The Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service awarded the Alaska Department of Natural Resources a Cooperative Agreement for $115,800 on June 1, 2026, under the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) program to conduct an invasive moth detection survey across Alaska.
The recipient will conduct survey operations to identify high-risk exotic Asian defoliating moths—including spongy moth, nun moth, Siberian silk moth, and rosy moth—that could threaten U.S. agricultural and natural resources. Detection traps equipped with appropriate pheromone attractants will be deployed in high-risk areas around Alaska, including ports, waterways, transient areas such as campgrounds and military bases. Traps will be placed in late spring with mid-season checks no later than August 2025 and recovery no later than mid-October. All survey data will be collected manually using an Excel database template, quality-checked, and uploaded into the National Agricultural Pest Information System (NAPIS) database. Suspect specimens will receive in-state identification, with those requiring further verification or identified as APHIS-PPQ quarantine pests forwarded to APHIS-PPQ identifiers for confirmation. Survey reports will be submitted to APHIS-PPQ on a timely basis throughout the period of performance.
Period of performance runs from June 1, 2026, through May 31, 2027. Place of performance is Alaska.