The LSU AgCenter received $1 million in federal funding to launch a Mississippi River Invasive Species Consortium.
Invasive species threaten natural ecosystems in every U.S. state, but the hot and humid Mississippi River Valley is an ideal climate for them to flourish.
The University of Arkansas and Mississippi State University are collaborating with LSU on this project.
AgCenter Chief Administrative Officer Hampton Grunewald said that invasive, or non-native, species cost Louisiana tens of millions of dollars a year in damages and agricultural profit losses.
This issue has long been on the AgCenter’s radar. Since 2023, the AgCenter’s Center of Research Excellence for the Study of Invasive Species has worked to detect and control invasive species that are damaging to Louisiana and the South. The consortium will elevate this work.
“Bringing together the Center of Excellence and now this consortium is just amazing, especially since it aligns with the new USDA priorities that came out about two weeks ago,” Grunewald said.
The USDA’s priorities for 2026 include preventing, detecting and controlling high-impact invasive species.
Rodrigo Diaz is a professor of entomology and the director of the Center of Research Excellence for the Study of Invasive Species. He said that the Center of Excellence has already attempted to combat invasive species like the Roseau cane scale, guava root-knot nematodes and new planthoppers that are attacking rice and cotton.
Of all the invasive species that the consortium will address, Diaz said that Chinese tallow trees cause the most damage to Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas. He explained that Chinese tallow trees reduce biodiversity in prairies and forests. Plant communities that used to be diverse now contain only tallow trees.
Invasive species also harm native plants and animals. For example, Diaz said scientists have attributed the decline in frogs to the changes in leaf litter produced by Chinese tallow.
The consortium will have a regional impact, stretching from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes, according to the AgCenter’s press release.
“By showcasing how a new insect pest detected in the Port of New Orleans can become a problem in Tennessee or Illinois, we can increase the geographical impact of our work,” Diaz said. “A lot of emphasis should be on the ability to detect these invasive species early and establish monitoring programs. If we control them early, they will have less of a chance of becoming widespread problems.”
Grunewald said the AgCenter does not yet know what the first projects in the consortium will be; the AgCenter is still waiting on the funds to be appropriated through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service. Diaz estimates that it will be several months before projects are underway.
Diaz said that this funding allows planning to become action. He added that prevention is one of the best tools for management because invasive species spread so quickly. Funding will accelerate detection programs and enhance outreach.
