The Federal Noxious Weed Act of 1974 ("FNWA", ) established a federal program to control the spread of

noxious weeds A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is harmful to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or lives ...

. The

United States Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments The department includes several organi ...

was given the authority to declare plants "noxious weeds", and limit the interstate spread of such plants without a permit. The Secretary has the authority to inspect, seize, and destroy products, and quarantine areas, if necessary to contain, or limit the spread of such weeds.

Amended in 1990

The Act was amended by the

1990 Farm Bill The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade (FACT) Act of 1990 — P.L. 101-624 (November 28, 1990) was a 5-year omnibus farm bill that passed Congress and was signed into law. This bill, also known as the 1990 farm bill, continued to move a ...

on November 28, 1990. The amendment requires that each federal land-managing agency, including the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

, the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

, do the following: *Designate an office or person adequately trained in managing undesirable plant species to develop and coordinate a program to control such plants on the agency's land; *Establish and adequately fund this plant management program through the agency's budget process; *Complete and implement cooperative agreements (requirements for which are provided) with the States regarding undesirable plants on agency land; and *Establish integrated management systems (as defined in the Act) to control or contain undesirable plants targeted under the cooperative agreements.

Superseded in 2000

The Act was superseded in 2000 by the

Plant Protection Act The Plant Protection Act (PPA) (part of ) is a US statute relating to plant pests and noxious weeds introduced in 2000. It is currently codified at 7 U.S.C. 7701 ''et seq''. It consolidates related responsibilities that were previously spread o ...

() on June 20, 2000, except for the introductory section of the FNWA, and the amendment of 1990 (section 15, note and ).

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

The California Invasive Plant Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Federal Noxious Weed Act Of 1974 1975 in American law United States federal environmental legislation 1975 in the environment

Amended in 1990

Superseded in 2000

External links