The Missouri River Watershed Coalition (MRWC) launched an Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS) on September 28, 2010 (http://www.eddmaps.org/mrwc/ ). The EDDMapS was developed by the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health (CISEH, also known as Bugwood) for the Coalition over the past year.
The CISEH created and hosts the custom EDDMapS for invasive species reporting and mapping in the six MRWC headwater states (Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming). The system will provide a means of reporting new sightings of select invasive species, a mechanism to alert appropriate individuals to the reports and generate distribution maps for reported species.
The MRWC EDDMapS will focus on species that are new or potentially new invaders to the Coalition states and these reports will form the database rather than historical or current distribution data for all invasive species within the six states. Initially, the system will focus on a specific list of invasive plant species identified by each state. More species and distribution data may be added subsequently.
