Cooperative Weed Management Area National Conference:
"People-Powered Projects"

“People-Powered Projects: The National Cooperative Weed Management Area Conference” was held April 15-17, 2008, at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, NV. The conference focused on CWMA funding and logistics, working with volunteers, EDRR, awareness and outreach, approaches to mapping, and state and national initiatives, and concluded with an all-day field trip to restoration sites in the Reno area.

This first-ever national CWMA conference featured 33 speakers and attracted 113 attendees from 37 states (see map). Attendees represented local, state, and federal agencies (51%), non-profit organizations (23%), universities and other educational institutions (12%), business interests (2%), and other people concerned about invasive plants (12%).

The event was organized by the Center for Invasive Plant Management and co-hosted by eight other entities. Seven of the nine co-hosts were non-governmental, grassroots organizations from across the United States. This unusually broad partnership of peers included:

• Alaska Committee for Noxious and Invasive Plant Management (CNIPM)
• California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC)
• Invasive Plant Atlas of New England (IPANE)
• Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council (MA-EPPC)
• Midwest Invasive Plant Network (MIPN)
• National Park Service
• Nevada Department of Agriculture
• Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council (SE-EPPC)

Generous financial support was provided by government agencies and non-profit organizations:

• Federal Highway Administration
• Bureau of Land Management
• Western Weed Coordinating Committee
• Center for Invasive Plant Management

Some of the lucky conference attendees who went on the field trip!