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Our mission
is to reduce the impact of invasive plant species in the Midwest |
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Early Detection & Rapid Response
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MIPN Board of Directors Federal Government: Carmin Chapin, U.S. National Park Service (Wisconsin)
Liaison,
Great Lakes Exotic Plant Management Team,
National Park Service Carmen Chapin is the coordinator of the National Park Service Great Lakes Exotic Plant Management Team. She facilitates exotic plant control in 8 National Parks in the western Great Lakes. In addition to assisting parks with on the ground effort, Carmen is active in many partnership activities related to invasive species and natural resource management, including serving as chair for the Midwest Natural Resources Group Great Lakes Terrestrial Invasive Species Committee. She has a MS and PhD in ecosystem science and has previously worked for USDA-ARS in the area of biocontrol. Chris Pierce, USDA APHIS-PPQ (Missouri) Pest Survey Specialist for Missouri & Iowa Jan Schultz, U.S. Forest Service (Wisconsin)
Botany, Non-native Invasive Species Program Manager Jan is currently the Botany and Non-native Invasive Species Program Leader for the Eastern Region of the U.S. Forest Service which is composed of approximately 20 states and 15 national forests. Jan represents the Eastern Region of the US Forest Service on the TISC (Terrestrial Invasive Species Committee) of the Midwest Natural Resources Group and also represents the Eastern Region of the USFS as the RISIT (Regional Invasive Species Issue Team) for the national RISIT. Prior to this position, she spent seventeen years on the Hiawatha National Forest in the upper peninsula of Michigan working as Forest Plant Ecologist, Non-native Invasive Species Coordinator, Research Natural Area Coordinator and Plant Program Manager for propagation of native plants for restoration purposes. She has received a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Master of Science in Ecology. ..................................................................................................................................................... State Government: Janet Clark, Center for Invasive Plant Management (Montana) Assistant Director for Policy & Publications Kelly Kearns, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (Wisconsin)
Plant Conservation Program Manager Kelly Kearns has a B.S. in Horticulture from Purdue University and an M.S. in Restoration Ecology from the Landscape Architecture Department of the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She has worked at the Bureau of Endangered Resources, WI Department of Natural Resources since 1984, and as the Plant Conservation Program Manager since 1990. She is responsible for the conservation of native plants, for coordinating the state wild ginseng program and for coordinating DNR activities regarding ecologically invasive terrestrial plants. These responsibilities include education and outreach, grants management, policy and rule revisions, working with partners and researchers, sharing control information, and supervising the Wisconsin early detection project for invasive plants. She works extensively with the Wisconsin DNR Invasive Species Team, Forest Invasives Leadership Team, Wisconsin Council on Invasive Species, Invasive Plants Association of Wisconsin, and MIPN. Jody Shimp, Illinois Department of Natural Resources (Illinois) - Treasurer
Regional Administrator,
Division of Natural Heritage Jody has been working in Illinois natural areas for the past nineteen years as a volunteer, researcher, ecologist, and administrator. He completed his M. S. in Plant Ecology from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 1996. He has experience working for county, State, and federal land managing agencies and the control of invasive species to improve natural area quality has always been his area of interest. Currently, working as an administrator for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources's Division of Natural Heritage, he isresponsible for the administration, management, and implementation of programs for non-game wildlife, threatened and endangered species, and natural areas for a 28 county region in southern Illinois. Jody is very interested in the challenges of invasive species management and has spent much of the past few years working on large-scale control projects in Illinois. He is currently serving on the Board of the Natural Areas Association (NAA) and am chairing NAA's Management and Technology Development Committee, as well as also serving on the Board of the Illinois Invasive Plant Council. ..................................................................................................................................................... Industry: Trish Beckjord, Conservation Design Forum (Illinois) Associate, Landscape Architecture & Planning Brian Corr, Ball Horticultural Company (Illinois) New Crops Development Manager,
