Strategic Planning
Adirondack Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management
Strategic Plan 2023 - 2027
The Adirondack Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM) Strategic Plan 2023 – 2027 provides the framework by which APIPP and its partners work to advance the goal of protecting the Adirondack region from the negative impacts of invasive species. The plan was developed in collaboration with APIPP’s many partners—nonprofit organizations, government entities, research institutions, and volunteers—who all work tirelessly to support the Adirondack PRISM mission.
Mission
To work in partnership to minimize the impact of invasive species on the Adirondack region’s communities, lands, and waters.
View The Adirondack PRISM 2023 - 2027 Strategic Plan
View a Two-Page Summary of the Plan
The plan contains valuable information about invasive species in the PRISM, and includes goals and objectives that provide a framework for collective partner action. Any individual or organization that wants to contribute time or resources to protecting the Adirondacks from invasive species will find guidance on what they can do to support the mission.
For the Adirondacks, the strategic plan represents a coordinated and collaborative framework for mitigating and managing the spread of invasive species. It provides hope that, through an incredible network of partners and volunteers, our Adirondack forest and water ecosystems can remain resilient to the negative impacts of invasive plants and animals.
Adirondack PRISM Partners
Managing the spread of invasive species in a region as vast as the Adirondacks is a challenge that requires collaboration across many entities and organizations to be effective. The 2023 – 2027 Strategic Plan outlines four goals, each with objectives, for APIPP and its partners to work toward. An annual Partner Accomplishments Dashboard shows the collective contributions of Adirondack PRISM partners towards meeting the plan's goals.
GOAL 1: Protect Adirondack PRISM lands from the most significant ecologic and economic impacts of terrestrial invasive plants and animals, including forest pests and pathogens.
GOAL 2: Protect Adirondack PRISM waters from the most significant ecologic and economic impacts of aquatic invasive plants and animals.
GOAL 3: Build knowledgeable and engaged communities that are empowered to act on invasive species issues.
GOAL 4: Engage in research and innovation to improve the monitoring and management of invasive species.
APIPP Volunteers
Community scientists are the eyes on the ground and in the water for the scientists and technicians who manage invasive species. Volunteers in our Lake Protectors program identify, survey, and record data about aquatic invasive plants and animals impacting Adirondack lakes, while our Forest Pest Hunters adopt a trail or forest stand, which they then monitor for signs of priority forest pests and pathogens. APIPP’s partners also organize volunteer programs that help educate the public and survey for invasive pests.
The 2023 – 2027 Strategic Plan outlines how the hard work of our volunteers fits into the big picture. Inside is information that speaks to how surveying for and reporting the presence of invasive pests is essential to management efforts. The data presented and the strategies outlined also underscore the need for volunteers, as there are still plenty of trails and waterbodies that need to be surveyed each year.
Partner with APIPP
Does your organization want to partner with APIPP? Would you like to learn how to identify and report invasive species? More than 30 partner organizations and 100 volunteers partner with APIPP, all working toward the common goal of minimize the impact of invasive species on the Adirondack region’s communities, lands, and waters. The 2023 – 2027 Strategic Plan underscores the importance of these partnerships, and the need to increase participation in our programs.
The Partnership Operating Principles section of the strategic plan defines how Adirondack PRISM partners and APIPP volunteers and staff engage in the work to achieve the shared vision, mission, and goals of the Adirondack PRISM.
View the Partnership Operating Principles
Strategic Planning Committee Members
A planning committee comprised of APIPP staff and a diverse set of Adirondack PRISM partners guided the creation of the 2023-2027 Strategic Plan with the assistance of facilitator Karen Strong, of Strong Outcomes.
Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) Staff
- Becca Bernacki, Terrestrial Invasive Species Coordinator
- Brian Greene, Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator
- Shaun Kittle, Communications Coordinator
- Zack Simek, Conservation and GIS Analyst
- Tammara Van Ryn, Program Director
- Peter Dunleavy, NYS Department of Transportation
- Bill Farber, Adirondack Association of Towns and Villages
- Brian Greene, APIPP
- Kelly McKean, NYS Adirondack Park Agency
- Peg Olsen, The Nature Conservancy
- Cathy Pedler, Adirondack Mountain Club
- Zoë Smith, Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute
- Caitlin Stewart, Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District
- Tammara Van Ryn, APIPP
- Leigh Walrath, NYS Adirondack Park Agency (participated until retirement in 2022)
- Steve Young, NYS Natural Heritage Program