Jumping Worms Conversation Hosted by Maine DACF
In June 2025, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry hosted a two-day online panel on jumping worms, aimed at all members of the public, including nursery owners, hikers, gardeners, and researchers.
Topics included the economic cost of biological invasions, progress in jumping worm research, and best practices to mitigate spread. Multiple members of the Healthy Soil Collaborative spoke: Erin Buchholz detailed how the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum developed their best practices to safely hold plant sales without spreading jumping worms. Erin Cameron spoke about how her lab has helped track the very first jumping worm infestation in a New Brunswick backyard. Justin Richardson helped place jumping worms in the broader context of earthworm species in general, and discussed their impacts in nutrient cycling. Angela Gupta spoke of the critical importance of cultivating resilience in landscapes and people, and Vera Krischik detailed her lab’s ongoing collaborative work to get jumping worms listed as a pest species by the EPA—a critical step in the development of control methods—and in finding ways to keep jumping worms alive in the lab for study (surprisingly difficult!). Josef Gorres, co-director of the HSC, also spoke and helped spread the word about this very organization!
Two other remarkable speakers, Brittany Schappach from the Maine Forest Service and Tricia Bethke from the Morton Arboretum in Illinois presented as well, providing viewers with a crash course on jumping worms and their appearance in Maine, and discussing the worms in the context of one of their native habitats in Japan.
Almost 500 people registered for this event according to the Maine DACF, which underscores just how important the phenomenon of jumping worms is to so many people.
You can access all of the talks here:
It is almost five hours long. The time stamps are below so that you can zero in on the talk of your choice:
00:00 – Jumping Worms in Maine — Brittany Schappach, Maine Forest Service
49:17 – Heat, Organisms & Chemicals — Dr. Josef Gorres, University of Vermont
1:39:20 – Plant Sales & Pesticide Trials — Erin Buchholz, University of Minnesota
2:13:06 – Citizen Science & Emotions — Angela Gupta, University of Minnesota Extension
2:41:14 – Jumping Worms & Soil Nutrients — Dr. Justin Richardson, University of Virginia
3:27:00 – Impacts on a Small Scale — Dr. Erin Cameron, Saint Mary’s University
3:56:16 – Spread & Prevention in Forests — Tricia Bethke, Morton Arboretum / USDA APHIS
4:32:02 – Control: Where We’re Going — Dr. Vera Krischik, University of Minnesota
