John Peter Thompson, member of the National Invasive Species Council Advisory Committee (NISC ISAC) to attend meeting in Texas November 2014.

            John Peter Thompson, @InvasiveNotes, will be traveling to San Antonio, Texas, to attend a meeting of the US National Invasive Species Council Advisory Committee (ISAC).  Mr. Thompson was appointed to ISAC in 2003, and was re-appointed in 2014 to another three year term (2009-2014). He has served as Secretary and Vice Chair of ISAC in his past service (2003-2008).   

           ISAC members are not paid for their service. Its expertise represents a wide variety of interests from academia, industry, and the private sector.  Chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), ISAC generally holds at least two meetings per year one of which is in Washington, DC. The Invasive Species Advisory Committee (ISAC) is a group of non-federal experts and stakeholders established and mandated by Executive Order (EO) 13112 to provide advice to The National Invasive Species Council (NISC) on invasive species-related issues. 

           Mr. Thompson is currently under contract with the University of Maryland and the State of Maryland Department of Agriculture to provide risk assessments of garden plants for the Maryland Invasive Plant Advisory Committee. Mr. Thompson is a contributing author to ISAC's Invasive Species White Paper (Definitions White Paper (April 2006)) as well as the draft author of the ISAC White Paper on Climate Change and Invasive Species (Climate Change White Paper (December 2010).  His recent publications include a chapter in, Invasive Species and Global Climate Change.

            Invasive species are plants, animals and diseases that are not indigenous (native) to a landscape or community, and that once established, begin to spread causing economic or aesthetic loss, or harm to human, animal or plant health. Invasive species are said to cost the US taxpayers over 130 billion dollars a year to control, manage, or eradicate. The aforementioned definition white paper notes that "Complications concerning the concept of invasive species arise from differing human values and perspectives. Differing perceptions of the relative harm caused or benefit gained by a particular organism are influenced by different values and management goals. If invasive species did not cause harm, we would not be nearly as concerned. Perceptions of relative benefit and harm also may change as new knowledge is acquired, or as human values or management goals change.".

      This year, Mr. Thompson will serve as Acting Chair of the ISAC Research Subcommittee. Participants in the subcommittees are from Federal and non-federal entities, and are mandated by FACA to report to the full ISAC. 

 AGENDA for SC meetings Nov. 12 and Nov. 14, 2014

1.       APHIS biocontrol programs

·         Information received

·         Request for more detailed information from APHIS - update

2.       Systematics budget information from HIGHLIGHTS USDA Report to ISAC Winter 2014

·         ARS budget systematics

ARS Systematics Funding:

FY10 - $ 20,455 million

FY11 Repor - $ 20,578 million

FY12 - $ 20,398 million

Enacted FY13 - $ 19,155 million

FY14 - $ 22,388 million

FY15 – To be determined

·         ARS scientist years in systematics invasive species research

·         New APHIS efforts in systematics FY14

3.       “Protecting America’s economy, environment, health, and security against invasive species requires a strong Federal Program in Systematics Biology” (2008) 

·         Short presentation (Hilda)

·         Discussion

·         Potential ISAC Research SC recommendations:  

4.       Invasive Species Database standards

·         Proposal by Chuck Bergeron: state of the topic; what is needed; what is ISAC’s role?  Proposal is to develop white paper to encourage use of standards across agency and external programs

·         Discussion

5.       Proposal of National Invasive Species Research Center

·         Discussion

·         SC recommendation

6.       Ask PECAST to look at Systematics