Montana Invasive Species Education

Getting Started

We would like to welcome you to the Montana Invasive Species Education project (MISE). This educational project has many components, including posters, invasive species ID cards, lesson plans, and resource documents.

The project was a collaborative effort between the following organizations in order to combine resources into one comprehensive educational unit: DNRC, NRCS, the Montana Department of Agriculture, Fish Wildlife and Parks, Montana Noxious Weed Education Campaign, and other agencies who supplied time and funding. Many photographers donated their photos so that students could see actual exceptional photos of pollinators, and to them we give a huge thanks!

Reference Materials

• Montana Invasive Species Education Introduction
• Montana Invasive Species Education Poster (web resolution, 8.7MB)
• Montana Invasive Species Education Poster (high quality print resolution, 16MB)

Montana Invasive Species Education Identification Guides

• All Guides as a single PDF file
• Fruit Pests
• Wood-Boring Beetles
• Defoliators
• Plant Diseases
• Nematodes
• Terrestrial Snail
• Aquatic Snails and Clams
• Mollusks
• Crustaceans
• Reptiles and Amphibians
• Fish
• Aquatic Plants
• Terrestrial Plants

Lesson Plans

• Invasive Species Awareness - PSA
  Grade Level: 4-12 | Duration: 3 50-minute class periods
• Hungry Pests Invade Middle School from USDA
  Grade Level: 6-8 | complete standards-based curriculum with 4 lessons

Recommended Reading List

For Students

• What is the Threat of Invasive Species? by Eve Hartman
• Alien Invaders: Species That Threaten Our World by Jane Drake

For Teachers

• Teaching About Invasive Species by Tim Grant

Extended Online Resources

• Download Extended Online Resources list as a Single PDF file

Montana Resources

• Aquatic Invasive Species from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
  Providing comprehensive information on invasive fish species.
• Montana Department of Agriculture Noxious Weed Program
  Montana specific science and control information on invasive weed species.
• Invasive Species: State Resources - Montana from the USDA National Agricultural Library
  Provides links to state-specific resources with an interest in the prevention, control, or eradication of invasive species.

National Resources

• Invasive Species, Pests and Disease from the U.S. Forest Service
  General information about invasive species and what you can do to help.
• National Invasive Species Information Center from the USDA National Agricultural Library
  Gateway to invasive species information; covering Federal, State, local, and international sources.
• Invasive Species K-12 Educational Resources from the USDA National Agricultural Library
  Provides general educational resources for students K-12 for invasive species.
• HungryPests.com from the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
  Public information site on the many ways to help protect your state from the threat of Hungry Pests.
• Invasive Species & Pests from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
  NRCS works internally through its Plant Materials Centers and with many other partners to address the spread of plants that have been classified as noxious or invasive.
• Asian Longhorned Beetle Info from the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
• Pest Tracker Exotic Pest Reporting from the CAPS Program
  The Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) program is sponsored by the Plant Protection and Quarantine division of USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service with Purdue University and other partners. Surveys to detect and prevent the spread of invasive pests are being supported in highlighted states.
  • Asian Longhorned Beetle from Pest Tracker
    Includes videos and other detailed information on this invasive beetle.
• An Educator's Guide for Invasive Species - Emerald Ash Borer in Indiana from Purdue University
  This site is specific to the Emerald Ash Borer and has good research materials to accompany the Montana Invasive Species Education lesson plan, along with many additional lesson plans and resources.
• PlayCleanGo.org
  Working with a group of interagency partners, including the University of Minnesota Extension, Minnesota departments of Agriculture and Transportation, and Explore Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has launched PlayCleanGo, an education and outreach campaign for outdoor recreation. The goal is to encourage outdoor recreation while protecting valuable natural resources. The objective is to slow or stop the spread of terrestrial invasive species (those that occur on land) through changes in public behavior.
• Invasive and Noxious Weeds from the US Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management
  Information on invasive weed species.
• Natural Inquirer Volume 8 Number 1 Invasive Species Edition
  Games, activities, lesson plans and more from this middle school science education journal.
• Spotted Knapweed Information from the North Dakota State University Extension Service
  (PDF format, .4MB): Detailed information on invasive Spotted Knapweed.
• Spotted Knapweed Information from the USDA National Agricultural Library
  A species profile for Spotted Knapweed from USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center.
• Sudden Oak Death Overview from the California Oak Mortality Task Force
  Information about a specific case of an invasive species causing widespread forest diebacks.
  • Pest Alert - Sudden Oak Death from the USDA Forest Service
  • Sudden Oak Death Species Profile from the USDA National Agricultural Library