Indiana Invasive Species Awareness Week - Day 1
SICIM Email
April 18 - 24, 2021
Indiana ISAW Kickoff with Will Drews, SICIM Chair and Knox County CISMA Coordinator
Today marks the beginning of Indiana Invasive Species Awareness Week (IISAW). Indiana has made great strides recently in raising awareness about invasive species and developing local grassroots groups to provide local awareness and providing education and control opportunities. We at the Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management (SICIM) have been trying to do our part in raising awareness and providing technical assistance statewide through the Indiana Invasives Initiative (III), statewide effort only possible through generous support from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Indiana Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts, State Soil Conservation Board, The Nature Conservancy and many other partners and grassroots donors.
The Indiana Invasives Initiative (or III) has been around now for about three and a half years now (since October 2017). Since that time, the III has led to:
629 Outreach Events,
359 Property Assessments,
123 Technical Assistance Provided,
16,000 Acres with Management Plans
31 established Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas or CISMAs (in 34 Counties).
In Knox County, my county of residence, we have an active Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area, the Knox County CISMA, that has been working for the last 5+ years to raise awareness about invasive species locally. Our group has been working hard to control invasive plants on some of our local public county properties and spent close to 1,000 person-hours removing invasive plants since 2016. We also have actively been growing native plants for the last several years for plant sales to increase the stock of local native plants for those wanting safe alternatives for landscaping and ecological restoration efforts. Last year alone, we grew about 6,000 native plants (around 75 different species) that found local and regional homes.
You can follow Knox County CISMA’s local efforts by checking out our website at www.knoxcountycisma.org or following us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/knoxcountycisma.
Stay tuned throughout the week to see more highlights of CISMAs or other partners and their efforts for improved land management. Be sure to visit the Indiana Invasives Initiative linktree to read more and find events in your area.