Ball Horticultural Company Brian Corr is director of new crop development for the Ball Horticultural Company, headquartered in West Chicago, Illinois. Ball is an international company developing, producing and distributing ornamental plants. Brian’s responsibilities include evaluating plant species for ornamental use including estimation of the risk of a plant introduction becoming invasive after introduction. Brian has been active in the invasive species issue for many years having spoken to numerous national and international audiences on the importance of the ornamental horticulture industry acting responsibly in the introduction of new plants, while emphasizing the importance of new plant introductions to the industry. Brian earned his BS and MS degrees at the University of Illinois and his PhD in Plant Physiology/Horticulture at the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining Ball he was on the faculty of the University of Tennessee. Bob Fitch, Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association (Minnesota) Executive Director,
Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association Bob Masters, Dow AgroSciences (Indiana) Rangeland Scientist,
Global Product Development Leader, Rangeland, Pastures, and Industrial
Vegetation Management Bob Masters received a B.S. in Wildlife Biology at Texas A&M University in 1978, a M.S. in Rangeland Science at Texas A&M University in 1981, and a Ph.D. in Rangeland and Wildlife Management at Texas Tech University in 1985. From 1985 to 2001, he was a Rangeland Scientist with the USDA- Agricultural Research Service at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. He was responsible for developing integrated invasive plant management strategies designed to restore grassland quality and health in the Central Great Plains. From 2001 to present he has been employed by Dow AgroSciences. He is now stationed in Indianapolis, Indiana and serves as the Global Product Development Leader for the Rangeland, Pasture, and Industrial Vegetation Management business. He currently is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture at the University of Nebraska and Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University. ..................................................................................................................................................... Non-profit Organizations: Heather Bacher, Central Indiana Land Trust (Indiana) Executive Director,
Central Indiana Land Trust Lisa Brush, The Stewardship Network (Michigan) - Vice President Executive Director,
The Stewardship Network Lisa Brush has worked in the environmental field in Michigan for the last fifteen years. She is currently the Executive Director of the Stewardship Network and has been involved with the Network's since its inception more than seven years ago. She has a wealth of experience helping non-scientific people understand scientific issues. For over seven years as she has built and coordinated the Stewardship Network she has emphasized effective and meaningful stakeholder involvement in developing and implementing all aspects of this program. Prior to her work with the Network, Lisa worked with the Huron River Watershed Council on drinking water protection, land use planning, and communication programs. She developed and helped implement the HRWC's award-winning mass media education campaign and the award-winning Community Guide to Drinking Water Protection. She has a M.S. in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan and a B.A. (Science in Society) from Wesleyan University. When she's not working Lisa loves playing with her six-year old daughter and four-year old son and looking for that spare moment when she can help out on a prescribed burn, make a quilt, sneak in a run, or even rarer these days catch a game of ultimate Frisbee. Steve Chaplin, The Nature Conservancy (Minnesota) Senior Conservation Scientist, Central U.S. Region Kay Havens, Chicago Botanic Garden (Illinois)
Director, Institute for Plant Conservation,
Chicago Botanic Garden Kayri Havens holds a B.S. and an M.A. in Botany from Southern Illinois University and a Ph.D. in Biology from Indiana University where she studied reproductive success in a rare evening primrose (Oenothera organensis) from New Mexico. She spent three years as the Conservation Biologist at Missouri Botanical Garden before joining the Chicago Botanic Garden in April 1997. She is currently the Garden’s Director of the Institute for Plant Conservation. Her research interests include restoration genetics and the biology of plant rarity and invasiveness. Her work on invasive plants has included studying the growth and reproductive responses of a weedy annual (Abutilon theophrasti) to different nutrient regimes. She wrote the Chicago Botanic Garden’s invasive plant policy and is currently developing a predictive weed risk assessment system for the Garden to use when importing plants. She is on the adjunct faculty of Loyola University, Northwestern University and the University of Illinois-Chicago and collaborates with a variety of academic institutions and stewardship organizations to help improve conservation efforts for rare plants. ..................................................................................................................................................... Research: Roger Becker, University of Minnesota
