic species. They failed to regulate the Clean water

Act which stopped ships from dumping infested and foreign water into our waterways. Not only

did their failure to abide by the Clean Water Act affect the introduction of invasive species, it

caused billions of dollars in economic and ecological damages. The 2nd U.S. District Court of

Appeals voted unanimously, and ordered the EPA to rewrite their regulations concerning ballast

water discharge from ships (NRDC, 2015). This case shows how important regulation is to keep

invasive species out of the U.S. Not only did this cause economical damage, but irreversible

ecological damage that could have been avoided had they not violated the Clean Water Act. This

case is a prime example of why storing laws and regulations are needed, to show people how

important the long term damage can be.

Social

As much as invasive species impact the environment, no one really thinks about the

impact these foreign species might have on life in a social aspect. Biodiversity gives human life

the ability to use resources of the Earth in order to live and sustain life everyday. We use the

Earth in all its glory, chopping down trees and catching seas full of fish that are all for the taking.

Biodiversity gives us a choice, helps us have variety, and gives equal opportunity for people to

always have something for themselves. Over time, as invasive species have become more and

more prevalent in natural environments and ecosystems, they are slowly changing the natural life

around them. Wiping out the local and natural species and making a place for themselves,

changing the biodiversity of the Earth. CABI, an international agricultural and environmental

organization, stated “Biodiversity is essential for the functioning of the ecosystems that provide
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vital resources such as food, water, fuel, building material and traditional medicines for millions

of people” (CABI, n.d.). The world can go on without these basic needs of medicine and building

materials, but human life cannot. Our livelihood comes down to being able to last on the

resources the Earth provides us. Simple conservation efforts can be the deciding factor of

whether or not we choose to go in the right direction for the environment. State and National

parks survive off of visitors that chose to come and observe the natural beauty of that specific

region. If foreign species start to take over the parks around the country, there will be nothing

left for these parks to survive.

Economical

The economy in the United States relies heavily on things like tourism, public utilities,

indoor and outdoor recreation, and property values of landscapes around the country. In relation,

state and national parks rely on the same aspects of tourism and outdoor recreation to provide

income in order to stay funded and have the ability to protect the environment. Invasive species

pose a threat to the economy in all of these ways through destruction of the environment.

Tourists travel to specific places to see the values of different environments and natural wildlife

that come with that. Investors buy land with landscapes that can provide them with value to build

and sell houses and different businesses on. People rely on the environment to keep up its natural

biodiversity that comes with the land, but are put into danger when these foreign invaders come

and start to change the landscapes little by little. The National Invasive Species Information

Center states, “A 2005 study estimated that the economic damages associated with invasive

species in the United States reached approximately $120 billion/year (FWS 2012)” (USDA,

n.d.). With the right protection and conservation strategies, these tremendous economic losses

can be reduced.
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Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is home to hundreds of thousands of different types of marine life

that stretches down the Atlantic Coastal Plain in the eastern United States. Being one of the

largest estuaries in the nation, it is a national attraction that brings business through tourism to

the surrounding towns and cities. Through the beaches or the blue crabs, the Chesapeake Bay

provides extensive income to all of the coastal towns it touches. Through time, visitors have

unintentionally brought with them different aquatic and plant species that do not naturally belong

in the bay. The Chesapeake Bay is such a specific and special estuary that is a unique ecosystem

to many native lives, but they are being disturbed and damaged by many invasive species that

have disrupted the way of life in the bay. The northern snakehead fish, originating from China,

were brought to the United States and discovered in Maryland in 2000 (Chesapeake Bay

Program, n.d.). Since then, they have populated the rivers and estuaries of the surrounding areas,

including the Chesapeake Bay. The northern snakehead fish competes with the native species of

the bay and carries a host of parasites and diseases our natural fish are not accustomed to. This is

just one of thousands of species that are harming the natural environment of the bay. Many state

parks are located along the Chesapeake Bay, including Kiptopeke State Park and First Landing

State Park. Many people visit these parks with the intention to explore the bay, but there will no

longer be a bay people would want to see if it is depleted of any natural species, plant or animal.

Ways of Prevention

Invasive species are a naturally occurring environmental problem that has happened since

migration and traveling was occurring at the dawn of time. Though it naturally occurs, human

activity is greatly speeding up the process of which it is happening. There are ways to help

prevent the spread of foreign species that can slow down the process.
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Clean

Fishing, swimming, paddleboarding, and kayaking in waterways can be a fun activity to

do with your family. Many tourists from around the nation travel to the beach, lake, or river to

have a fun day in the water. What many people do not realize is that their equipment has not

been washed or clean properly before entering these waterways. Plants and dirt can contain

fragments that allow the water to wash them away into the surrounding banks, introducing a

plant species that was not there before. Something as simple as this can introduce a harmful

species that can be detrimental to the local ecosystems. Always make sure to clean equipment

before entering an important body of water, to make sure no new species will be introduced

unintentionally.

Pets

An exotic fish at the local pet store can be a nice pet to have, until someone does not have

enough time to keep up with it. Oftentimes people chose to release the fish into their local river

or beach if they decide they do not want it anymore, a simple solution to their problem. Choices

like these is what can lead to an exotic introduction of species which can affect the local species

of the area. The Ocean Conservancy states, “Each year, nearly 150 million exotic fishes

comprising 2,000 different species are imported into the U.S. for the aquarium trade. Currently,

at least 185 different species of exotic fish have been caught in U.S. waters” (Ocean

Conservancy, 2017). Always make sure to give the fish back into the care of the store or give it

to someone who has the time to look after it because it is not safe to release an exotic fish into

just any body of water.

Awareness
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Foreign species are changing landscapes, natural ecosystems, and reversing decades of

life that natural plants and animals have provided to their local habitats (Perdue, 2014).

Awareness is vital because the general public needs to understand how to prevent and fight

against these enemies. State and national parks around the United States are fighting these silent

enemies while trying to provide a safe and beneficial experience for the visitors. The parks

preserve the life of the ecosystems, and the invaders are causing irreversible damage. There are

many ways humans can help stop the spread of these invasive species, and the only way to

accomplish the goal is to inform and educate.

What Now?

Though the human race does not fit into the dictionary definition of invasive species, we

tend to forget how much damage we can cause as a result of the way we choose to live. Using

the environment for short term satisfaction will not keep up forever, which is why we must act

fast on this great environmental issue. Invasive species are not only posing a threat to state and

national parks, but the world around us. Social, economical, and ecological damages will be the

full extent of destruction in the future, but it does not have to be. Conservation efforts, no matter

how small, will always make a big difference. Something as simple as donating to a local state

park, or being mindful of the environment has the ability to make a positive impact. One small

act of caring can turn into one big act of saving.

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