About FISC

Florida Invasive Species Council – a non-profit 501(c)3

In an effort to retire outdated invasive species terminology, the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (FLEPPC) formally changed its name to the Florida Invasive Species Council (FISC).

FISC has often partnered with the Florida Invasive Species Partnership (FISP), and the two organizations decided to merge in 2022 to better leverage our efforts and to reduce confusion with names and acronyms.

Why?

Researchers and extension professionals recently identified “exotic” as one of the 6 terms to avoid when communicating about invasive species (native invasive, invasive weed, alien, foreign, and nonindigenous have also been included). Misuse and misinterpretation of these terms create confusion in invasive species communication. For more information regarding invasive species terminology, please review this publication in the Journal of Extension here (Iannone et al. 2020).

Iannone III, B. V., Carnevale, S., Main, M. B., Hill, J. E., McConnell, J. B., Johnson, S. A., Enloe, S. F., Andreu, M., Bell, E. C., Cuda, J. P., & Baker, S. M. (2020). Invasive Species Terminology: Standardizing for Stakeholder Education. Journal of Extension, 58(3), 27.

The Florida Invasive Species Partnership (FISP) merged with FISC in 2022 to enhance effectiveness in reaching our shared goal of advancing invasive plant management in all of Florida. FISP focused on voluntary partnerships at many different levels from local to statewide, and bringing this group under the FISC umbrella allows us to better coordinate our efforts. FISP now operates in much the same manner, just as a committee within FISC.