Vision Statement:
Alaska’s diverse environmental, cultural, and economic resources are free from the impacts of invasive species.
Mission Statement:
We provide statewide leadership to prevent, detect and manage invasive species in Alaska by facilitating and fostering invasive species awareness, knowledge and information sharing, and collaboration among diverse stakeholders.
During the 1990s, 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), which 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. The 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 a strong foundation for invasive species management. They organized a board that helped establish the University of Alaska, Anchorage hosted Alaska Exotic Plant Information Clearinghouse, a database of invasive plant locations, and 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 its bylaws to include other taxa of invasive species and changed the name to the Committee of Noxious and Invasive Pest Management (2016). While the name CNIPM is missed by many, the group changed its name to the Alaska Invasive Species Partnership (2019) to erase any confusion about the group’s new role and created a new fresh logo in 2020. The Partnerships have been gaining membership and momentum ever since.