Role of External Peer Review in Supporting Invasive Species Suppression Efforts

Suppression of invasive species in order to restore historical species assemblages and ecosystem integrity has become more prevalent in the past several decades, but in many cases, these programs are hampered by inadequate institutional and public support and funding.  External peer review is an important mechanism for program evaluation that provides critical assessment of progress and potential for success, and concomitantly, it can be used as a means of building program support.  For example, peer review of the lake trout suppression program currently being conducted in Yellowstone Lake was used in the development and initiation of the program in 1995, and in 2008, a second review was used to assess interim status of the program.  By addressing most of the barriers to success identified during this external review, managers have improved the probability of success directly through targeted changes, and indirectly through renewed interest and support generated by these responses.  The most recent external peer review in 2011 suggests that despite continued increases in the number of lake trout being removed each year, fishing mortality is approaching levels necessary to initiate population decline over the next 5 years.  Furthermore, NPS is working to increase resources and programs to restore the Yellowstone Lake ecosystem by expanding collaborative partnerships.