Community engagement is understood to be one of the keys to successful environmental programs - 'the social pillar' of management. In this paper we examine community engagement where volunteers participate by killing invasive animals. Most research to date focuses on the biological or management...

Volunteer citizen monitoring is an increasingly important source of scientific data. We developed a volunteer program for early detection of new invasive species by private landowners on their own land. Early detection of an invasive species, however, subjects the landowner to the potentially...

We established a first detectors network by inviting woodland owners to monitor for invasive pests on their property as volunteers. Accessible outreach materials are necessary to communicate volunteer responsibilities. A professional graphic design firm provided a series of design and layout...

People who have a stake in their environment are more likely to volunteer to assist conservation but they must be empowered to do so. This study explored the possibility of harnessing volunteers in the control of an invasive predator, the American mink Neovison vison, which decimates seabird...

Recent critics of the effort to control biological invasions argue that the extent of the damage they cause is overblown or that, whatever the damage, the effort to control them is largely futile. The best-known invasion impacts - predation, herbivory, competition, parasitism, and hybridization -...

Nonnative Spartina species (cordgrasses) are widely distributed along the West Coast of North America, but have not invaded all bays with susceptible habitat. We used drift cards to assess the patterns and rates of potential Spartina propagule dispersal by ocean currents from estuaries with...

Eradication programs for alien invasive species in Japan have been predominantly conducted by regional volunteers. In recent years, following the introduction of the Invasive Alien Species Act, national and regional governments have led eradication programs for alien invasive species in some...

Citizen science programs are touted as useful tools for engaging the public in science and for collecting important data for scientists and resource managers. To accomplish the latter, it must be shown that data collected by volunteers is sufficiently accurate and reliable. We engaged 119...

The Spotted Wing Drosophila Volunteer Monitoring Network (SWD*VMN) was developed in 2010. Initial monitoring efforts included North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia and now include 15 states in the eastern United States. The goals of the SWD*VMN were to detect D. suzukii presence throughout...