Invasive Species

Modeled distribution of non-native annual grasses near Monument, OR. Credit: Matt Noone, INR.

While the majority of our work deals with rare and sensitive species, ORBIC is also involved with ranking and tracking invasive species, modeling non-native species distributions, and mapping existing distributions of some species. The image at right shows an example of a non-native annual grass map created for Eastern Oregon, with darker red representing a higher probability of the presence of invasive annual grasses.

ORBIC also administers and maintains the Oregon iMapInvasives website and database, which contains information about much of the work being done on invasive species throughout the state. Partners throughout Oregon use iMapInvasives to track, query, and share invasive species locations, surveys, and treated areas. iMapInvasives is available to anyone interested in learning more about invasive species, or wanting to map locations or track treatments online. More information can be found on the iMapInvasives Resources website.

Image: Modeled distribution of non-native annual grasses near Monument, OR. Credit: Matt Noone, INR.

Oregon iMapInvasives

About Oregon iMapInvasives

Oregon iMapInvasives LogoORBIC has partnered with the Oregon Marine Board, Metro, the West Multnomah and Clackamas County Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the Oregon Invasive Species Council, and others to centralize invasive species information for Oregon. These locations are shared through the online tool, iMapInvasives.

iMapInvasives is an online, GIS-based invasive species reporting and querying tool developed by NatureServe, the New York Natural Heritage Program, and many other collaborators. It is focused on the need for land managers, regional planners, and others who are working to prevent, control or manage invasive species to have locational information for where invasives are found. iMap also places an emphasis on developing functionality to aid in early detection, rapid response efforts.

The iMapInvasives public map is accessible without a login. To view additional data, enter sightings online, and otherwise take full advantage of the iMapInvasives site, you will need to create a free account.

To learn more about iMapInvasives, please visit the Oregon iMapInvasives Resources site.

You can see the species that are tracked on iMapInvasives at our Jurisdiction Species List page. If you are an iNaturalist user, you can also contribute observations to our iMapinvasives iNaturalist Project.

Links to Other Invasive Species Resources

  • ODA Noxious Weed Control Program. The Oregon Department of Agricultures's Noxious Weed Control Program protects Oregon´s natural resources from the invasion and proliferation of exotic noxious weeds. 
  • ODA WeedMapper. WeedMapper is a Web-based spatially referenced database of noxious weeds that anyone may query. The database includes locations of noxious weeds throughout Oregon as collected by responsible federal, state, and local agencies. Maintained by the Oregon Department of Agriculture. 
  • Oregon Aquatic Nuisance Species Management Plan (PDF). The goal of the plan is to minimize the harmful ecological, economic, and social impact of Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) through prevention and management of introduction, population growth, and dispersal of ANS into, within, and from Oregon.
  • Oregon Invasive Species Council. OISC was created by the Oregon legislature in 2002. Its purpose is to conduct a coordinated and comprehensive effort to keep invasive species out of Oregon and to eliminate, reduce, or mitigate the impacts of invasive species already established in Oregon. The OISC Web site has links to many resources about invasive species in Oregon.
  • Oregon Invasive Species Hotline - Oregonians can report and upload photos of suspected invasives and interact with invasive species experts.
  • The Silent Invasion - This is the companion site the 2008 Oregon Public Broadcasting series on invasive species in Oregon. It provides extensive links and information on invasive species in Oregon including a video archive of stories about invasives in Oregon.
  • US Army Corps of Engineers Invasive Species Management. USACE employs the latest economically efficient technologies and research; and biological, mechanical and chemical control methods. USACE also stays on the leading edge of invasive species management by developing new pest control techniques through its Aquatic Nuisance Species Research Program and Aquatic Plant Control Research Program.
  • USDA Forest Services' Invasive Plants Inventory. The Forest Service Natural Resource Information System (NRIS) supports a corporate computer application for Invasive Plants Inventory. The application is an Oracle database, utilizing Oracle data entry forms and ESRI’s Spatial Data Engine (SDE) for storing and managing spatial data in Oracle. ESRI’s ArcMap is used to display the Invasive Plants Feature Class containing the invasive plants inventory polygons.
  • USGS Non-Indigenous Aquatic Species. Tracks aquatic vertebrate and invertebrate species throughout the US and provides fact sheets on hundreds of species.