Lakes, where the animals were accumulating and impacting underwater infrastructure. One of its main goals was to establish the federal Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force to work closely with lower levels of government in order to address the problems with zebra mussels. Another goal was to require all ships entering Great Lakes ports to exchange their ballast water in the open ocean. Six years after NANPCA, more invasive species were found to be causing negative impacts across the country, and Congress moved to expand the original act. Through NISA, the control of invasive species moves beyond zebra mussels and ballast water, although those two issues remain high in importance and priority. According to the National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species, these are some of the most important ways that NISA updated its predecessor NANPCA: Encouraging all ships entering the US to exchange their ballast water outside the 200-mile US Exclusive Economic Zone Requiring that these ships report whether or not they had exchanged their ballast water outside the 200-mile US Exclusive Economic Zone Expanding the responsibilities of the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force to include outreach and research, as well as developing state management plans and regional panels Expanding the geographical scope to include areas outside the Great Lakes region. Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force The Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force (hereafter, "the Task Force") was created by NANPCA as the "coordinating body in developing and implementing the national program for prevention, research, monitoring, and control of infestations of nonindigenous aquatic species." It is still operating today. NISA reauthorizes the Task Force, as established by NANPCA, and it is responsible for developing the guidelines, regulations, education and training programs, ecological surveys, and information clearinghouse described in the act. The Task Force is composed of 13 federal agencies, but the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are the co-chairs. Other agencies include the Coast Guard, Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps of Engineers, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the National Park Service. FWS provides an Executive Secretary who is essentially the leader of the Task Force, responsible for not only issuing guidelines and regulations, but also for maintaining records and submitting reports to Congress. The overarching role of the Task Force is to coordinate efforts among the various agencies to achieve NISA goals, which, in addition to earlier stated activities, include supporting