CWMAs
Developing a CWMA

Resources  |  public awareness campaigns

A Cooperative Weed Management Area (CWMA) is a partnership of federal, state, and local government agencies, tribes, individuals, and various interested groups that manage noxious weeds or invasive plants in a defined area.

Five basic characteristics of a CWMA:

  • Defined geographical area distinguished by a common geography, weed problem, community, climate, political boundary, or land use.

  • Involvement or representation of the majority of landowners and natural resource managers in the defined area.

  • Steering committee.

  • Commitment to cooperation.

  • Comprehensive plan that addresses the management or prevention of one or more noxious weeds or invasive plants.

CWMAs have different names in different parts of the country - for example, Partnerships for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISMs) in New York, Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas (CISMAs) in Florida, or simply Weed Management Areas (WMAs) in Colorado and California. Weed Prevention Areas are another variation on the CWMA theme.

The National Network of Invasive Plant Centers has posted a citizen-propelled National CWMA Map on its website. Programmed and hosted by NNIPC partner Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health (Bugwood), the interactive Google map illustrates the broad range of community-led weed management efforts in the U.S. All CWMAs are welcome to input their data  and become a pop-up point on the map which will continually evolve as people upload their information.

Delegates to the 2008 National CWMA Conference offer snapshots of activities in their states - Slideshow: People-Powered Projects Across the U.S.


CWMA Resources

"People-Powered Projects": The National Cooperative Weed Management Area Conference
held April 15-17, 2008, in Reno, NV. Conference Presentations (PowerPoint with audio) addressing:
The Big Picture, CWMA Funding, Working with Volunteers, Mapping and Inventory, Early Detection and Rapid Response, Awareness and Outreach, Laws and Policy.

How-To Guides

Guidelines for Coordinated Management of Noxious Weeds: Development of Weed Management Areas.
Includes sample contracts and agreements; information about planning, weed awareness/education, mapping, monitoring, reporting procedures, and more. Developed in 1997 by the BLM, Forest Service, National Park Service, and state and county land managers in the Greater Yellowstone (ID, MT, WY) area. Updated in 2002.

CWMA Cookbook: A Recipe for Success. From the Idaho Noxious Weed Coordinating Committee (2003).

CWMA Cookbook: A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Develop a Cooperative Weed Management Area in the Eastern United States from the Midwest Invasive Plant Network (2006).

Developing Bid Specifications for Invasive Plant Control Programs (pdf) (new link). A thorough guide, from establishing goals, identifying and prioritizing species, and outlining tasks, to contractor requirements and types of contracts. From Invasive Plant Control, Inc., of Nashville, TN (2006).

Sample Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for establishing a CWMA

 

Funding

The Center for Invasive Plant Management no longer offers CWMA grants. However, we hope that the CWMA Grants program will resume in future years.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has a strong history of funding CWMAs nationally through the Pulling Together Initiative grants program.

CIPM's list of other granting programs

Check with state agencies:

 

The Reality of CWMAs

Idaho blankets the state with CWMAs.

Utah reports in.

Weed Management Areas invade California.

New Mexico’s CWMA program is growing fast.

Florida organizes Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas (CISMAs) statewide.

Partnerships for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISMs) cover New York.

The Estes Valley, CO: A Case Study of a Weed Management Area (2008). S. Gunderson-Izurieta, D. Paulson, and SF Enloe. Invasive Plant Science and Management 1(1): 91–97. Analysis uncovers four factors critical in early success of the WMA: community education/awareness, key participants, a community sense of responsibility, and economic/aesthetic values.

Cooperative Weed Management Area Grant Program (2006). Final report on grants awarded by CIPM to 25 CWMAS in 12 states in 2004. Includes narrative about the state of CWMAs in general, and the 12-month goals of each CWMA. Calls for additional training opportunities and stable, long-term funding for CWMAs.

 

Help, Advice, and Inspiration

Midwest Invasive Plant Network, the home for CWMAs in the Midwest, offers resources and links.

Invasive Plant Atlas of New England (IPANE) depends on volunteers.

While it does not directly support specific CWMAs, the National Association of Exotic Pest Plant Councils in 2006 published a position paper urging Congress to fund weed management areas.

CWMA Development: Expanding Coast to Coast - PowerPoint presentations from a 2006 National Invasive Weeds Awareness Week session in Washington, DC.

Invasive alien species prevention and control: the art and science of managing people (2001). J.K. Reaser. The Great Reshuffling: Human Dimensions of Invasive Alien Species (download 7.69MB).  IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. pp. 89-104. Recommends focusing on people’s beliefs and behaviors to find new solutions to invasive species problems.

The Power of Partnerships: Landscape-Scale Conservation Through Public/Private Collaboration (2007). A. Higgins, K. Serbesoff-King, M. King, and K. O’Reilly-Doyle. Natural Areas Journal 27(3): 236-250.

Cool ideas from CWMAs

  • Include a state legislator on your organizing committee
  • Focus on prevention in weed-free areas
  • Realtor education classes
  • Invite legislators and media on a weed tour
  • Place eye-catching ads in newspapers
  • Host memorable, hands-on displays at gardening shows
  • Build “weed demonstration gardens” for fairs
  • Recruit retirees to serve as weed-awareness volunteers at campsites and in state parks
  • Exchange a bag of weeds for coupons or cash from sponsoring local businesses
  • Insert information in hunting and fishing guides
  • Distribute colorful weed calendars
  • Start a Master Weed Advisors Program (based on Master Gardener Program)
  • Come up with a great slogan –
    •  “Spread the word, not the weed”
    •  “Let’s burn some bad weed!”
    •  “Give them an inch and they’ll take a yard”
    •  “Control Freak” (on a T-shirt)
    •  “Diligence or Degradation”
    •  “Thistle ruin your day”
    •  “Got Weeds?”
    •  “Beauty is only stem deep”
    • “Just say ‘mow’”

(More cool ideas? Email janet.clark@montana.edu)

 

Public Awareness Campaigns

A series of invasive species success stories from across the United States, compiled by the Invasive Weeds Awareness Coalition (IWAC) for National Invasive Weeds Awareness Week.

The Nature Conservancy’s Volunteer coordination and outreach tools web page provides ideas and resources.

The 2005 Western Weed Awareness Summit in Boise, Idaho, produced useful information for developing CWMAs.

 

Examples of Awareness Campaigns

See Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers for a tremendous number of high-quality educational and awareness resources addressing aquatic nuisance species, including plants.

Oregon’s Statesman Journal published a 10-month newspaper series on invasive species in 2007, resulting in an information-rich website full of news stories, videos, photos, and more – regularly updated.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Texas has focused on invasive species education for the general public, including training of “citizen scientists.”

Montana's Noxious Weed Awareness program was the first statewide education program focusing on invasive plants.

The Idaho Weed Awareness Campaign includes a multimedia-rich website with TV and radio spots from its ongoing statewide program.

New York’s online Invasive Species Information Clearinghouse combines background information about invasive species with breaking news in a website designed for the general public.

Habitattitude™ is a national campaign to encourage the public to care for the environment by not releasing unwanted fish and aquatic plants.

 

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