Public-Private Partnerships Key to Program’s Effectiveness

The Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) received the 2013 National Invasive Species Awareness Week Award in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Invasive Species Leadership, program partners announced today. APIPP is a partnership program founded by The Nature Conservancy’s Adirondack Chapter, New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Transportation (DOT) and New York State Adirondack Park Agency (APA). This national recognition is for APIPP’s leadership in invasive species prevention and control, including collaboration and coalition building. DEC Commissioner Joe Martens presented the award to APIPP Director Hilary Smith during a Forestry Awareness Day celebration at the Legislative Office Building in Albany today.

The first program of its kind in New York State, APIPP started in 1998 as a grassroots effort to implement a landscape-level approach to address threats posed by invasive species and minimize costs to governments, businesses and landowners. It has since harnessed the energies of hundreds of volunteers, forged countless partnerships and influenced local and statewide action against invasive species. APIPP served as the model for seven other programs, known as Partnerships for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM), now supported in large part through the state’s environmental protection fund. The program has also shared best practices at Weeds Across Borders conferences in Mexico and Canada.

From left to right: Kevin King, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets director of Plant Industry; Hilary Smith, APIPP director and NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens.