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Order 13112 Printable version

Executive Order 13112 

On Feb 3, 1999, Executive Order 13112 was signed establishing 

the National Invasive Species Council. The Executive Order 

requires that a Council of Departments dealing with invasive 

species be created. Currently there are 13 Departments and 

Agencies on the Council. 

Executive Order 13112 of February 3, 1999 - Invasive 

Species (PDF | 67 KB)

Federal Register: Feb 8, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 25) 

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution 

and the laws of the United States of America, including the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance 

Prevention and Control Act of 1990, as amended (16 U.S.C. 

4701 et seq.), Lacey Act, as amended (18 U.S.C. 42), Federal 

Plant Pest Act (7 U.S.C. 150aa et seq.), Federal Noxious Weed 

Act of 1974, as amended (7 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.), Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and 

other pertinent statutes, to prevent the introduction of invasive 

species and provide for their control and to minimize the 

economic, ecological, and human health impacts that invasive 

species cause, it is ordered as follows: 

z Section 1. Definitions 

z Section 2. Federal Agency Duties 

z Section 3. Invasive Species Council 

z Section 4. Duties of the Invasive Species Council 

z Section 5. Invasive Species Management Plan 

z Section 6. Judicial Review and Administration 

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Section 1. Definitions.

(a) "Alien species" means, with respect to a particular 

ecosystem, any species, including its seeds, eggs, spores, or 

other biological material capable of propagating that species, 

that is not native to that ecosystem. 

(b) "Control" means, as appropriate, eradicating, suppressing, 

reducing, or managing invasive species populations, preventing 

spread of invasive species from areas where they are present, 

and taking steps such as restoration of native species and 

habitats to reduce the effects of invasive species and to prevent 

further invasions. 

(c) "Ecosystem" means the complex of a community of 

organisms and its environment. 

(d) "Federal agency" means an executive department or agency,

but does not include independent establishments as defined by 5

U.S.C. 104. 

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(e) "Introduction" means the intentional or unintentional escape,

release, dissemination, or placement of a species into an 

ecosystem as a result of human activity. 

(f) "Invasive species" means an alien species whose introduction

does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or 

harm to human health. 

(g) "Native species" means, with respect to a particular 

ecosystem, a species that, other than as a result of an 

introduction, historically occurred or currently occurs in that 

ecosystem. 

(h) "Species" means a group of organisms all of which have a 

high degree of physical and genetic similarity, generally 

interbreed only among themselves, and show persistent 

differences from members of allied groups of organisms. 

(i) "Stakeholders" means, but is not limited to, State, tribal, and 

local government agencies, academic institutions, the scientific 

community, nongovernmental entities including environmental, 

agricultural, and conservation organizations, trade groups, 

commercial interests, and private landowners. 

(j) "United States" means the 50 States, the District of 

Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and all possessions, territories, 

and the territorial sea of the United States. 

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Section 2. Federal Agency Duties.

(a) Each Federal agency whose actions may affect the status of 

invasive species shall, to the extent practicable and permitted 

by law, 

(1) identify such actions; 

(2) subject to the availability of appropriations, and within 

Administration budgetary limits, use relevant programs and 

authorities to: (i) prevent the introduction of invasive species; 

(ii) detect and respond rapidly to and control populations of such

species in a cost-effective and environmentally sound manner; 

(iii) monitor invasive species populations accurately and reliably;

(iv) provide for restoration of native species and habitat 

conditions in ecosystems that have been invaded; (v) conduct 

research on invasive species and develop technologies to 

prevent introduction and provide for environmentally sound 

control of invasive species; and (vi) promote public education on

invasive species and the means to address them; and 

(3) not authorize, fund, or carry out actions that it believes are 

likely to cause or promote the introduction or spread of invasive 

species in the United States or elsewhere unless, pursuant to 

guidelines that it has prescribed, the agency has determined and

made public its determination that the benefits of such actions 

clearly outweigh the potential harm caused by invasive species; 

and that all feasible and prudent measures to minimize risk of 

harm will be taken in conjunction with the actions. 

(b) Federal agencies shall pursue the duties set forth in this 

section in consultation with the Invasive Species Council, 

consistent with the Invasive Species Management Plan and in 

cooperation with stakeholders, as appropriate, and, as approved 

by the Department of State, when Federal agencies are working 

with international organizations and foreign nations. 

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Section 3. Invasive Species Council.

(a) An Invasive Species Council (Council) is hereby established 

whose members shall include the Secretary of State, the 

Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the 

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Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the 

Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Transportation, and 

the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The 

Council shall be Co-Chaired by the Secretary of the Interior, the 

Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Commerce. The 

Council may invite additional Federal agency representatives to 

be members, including representatives from subcabinet bureaus 

or offices with significant responsibilities concerning invasive 

species, and may prescribe special procedures for their 

participation. The Secretary of the Interior shall, with 

concurrence of the Co-Chairs, appoint an Executive Director of 

the Council and shall provide the staff and administrative 

support for the Council. (b) The Secretary of the Interior shall 

establish an advisory committee under the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App., to provide information and advice

for consideration by the Council, and shall, after consultation 

with other members of the Council, appoint members of the 

advisory committee representing stakeholders. Among other 

things, the advisory committee shall recommend plans and 

actions at local, tribal, State, regional, and ecosystem-based 

levels to achieve the goals and objectives of the Management 

Plan in section 5 of this order. The advisory committee shall act 

in cooperation with stakeholders and existing organizations 

addressing invasive species. The Department of the Interior 

shall provide the administrative and financial support for the 

advisory committee. 

