DOI: 10.4231/hwqf-v087
title: Alien Forest Pest Detection by Counties in the United States

description: &lt;p&gt;This dataset includes pest distribution at the county-level for the &lt;a href="https://mapsweb.lib.purdue.edu/AFPE"&gt;Alien Forest Pest Explorer (AFPE&lt;/a&gt;) tool. The data was last updated in 04/2023. Distributions of pests were assembled for all non-indigenous forest insect and pathogen species recognized for their economic damage in the USA. To date, the AFPE database includes 74 species of forest insects and 15 species of forest pathogens. The data on invasive pests was gathered using a set of criteria to identify non-indigenous forest insect and pathogen species that have economic impact in the USA, at the county level, from various federal data sources. A single dataset containing details on harmful, alien forest insects and disease pathogens enables the possibility of prompt and efficient management at a regional level. It aims to serve as a resource for broader, regional strategies to manage invasive forest pests.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The AFPE database is maintained as a joint effort of &lt;a data-dsid="" data-link="null" data-uniqueid="" href="https://ag.purdue.edu/fnr/Pages/default.aspx" target="_self"&gt;Purdue University&lt;/a&gt;, the &lt;a data-dsid="" data-link="%7B%22value%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nrs.fs.usda.gov%2F%22%2C%22linkType%22%3A%22WEB_ADDRESS%22%2C%22expression%22%3Anull%2C%22openType%22%3A%22_blank%22%7D" data-uniqueid="f3e2e541_4285_2266_51bd_a075727083af" href="https://www.nrs.fs.usda.gov/" target="_blank"&gt;US Forest Service Northern Research Station&lt;/a&gt;, the &lt;a data-dsid="" data-link="%7B%22value%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fs.usda.gov%2Fforesthealth%2Findex.shtml%22%2C%22linkType%22%3A%22WEB_ADDRESS%22%2C%22expression%22%3Anull%2C%22openType%22%3A%22_blank%22%7D" data-uniqueid="f338bec0_d803_69c3_5b10_da95589a1ef8" href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/foresthealth/index.shtml" target="_blank"&gt;US Forest Service Forest Health Protection&lt;/a&gt; and the &lt;a data-dsid="" data-link="%7B%22linkType%22%3A%22WEB_ADDRESS%22%2C%22openType%22%3A%22_blank%22%2C%22value%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fs.usda.gov%2Fforesthealth%2Fapplied-sciences%2F%22%2C%22expression%22%3Anull%7D" data-uniqueid="96b41eb8_47a6_18d7_648f_1ef604ef8830" href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/foresthealth/applied-sciences/" target="_blank"&gt;Forest Health Assessment &amp; Applied Sciences Team&lt;/a&gt; partially funded by the &lt;a data-dsid="" data-link="null" data-uniqueid="" href="https://www.nsf.gov/" target="_self"&gt;National Science Foundation&lt;/a&gt;. As part of ongoing improvement and maintenance of this database, pest distribution data will be continually updated as data becomes available. Much of this information draws from field-reports made by Federal and State forest health specialists. Information on new pest finds is always welcome and we ask individuals who believe they have new data on pest distributions to contact Susan Crocker (&lt;a data-dsid="" data-link="null" data-uniqueid="" href="mailto:susan.j.crocker@usda.gov" target="_self"&gt;susan.j.crocker@usda.gov&lt;/a&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;
description: The dataset includes pest distribution at the county-level. It has 74 species of forest insects and 15 species of forest pathogens.