Dear Friend of NAISMA,

From all of us at the North American Invasive Species Management Association (NAISMA), happy New Year!

Whether you’re a hiker who utilizes our boot brushes and Buckthorn Blaster™ or someone who works directly with the management of invasive species, I want to thank you for doing your part to help manage the spread. As we reflect on 2021, we can all feel pride about our accomplishments in the past year. Our success would not have been possible without the support of our NAISMA/PlayCleanGo® store supporters, members, sponsors and donors, the dedication of our committee members, as well as strong leadership and hard work of our small but mighty staff. 

As an illustration of this past year’s success, we launched the first EDDMapS Summit (virtual and freely available) serving beginners to experienced users. More than 575 people attended this two-day virtual event to learn how to report invasive species in their landscapes. In the fall, our team worked with the Montana Invasive Species Council to plan our annual conference in Missoula. When COVID flared, we pivoted  to a virtual-only format that was already being planned, all while maintaining high quality programming for our 330 attendees and more than 100 presenters. We very much look forward to our November 2022 Annual Conference in Fort Myers, Florida. It will be wonderful to meet in person again. 

Our PlayCleanGo campaign reached a record audience this year: more than 27,000 social media followers, 5 million views on social media and digital advertising, and at least another 5 million people saw PlayCleanGo boot brush stations, trail signs, and other outreach tools that our dedicated partners have put in their trailheads, boat launches, and other recreation areas. From local parks to National Parks and Wildlife Refuges, we are reaching our vision of having this consistent message at every recreation access point in North America. Building on PlayCleanGo’s simple advice, new Work.Clean.Go. messaging for field workers helps keep invasive species localized.

In 2021, our membership reached an all new high of 475+ members and 73 partners, and membership continues to grow. We’ve engaged with new partners and have doubled student memberships. National Invasive Species Awareness Week continues to expand our reach and raise awareness at the highest levels of government. Going out with a bang, our second annual biocontrol summit on December 2 focused on Highlighting and Fostering International Collaborations that Enhance Weed Biocontrol in North America. And, serving at the forefront of invasive species management must be credited to you, the NAISMA community. We can’t do this without you. So as the calendar page turns to a new year, let me say thank you. Thank you for your continued dedication to invasive species prevention and management, your loyalty, and your support. 

It is a great honor for me to lead NAISMA, and for our board and staff to support your efforts to manage invasive species. I look forward to a very successful year ahead. Please click here to make a gift and let us all march into 2022 with pride of what we have accomplished and the drive to make the next year even more restorative as we address invasive species issues together. 

With very best wishes,

Belle Bergner

Executive Director