Controlling Invasive Species Through Montgomery County CISMA

Are you a landowner who has been battling invasives on your land for years? Or an individual who is passionate about increasing natives in Indiana? The Montgomery County CISMA (MCCISMA) steering committee may be a way for you to share your knowledge and skills with other like-minded individuals to manage invasives in the community.

A Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA) is a local group or partnership of people who collectively manage the problem of invasive species spreading across the landscape. CISMAs operate by engaging citizens interested in addressing invasive species across a variety of land ownership. Work began here in Montgomery County by the county’s Soil and Water Conservation District (MCSWCD) in 2020 to establish a local CISMA. We are now trying to expand beyond singular events and include more of the community by forming a steering committee, creating a Facebook Group to share knowledge, and generate more programs in the county.

The steering committee is open to all from professional land managers, landowners large or small, and those without land. We are looking for individuals who are willing to get involved with others to manage invasive species through various tasks such as the hands on managing of invasives, organizing events, outreach and education, and more. If you know of someone who would fit this description, please send their name, and email address to Megan Sweeney who serves as the Program Coordinator at the MCSWCD. Megan manages MC-CISMA as a large part of her job duties with the district. The more people involved or even just knowledgeable about the issue, the better.

We would like to create a working group of individuals that will move to different landowner’s properties to conduct control operations. This will be a place to find other like-minded individuals, ask questions, and learn from one another.

Contact MC-CISMA by emailing Megan Sweeney with any questions about joining the steering committee, future events, or invasive species questions. To learn more about the organization visit https://montgomerycoswcd.com/mccisma/ and join our email and/or mailing list at http://montgomerycoswcd.com/subscribe/. You can also join the MC-CISMA Facebook group to find a community of those combating invasives to find help with identifying plants, sharing resources, asking questions, and more at https://www.facebook.com/groups/montgomerycountycisma.

The Montgomery County CISMA is a cooperative whose mission is to manage the problem of invasive species spreading across the landscape. We operate by engaging local interests and addressing invasive species issues across various land types. We address questions and concerns from the public including plant identification and treatment methods. MC-CISMA is a part of the Montgomery County Soil and Water Conservation District which can be found at 2036 Lebanon Rd. in Crawfordsville, IN and can be reached at 765-363-0405 ext. 3 from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Learn more at Montgomerycoswcd.com