Professor, Extension & Research Roger Becker has a B.S. in Agronomy, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Plant Physiology from Iowa State University. He has been with Iowa State University as an Extension Associate, Monsanto in Product Development, and is currently a Professor at the University of Minnesota in an Extension and Research capacity. He works to develop weed management strategies in annual and perennial systems in disturbed and undisturbed habitats. Current projects include management of purple loosestrife in wetlands, Canada thistle in native prairies, common buckthorn and garlic mustard in woodlands, commercial processing sweet corn and peas, biological control of weeds, and the environmental impacts of herbicide and non-herbicide weed management systems. Zach Lowe, Purdue University (Indiana) Habitat Specialist, Research and Extension Mark Renz, University of Wisconsin (Wisconsin) - President Assistant Professor,
Department of Agronomy Mark Renz received both his B.S. (Botany) and Ph.D. (Plant Biology/weed science) from the University of California, Davis. He has held several positions in research and extension, but currently is an extension weed scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently his program conducts extension and research in the management of weeds in perennial cropping systems and natural areas. Specific areas of interest include 1. The
biology, ecology and management of perennial weeds ..................................................................................................................................................... Land Managers/Other: David Borneman, Ann Arbor Parks (Michigan) Natural Area Preservation Manager David Borneman has worked as the Natural Area Preservation Manager for the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan since 1993. Among other responsibilities, this includes overseeing the ecological restoration of about 1200 acres of city parkland. David also owns a private ecological consulting business specializing in prescribed burning. He holds a B.S. degree in Outdoor Education/Field Biology from Northland College and an M.S. degree in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development from UW-Madison. David's areas of expertise are in using fire to manage natural areas in the Midwest and in urban natural area issues. He serves on the boards of the Natural Areas Association, The Stewardship Network and the Michigan Prescribed Fire Council. David was born and raised on a farm in Illinois, and has lived his entire life in the Midwest, except for one year spent teaching school in the Monteverde Cloud Forest of Costa Rica. Rachel Gagnon, Ontario Invasive Plant Council (Ontario) Coordinator, Ontario Invasive Plant Council Jennifer Hillmer (Ohio) E-mail: jennifer.hillmer@suddenlink.net Jennifer is a founding member and officer of the Ohio Invasive Plants Council. She recently was the Land Steward for The Holden Arboretum in Kirtland, Ohio, and has also worked as a land steward and a volunteer coordinator for The Nature Conservancy, Ohio Chapter, and as a Natural Heritage data specialist at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. Jennifer is particularly active in invasive plant management using volunteers and seasonal staff. Her interest in invasive plants includes early detection and response, mapping and tracing removal efforts, and post-removal habitat restoration. Debbie Maurer, Lake County Forest Preserve District (Illinois)
Restoration Ecologist & Invasive
Species Coordinator Debbie Maurer has a M.S in Botany with an emphasis on plant ecology and restoration from University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Conservation Biology degree (B.S.) from University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. She has been with the Lake County Forest Preserve District in Illinois for nearly 5 years. She is both a Restoration Ecologist for the District and the Invasive Species Coordinator. She provides countywide awareness and communication involving invasive plants to District staff, volunteers and the general public. Debbie develops and implements habitat restoration projects, oversees invasive plant control programs, coordinates the development of the District's Ecological Database. Debbie is Co-PI on the New Invaders Watch Program, an early detection program to limit the spread of new exotic invasive plants species in NE Illinois and NW Indiana. She is currently working with others to establish a CWMA in Lake and McHenry counties to improve invasive species management on public and private lands. ..................................................................................................................................................... MIPN Staff: Coordinator:
For general information, contact info (at) mipn.org .....................................................................................................................................................
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For more information, contact MIPN via e-mail: Info at MIPN.org
