Now in its 6th year, the annual Invasive Species Scavenger Hunt encourages natural resource professionals and community scientists to volunteer their time by getting outside, searching for, and reporting findings for a select number of invasive species observed anywhere in Pennsylvania. Participants are asked to submit their presence and absence findings to iMapInvasives, a free-to-use online platform that tracks the locations of invasive species and associated management efforts. The species list for this year’s event will be announced during the webinar training scheduled on July 23.

The purpose of the Scavenger Hunt is to:

1) Raise awareness for both common and emerging invasive species.

2) Invite community scientists and natural resource professionals to sharpen their invasive species identification skills in an outdoor setting.

3) Serve as a call-to-action for land managers to utilize iMapInvasives when creating landscape-scale management plans.