Objective

To determine if the Department of Environmental Conservation (Department) was effectively managing invasive species to prevent and mitigate the harmful effects of invasive species populations in New York State. The audit covers the period April 1, 2017 through November 22, 2019.

About the Program

Many species of plants and animals currently found in New York State are not indigenous, but rather have been introduced by humans. Subsets of these species may cause habitat degradation, loss of native species, risks to public safety, human illness, or damage to crops and livestock and are deemed "invasive." Invasive species aggressively outcompete native species, adversely affecting the ecological integrity of the State’s natural communities and systems. In New York, invasive species management is a collaborative effort between the Department and various other agencies and entities. However, as the State’s environmental regulatory agency, oversight responsibilities generally rest with the Department. Invasive species are generally classified as aquatic invasive species (AIS) or terrestrial invasive species (TIS). AIS are commonly spread via fishing and boating activities. Boat stewards are volunteers or paid members of the community who provide the public with important information about precautions such as cleaning, drying, and draining watercraft to reduce the spread of AIS. The Department is authorized to enact AIS preventive measures, including public education (e.g., boat steward education/inspection program; warning signage at public boat launches) and is responsible for implementing and maintaining a statewide, coordinated management program, including a permit system to control activities (e.g., dredging, mining, construction) that could inadvertently spread AIS or TIS. The Department also performs assessments to categorize and quantify the "invasiveness" of non-native species and their social and economic implications. These assessments allow the Department to control the spread of non-native species through regulation. Further, the Department actively participates in early detection methods, such as trap checking and other forms of direct observation, to identify specific forest-related TIS.

Key Findings

While the Department has been active in establishing programs to address invasive species, improvements in its oversight, monitoring, and communication relating to boat inspections, permits, and early detection and assessment of invasive species could strengthen its ability to mitigate the spread of invasive species. For example:

• Boat stewards did not always engage boaters exiting and entering waterbodies to provide AIS and watercraft inspection training.
• Educational signage was not always posted or posted conspicuously, limiting its usefulness in educating the boating public about AIS and their role in preventing its spread.
• The Department does not consistently apply or monitor its permit system to control activities, such as mining, dredging, and construction, that can trigger invasive species spread and further impact the State’s biological resources. Of those permits we sampled, 84 percent did not include provisions to mitigate the spread of invasive species even though the type of work being performed could be a source of spread.
• The Department also did not provide guidance on how to monitor provisions of permits that included invasive species management.
• We also found assessments of non-native species were not always completed or were missing information.

Key Recommendations

• Develop a process to, among other things, communicate duties and responsibilities to boat stewards and coordinate with other oversight entities to improve preventive efforts across public boat launches statewide, ensuring consistency and compliance with signage and other requirements.
• Develop and implement policies, procedures, or guidance on issuing permits and monitoring compliance relating to invasive species.