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Section 4. Duties of the Invasive Species Council.

The Invasive Species Council shall provide national leadership 

regarding invasive species, and shall: 

(a) oversee the implementation of this order and see that the 

Federal agency activities concerning invasive species are 

coordinated, complementary, cost-efficient, and effective, 

relying to the extent feasible and appropriate on existing 

organizations addressing invasive species, such as the Aquatic 

Nuisance Species Task Force, the Federal Interagency 

Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds, 

and the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources; 

(b) encourage planning and action at local, tribal, State, 

regional, and ecosystem-based levels to achieve the goals and 

objectives of the Management Plan in section 5 of this order, in 

cooperation with stakeholders and existing organizations 

addressing invasive species; 

(c) develop recommendations for international cooperation in 

addressing invasive species; 

(d) develop, in consultation with the Council on Environmental 

Quality, guidance to Federal agencies pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act on prevention and control of invasive 

species, including the procurement, use, and maintenance of 

native species as they affect invasive species; 

(e) facilitate development of a coordinated network among 

Federal agencies to document, evaluate, and monitor impacts 

from invasive species on the economy, the environment, and 

human health; 

(f) facilitate establishment of a coordinated, up-to-date 

information-sharing system that utilizes, to the greatest extent 

practicable, the Internet; this system shall facilitate access to 

and exchange of information concerning invasive species, 

including, but not limited to, information on distribution and 

abundance of invasive species; life histories of such species and 

invasive characteristics; economic, environmental, and human 

health impacts; management techniques, and laws and 

programs for management, research, and public education; and 

(g) prepare and issue a national Invasive Species Management 

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Plan as set forth in section 5 of this order. 

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Section 5. Invasive Species Management Plan.

(a) Within 18 months after issuance of this order, the Council 

shall prepare and issue the first edition of a National Invasive 

Species Management Plan (Management Plan), which shall detail

and recommend performance-oriented goals and objectives and 

specific measures of success for Federal agency efforts 

concerning invasive species. The Management Plan shall 

recommend specific objectives and measures for carrying out 

each of the Federal agency duties established in section 2(a) of 

this order and shall set forth steps to be taken by the Council to 

carry out the duties assigned to it under section 4 of this order. 

The Management Plan shall be developed through a public 

process and in consultation with Federal agencies and 

stakeholders. 

(b) The first edition of the Management Plan shall include a 

review of existing and prospective approaches and authorities 

for preventing the introduction and spread of invasive species, 

including those for identifying pathways by which invasive 

species are introduced and for minimizing the risk of 

introductions via those pathways, and shall identify research 

needs and recommend measures to minimize the risk that 

introductions will occur. Such recommended measures shall 

provide for a science-based process to evaluate risks associated 

with introduction and spread of invasive species and a 

coordinated and systematic risk-based process to identify, 

monitor, and interdict pathways that may be involved in the 

introduction of invasive species. If recommended measures are 

not authorized by current law, the Council shall develop and 

recommend to the President through its Co-Chairs legislative 

proposals for necessary changes in authority. 

(c) The Council shall update the Management Plan biennially and

shall concurrently evaluate and report on success in achieving 

the goals and objectives set forth in the Management Plan. The 

Management Plan shall identify the personnel, other resources, 

and additional levels of coordination needed to achieve the 

Management Plan's identified goals and objectives, and the 

Council shall provide each edition of the Management Plan and 

each report on it to the Office of Management and Budget. 

Within 18 months after measures have been recommended by 

the Council in any edition of the Management Plan, each Federal 

agency whose action is required to implement such measures 

shall either take the action recommended or shall provide the 

Council with an explanation of why the action is not feasible. 

The Council shall assess the effectiveness of this order no less 

than once each 5 years after the order is issued and shall report 

to the Office of Management and Budget on whether the order 

should be revised. 

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Section 6. Judicial Review and Administration.

(a) This order is intended only to improve the internal 

management of the executive branch and is not intended to 

create any right, benefit, or trust responsibility, substantive or 

procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a party against the 

United States, its agencies, its officers, or any other person. 

(b) Executive Order 11987 of May 24, 1977, is hereby revoked. 

(c) The requirements of this order do not affect the obligations 

of Federal agencies under 16 U.S.C. 4713 with respect to ballast 

water programs. 

(d) The requirements of section 2(a)(3) of this order shall not 

apply to any action of the Department of State or Department of

Defense if the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Defense 

finds that exemption from such requirements is necessary for 

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foreign policy or national securityreasons. 

WILLIAM J. CLINTON 

THE WHITE HOUSE, 

February 3, 1999. 

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Last Modified: Dec 02, 2008

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