Mission and Vision
Vision Statement:
Alaska’s diverse environmental, cultural, and economic resources are free from the impacts of invasive species.
Mission Statement:
Provide statewide leadership in the prevention and reduction of the impacts from invasive species in Alaska. We will accomplish this through facilitating and fostering awareness and collaboration among the public, indigenous groups, industry, researchers, elected officials, governmental agencies, and non-governmental organizations. We will accomplish this by: 1) providing forums for the exchange of scientific and technical information; 2) coordinating awareness campaigns; and 3) providing credible unbiased scientific information to inform management decisions at all levels of government. Our efforts will provide leadership, support, and encouragement for the implementation of effective prevention, early detection, and management of invasive species across Alaska.
During the 1990’s, invasive species in Alaska were increasing their footprint, leading to concerns for agricultural production, and management of natural resources. Hearing these concerns from public and private land managers the UAF Cooperative Extension Service brought together interested parties for the first Alaska Invasive Species meeting and workshop (June 15, 2000), that turned into an annual meeting and workshop. At the first meeting the primary focus was looking for solutions to controlling noxious and invasive plants in interior Alaska. Need for collaboration was evident and the group formed the Alaska Committee for Noxious and Invasive Plant Management (CNIPM). Early efforts by CNIPM resulted in strong foundation for invasive species management. They organized a board that helped establish the University of Alaska, Anchorage hosted Alaska Exotic Plant Information Clearinghouse database of invasive plant locations and results of the invasive plant ranking system.
As concern grew for the spread of additional taxa of invasive species (diseases, vertebrates, fishes etc) UAF Cooperative Extension Service again gathered public and private land managers, and lawmakers for a meeting that resulted in the Alaska Invasive Species Working Group (2007). CNIPM and AISWG collaborated on a joint annual Alaska Invasive Species Workshop. The groups realized that cross taxa collaboration was imperative and the CNIPM changed it’s bylaws to include other taxa of invasive species and the name to the Committee of Noxious and Invasive Pest Management (2016). While the name CNIPM is missed by many, the group changed it’s name to the Alaska Invasive Species Partnership to erase any confusion about the groups new role, and created a new fresh logo. The Partnerships has been gaining membership and momentum ever since.
The most recent strategic plan was finished in 2016 under the former name of the AKISP (CNIPM) Committee for Noxious and Invasive Pest Management.