Invasive Plant Management Teams

Exotic Plant Management Team member pulls an invasive plant from the banks of Lake Mead
Darrin Gobble, previous member of the Lake Mead Inter-Regional IPMT pulls invasive tamarisk tree slash from the banks of the Muddy River, NV in a partnership project with the BLM and Clark County, NV.

NPS Photo.

Who are the IPMTs?

One of the many ways the National Park Service (NPS) is combating invasive plants is through the Invasive Plant Management Team (IPMT) program, whose work provides support to approximately 290 national park units. For the past 22 years, teams have provided professional assistance directly to the parks, filling a much-needed gap in park expertise and assisting parks in preventing introductions of new species, reducing existing infestations, and restoring native plant communities and ecosystem functions.

The Biological Resources Division supports 15 IPMTs from coast to coast. Two more teams are funded through park base funding. IPMT liasons (team coordinators), IPMT data managers, IPMT field crew leaders, and IPMT field staff provide specialized scientific and technical assistance to and across all organizational levels of the NPS.

What do the IPMTs do?

Using multiple strategies, each team creates a work plan tailored to the needs of their partner parks, which may include:

  • Cooperation and collaboration,
  • Inventory and monitoring,
  • Prevention,
  • Early Detection and rapid response (EDRR)
  • Treatment and control, and
  • Restoration.

IPMTs work in a wide variety of ecosystems to target over 700 invasive plant species nationwide. The IPMT’s work in both urban and natural environments, ranging from park units within Washington DC to the Alaskan backcountry.

IPMTs By Region

The 17 teams are work in national parks in all regions of the country. At times, their work may overlap or spread to extremely different geographical regions. Explore more below.

Alaska Invasive Plant Management Team
Contact:
Anna O'Brien, liaison
Email us

North Coast-Casacades Network Invasive Plant Managment Team
Contact:
Gilbert Moreno
360-565-3076
e-mail us

Northern Rocky Mountain Invasive Plant Management Team
Contact:
Michael Reeves
970-903-8238
e-mail us

California Invasive Plant Management Team
Contact:
Steve Buckley, liaison
707-457-0001
e-mail us

Great Lakes Invasive Plant Management Team
Contact:
Isaiah Messerly, liaison
715-483-2299
e-mail us

Northern Great Plains Invasive Plant Management Team
Contact:
Ian Torrence
605-341-2801e-mail us


Heartland Network Invasive Plant Management Team
Contact:
Jordan Bell, project manager
417-732-6438 x400
e-mail us

Southwest Invasive Plant Management Team
Contact:
John Mack
303-969-2929
e-mail us

Lake Mead Invasive Plant Management Team
Contact:
Curt Deuser, liaison
702-293-8979
e-mail us

California Invasive Plant Management Team

Contact:
Steven Buckley, liaison 

707-457-0001
e-mail us 

Northern Rocky Mountain Invasive Plant Management Team
Contact:
John Mack
303-969-2929
e-mail us

Northeast Invasive Plant Management Team
Contact:
Emily Booth, liaison
570-832-3743
e-mail us

Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Management Team
Contact:
Emily Booth, liaison
570-832-3743
e-mail us

National Capitol Area Invasive Plant Management Team
Contact:
Alex Voznitza, liaison
202-339-8319
e-mail us

Southeast Invasive Plant Management Team

Contact:
Lauren Serra, liaison
803-695-0214
e-mail us

Florida and the Caribbean Invasive Plant Management Team

Contact:
Brian Lockwood, liaison
786-249-0073
e-mail us

Southeast Coast Invasive Plant Management Team

Contact:
Lauren Serra, liasion
803-695-0214
e-mail us

Gulf Coast Invasive Plant Management Team

Contact:
R. Dale McPherson, liaison
404-507-5795
e-mail us

Pacific Island Invasive Plant Management Team
Contact:
Jeremy Gooding, liason
808-281-1542
e-mail us


Annual Reports

More details about how the teams implement the above strategies can be found in the annual reports, accessed through the NPS database. Click on the dropdown box below to browse by year.

Source: Data Store Collection 9169. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Last updated: December 13, 2023