Report a Sighting

To submit a quality report, make sure to take a photograph, geo-tag the location, and leave your preferred method of contact so we may reach you with questions.

Watch a video on how to submit a report on our mobile app.

Instructions for submitting a report on our app can be found here.

What Happens to Your Report?

The council is an integral partner in connecting your report with the agency responding to the species’ introduction or spread. The council’s team of expert biologists, entomologists, epidemiologists, and invasive species managers review every report. It may take up to 2 weeks to receive a response to your report as we identify and contact the agency with the expertise or authority to take action.

Your report is valuable and provides data that tells the council and its partners the locations of invasive species and helps track their spread. This information is critical for making decisions about invasive species management and research.

Response Action Examples

Education and Outreach

In some instances, our experts identify that a reported invasive species actually is a native species. In these cases, we will give you information on the look-alike native species and how to tell it apart from the invasive.

If an invasive species is reported in an area where it is widespread and there are no resources to assist with its eradication, we will provide information to help landowners manage the invasive species.

Prevention

Many popular exotic pets aren’t considered invasive species in Washington, but we still don’t want them to be released into the wild. If an exotic pet is released into the wild, it may starve or not survive the winter. But if it survives, it may compete with native wildlife for shelter and food, sometimes even preying on the native species. On more than one occasion, the council has received reports of exotic pets such as pythons being spotted in the wild. Your reports can help guide biologists or animal rescues to the location so that the pet can be captured and re-homed. Learn more about Don’t Let it Loose, an effort to educate the public about the dangers of releasing unwanted pets into the wild.

Early Detection and Rapid Response

Your reports can alert experts about newer invasive species that haven’t taken over Washington yet. For example, feral swine are a huge problem in more than 30 states but have not yet become established in Washington. In the past, citizen reports of feral swine have led to a swift response from an inter-agency team that stopped feral swine from spreading across Washington.

Powered by Partnerships

The Washington Invasive Species Council has partnered with the Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System to collect your invasive species reports. It is a Web-based mapping system for documenting invasive species distribution with hundreds of reports submitted every year. The system shares data through publicly available distribution maps. By reporting invasive species to the council, you’re contributing to this nationwide citizen science network