Success Stories

With damaging plant and animal species of all kinds invading national parks, some days, the fight against invasive species can seem hopeless. But that’s not the case!

As quickly as new invasive species threaten our national parks, dedicated park staff are working just as fast to save native ecosystems. Read stories of successful prevention, removal, and restoration from national parks below.

Ready to help? Learn how you can help prevent the introduction and spread invasive species or find a national park near you to volunteer.

Prevention: Success Stories in Parks

Showing results 1-6 of 6
  • Indiana Dunes National Park

    Great Lakes Invasive Plant Management Team Successfully Restores Intradunal Wetland

    • Locations: Indiana Dunes National Park
    water runs through a flat area of land, greenery surrounds it

    Thanks to the collaboration between the Great Lakes Invasive Plant Management Team (IPMT) and Indiana Dunes National Park, a globally vulnerable panne ecosystem has been restored after it had previously been overwhelmed by invasive plants.

  • Great Smoky Mountains National Park

    Partnerships Make Wetland Restoration Happen

    • Locations: Great Smoky Mountains National Park
    group of people plant native plants in a grassy meadow

    Tribes, volunteers, and students came together to restore a critically important wetland in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Teamwork made the project successful.

  • Spotted Knapweed on the Decline in Big Hole National Battlefield

    • Locations: Big Hole National Battlefield, Nez Perce National Historical Park
    • Offices: Biological Resources Division, Inventory and Monitoring Division
    Jason Lyon sprays knapweed in Big Hole NHP.

    The dedicated efforts of National Park Service staff and the Northern Rocky Mountain Exotic Plant Management Team (EPMT) at Big Hole National Battlefield has resulted in the decline of an invasive plant that threatens park natural and cultural resources: the spotted knapweed.

  • Of salmon and success: Partnership across boundaries in Olympic National Park

    • Locations: Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Olympic National Park
    • Offices: Biological Resources Division
    A man standing in a tall thick of knotweed

    Invasive species management in national parks can be hard, but success is possible! Learn how the Exotic Plant Management Team, along with tribal and state partners, fought invasive knotweed - but not vampires - in Olympic National Park.

  • Prevention: The Successful Treatment for Invasive Mussels

    two boats float on blue water with mountains in background

    A long-term partnership in Colorado has proven to be a successful way to prevent invasive mussels.

  • Managing Bull Thistle in Disturbed Areas of Lassen Volcanic National Park

    • Locations: Lassen Volcanic National Park
    • Offices: Biological Resources Division
    Bull thistle removal in Lassen Volcanic NP.

    Steve Buckley of the California Exotic Plant Management Team shares a story of success in invasive species management.

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Last updated: February 17, 2023

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