The first analysis of the economic effects of invasive species in Alaska finds that governments and nonprofit groups spent about $29 million from 2007 to 2011, or nearly $6 million a year, to manage those species. Tobias Schwörer of ISER and Rebekka Federer and Howard Ferren of the Alaska SeaLife Center did the analysis, based on a survey of public and private organizations that deal with invasive species around the state. The research was funded by several federal and state agencies. The analysis finds that the federal government put up most of the money for managing invasive species, and that the two biggest expenses in the study period were eradicating Norway rats on an Aleutian Island and Northern pike in lakes in Southcentral Alaska.
To read the publication, click here (PDF, 2.1MB).
