The Florida Invasive Species Partnership Resolution
The undersigned recognize that invasive, non-native species can cause considerable damage to Florida's lands and waters, including native plant and wildlife habitat, farmland, forests, water resources, and scenic vistas.
WHEREAS, the undersigned recognize that if landowners and land managers, both public and private, wish to achieve long-term success in controlling and reducing the threat of invasive, non-native species in Florida, it is critical to:
- Form collaborative relationships with all stakeholders.
- Focus on comprehensive management of invasive species, including prevention, early detection/rapid response, control, applied research and outreach.
THEREFORE, the mission of the Florida Invasive Species Partnership is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of preventing and controlling invasive non-native species through partnering to increase communication, coordination and use of shared resources in order to protect wildlife habitat, working agricultural and forest lands, natural communities and biodiversity in Florida.
THEREFORE, we, the members of the Florida Invasive Species Partnership, declare that it is our desire to work together to protect Florida's lands and waters by furthering the following goals and objectives:
Goals:
- Encourage voluntary partnerships to increase effectiveness and decrease costs of comprehensive invasive species management;
- Encourage the development, implementation and sharing of new and/or innovative approaches to address the threat of invasive species; and,
- Provide tools and resources that enable the development of unified approaches, bridging the gap between private landowners’ and land management agency invasive species efforts.
Objectives:
- Promote and participate in partnerships and collaborative efforts to address invasive species on statewide, regional and local levels (i.e., Florida Invasive Species Partnership and Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas);
- Establish and maintain an interactive website at www.FloridaInvasives.org, providing information to address and resolve problems relating to invasive species and serving as a central repository for invasive species partnership efforts;
- Develop and maintain a database of existing incentive programs that can be used for invasive species management on public and private lands; and,
- Provide targeted outreach and training for invasive species management in Florida, including the use of innovative approaches.
The undersigned partners recognize that the commitments made herein are aspirational only and do not constitute binding legal commitments to program projects or expend funds.
Signatories:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
National Park Service
Florida Department of Transportation
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services - Division of Forestry
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
University of Florida - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
The Nature Conservancy
Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council
Florida Native Plant Society
Audubon of Florida
Southwest Florida Water Management District
Suwannee River Water Management District
