Introduction
This legislation directed the Department to conduct a study to develop processes and criteria to assess the danger posed to naturally occurring ecosystems by invasive terrestrial plant species and to determine which invasive plant species are of significant concern. This issue has been gaining momentum within the state and throughout the region for the past several years. In 1996, the Maine Landscape and Nursery Association included this topic at their annual meeting. In 1999, a group spearheaded by a botanist at Acadia National Park produced a brochure entitled Gardening to Conserve Maine’s Native Landscape. It suggested alternative native plants to replace those considered invasive. In 2001, the Maine Natural Areas Program produced and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension printed invasive plant fact sheets to complement the 2000 Maine Invasive Plant Survey Atlas, an effort to collect field data on invasive plants in Maine. Much of this data has been added to the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England (IPANE) database. Three years later, the Department produced a brochure describing methods for identifying and managing giant hogweed, a federal noxious weed. That same year it also distributed another brochure regarding purple loosestrife control. In 2006, the New England Invasive Plant Center hosted a meeting for horticulture industry members focusing on invasive plants. The general consensus from the group at this meeting was that the industry needed to be part of the solution by supporting regulation in the future rather than adding to the problem.
Within the past several years Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut have passed regulations regarding the sale and possession of invasive terrestrial plants. All the outreach efforts, data collection and actions taken in other states will help Maine take advantage of available resources and learn from the successes and the failures occurring in our neighboring states.
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