What if addressing concerns of U.S. citizens and policymakers improved biodiversity at the same time? The North American Invasive Species Management Association (NAISMA) believes there’s a way. By including policy and legislative decisions geared toward invasive species management funding, together we can ensure that North America’s lands and waters will remain resilient in the face of climate change and other biological challenges.
National Invasive Species Awareness Week (NISAW), held February 28 through March 4, 2022, is an international event to raise awareness about invasive species, the threat that they pose, and what can be done to prevent their spread. Organized by NAISMA, NISAW encourages representatives from local, state, federal, and regional organizations to discuss legislation, policies, resources, and improvements that can be made to prevent and manage invasive species.
Six Ways to Participate in National Invasive Species Awareness Week
1. Learn about this year’s five invasive species policy priorities
Biodiversity and Invasive Species
Climate Change and Invasive Species
NAISMA supports the inclusion of the impacts and influence of invasive species in climate change legislation, policy, management, and research. The reverse is also important; the impacts and influence of climate change must be incorporated into invasive species management and policy.
Infrastructure and Invasive Species
The Farm Bill and Invasive Species
NAISMA recognizes the importance of protecting America’s food and water supply and therefore supports the inclusion of invasive species prevention, monitoring, management, and research within the Farm Bill.
Aquatic Invasive Species
NAISMA supports the implementation of mandatory watercraft inspection and decontamination (WID) and other cross-jurisdictional containment and prevention strategies to stop the spread of zebra and quagga mussels and other Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS).
Each policy page links to an opportunity to take action on the issues you care about the most, by sending an email to agency leaders, legislators, and other decision-makers. Take a moment to make a difference!
2. Attend or plan an invasive species event
More than 80 invasive species events are listed on our NISAW calendar over the course of February and March 2022. Some are virtual webinars. Some are weed pulls. Some are educational outings. They’re all united by a mission to educate and act on how understanding invasive species’ impact on human and environmental health, combined with policy action, can lead to healthier lands and waters in North America.
As we have in the past, NAISMA has organized daily webinars with experts on the cutting edge of invasive species research and policy.
3. Share the #NISAW message on social media
The most effective social media messages come from trusted individual organizations. We’ve made images that are easy to download and use in your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts. You can also download the complete set of the images here. If you need inspiration for what to say, you can start with our list of social media messages here. Please share and use the hashtag #NISAW!
4. Connect with our prevention partners
5. Donate
National Invasive Species Awareness Week (NISAW) expands our reach and raises awareness at the highest levels of government. Make a gift to NISAW, and NAISMA staff will continue to support our annual organizing, messaging, and event hosting!
6. Join NAISMA
Joining NAISMA as a member or enrolling your agency or organization as a partner is a win-win. You’ll enjoy annual benefits such as access to all our monthly webinars since 2019, a discount to our annual conference, members-only newsletters and networking opportunities, and more. Plus you’ll be contributing your resources and knowledge to a truly continental effort to improve the profession of invasive species management.
