Jennifer Andreas spearheads an ongoing effort to reduce the impact of invasive species in Washington state, benefiting food producers, recreationists, and landowners across Washington.
The Washington State University professor and Extension specialist works with statewide partner agencies to release biocontrols — natural foes from an invasive species’ host range.
Biocontrols have a demonstrated track record of reducing or eliminating some of the worst health or economic impacts from invasives.
“Invasive species impact so much of our economy and our environment,” Andreas said. “They’re a huge problem globally. Many people don’t realize how far-reaching of a problem they pose.”
According to the Washington Invasive Species Council, invasives cause economic losses of more than $1 billion annually in Washington state. Invasives trigger wildfires, damage crops, and can devastate salmon habitat and shellfish industries.
That’s led to large number of organizations and people partnering with Andreas’ program, from cities or state and federal agencies to private landowners and tribal governments working together to address this extensive issue.
“When I give presentations, I say ‘if you have infestations where biocontrol makes sense in your weed management strategy, let’s work together,’” Andreas said.
“Because we work with a broad range of partners, there is a strong educational component to biocontrol,” she added. “It can be a misunderstood practice. We provide information on why we do it, how it works, and what’s available for a specific problem.”
Andreas stresses that biocontrol is just one tool among many, including pesticides. However, she has seen massive successes using the technique over her career, which began right out of graduate school.
“Dalmatian toadflax outcompetes desirable rangeland vegetation, especially after wildfire, but it’s also very well controlled by a stem-mining weevil,” she said. “Large infestations of toadflax are completely reduced within three to five years.”
Currently, Andreas and colleagues are researching potential solutions for flowering rush, an aquatic weed that’s rapidly spreading within the Columbia River Basin, which includes British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and 13 Native nations.
“It is extremely challenging to control, even with herbicides,” Andreas said. “We keep finding it new places.”
The search for a successful biocontrol begins in an invasive’s native range. Once a natural antagonist is identified, prior to release in a new environment the prospective biocontrol agent is tested to ensure it won’t cause unintended problems.
“An invasive species has a competitive advantage, because it’s free of its natural enemies. Biocontrol agents are the target’s co-evolved natural enemies — they come from the same place,” said Andreas. “We work to get the weed or pest back into the balance that you see in its native range.”
The effects from biocontrol are not always immediately apparent. Sometimes gaining a toehold on control can take decades. But Andreas sees the results firsthand from her work, everywhere from forests and rangelands to wetland ecosystems.
“After release of a biocontrol agent, it might take five to 20 years to start seeing population reduction,” she said. “But we reduce the impacts of invasive species one release at a time and one activity at a time.”
Biocontrol program information is available to the public, and Andreas encourages anyone with questions about biocontrol to reach out to her.
“We provide this public service in order to improve our shared landscape in the long run,” she said. “Our job is to assist the public in achieving their invasive species management goals.”
Further information
Andreas’ work is part of an effort to bolster food production and maintain sustainable natural resources statewide. Learn more about WSU Extension’s work to create a Resilient Washington.
Media contact
Jennifer Andreas, Professor Integrated Weed Control Project, email: jandreas@wsu.edu, phone: 253-445-4657