Why should you care?
Invasive plants can:
- Be detrimental to your health
- Increase wildfire risks
- Negatively impact your hunting success
- Reduce tree regeneration
- Decrease the number of native birds
What can you do?
You can:
- Learn about invasive plants
- Look for and report invasive plants
- Remove or control invasive plants
- Stop invasive plants from spreading
- Support organizations such as IPAW
How can we help?
We can:
- Assist you with identification
- Demonstrate how to control invasive plants
- Connect you with invasive plant specialists
- Teach you about invasive plants through workshops, field days and conferences
Welcome to our Website!
“Slowly, but persistently, making their way across the land, ecologically invasive plants are the silent invaders of our time” quoted from Elizabeth J. Czarapata’s book Invasive Plants of the Upper Midwest.
Most of us don’t even know they exist. We have the illusion of lush, green landscapes, when in fact, much of what we see are invasive plant species. In reality, invasive species have contributed directly to the decline of 49% of threatened or endangered species in the United States. The annual cost to the United States economy is estimated at $138 billion a year, with over 100 million acres suffering from invasive plant infestations.
Because there is a need for a greater understanding, it is IPAW’s mission “to promote better stewardship of the natural resources of Wisconsin by advancing the understanding of invasive plants, preventing their introduction and encouraging the control of their spread.”
Make a Donation
- Support local conservation and land stewardship
- Be a part of the conservation community
- Share your work and be informed on the latest information on invasive plants
- Network with professionals from many disciplines through conferences and field days
- Play a critical role in invasive species legislation in the state of Wisconsin
Become a Member
IPAW members receive:
- Our newsletter, Plants Out of Place by email
- A discount to IPAW-sponsored conferences, workshops and field days
- Free admission to events as an IPAW volunteer
- A discount to the book Invasive Plants of the Upper Midwest – An Illustrated Guide to Their Identification and Control by Elizabeth Czarapata
New Threats to Wisconsin
Callery pear
Japanese hedge parsley
Porcelain berry
Japanese stiltgrass
Boatbusters
In past years, the Wisconsin Invasive Species Council held a video contest. In 2018, “Boatbusters” was the winner produced by Brad Steckart and the Washington and Waukesha County Aquatic Invasive Species Team. Fun to watch!
