MoIP Invasive Plant Action Awards

Missouri Invasive Plant Council (MoIP) established the Invasive Plant Action Award program to recognize the outstanding work being done in Missouri to control invasive plant species. The Action Awards celebrate exceptional effort and leadership in the field, and also serve as a way to demonstrate to the broader community how controlling the spread of invasive plants on Missouri farms, forests, woodlands, prairies, gardens, parks, neighborhoods, roadsides, and along waterways is very possible and very important land stewardship. Members of MoIP evaluate nominations and select winners annually.

The awards are split into four categories: Individual Citizen or Individual Organization; Individual Professional; Group Collaborators; and Researchers. Details on each category and past winners are listed below.

 Applications are due June 15, 2024.

To nominate someone for an award, complete the online application form.

Email any supporting documents to info@moinvasives.org with the subject line “MoIP Awards Nomination.”

Please direct application questions to the MoIP coordinator at info@moinvasives.org.

Individual Citizen or Individual Organization Award

A private landowner, a corporation, school, or other single entity that has demonstrated progress in reducing invasive plants over at least two years.

Past recipients include:

• Principia School (2023)
• Dale Dufer (2023)
• Watershed Conservation Corps (2021)
• Jason Bryan and family, Boone County (2020)
• Mike Szydlowski, Columbia Public Schools K-12 Science Coordinator (2019)

Individual Professional Award

A natural resources professional who has demonstrated progress in reducing invasive plants over at least two years.

Past recipients include:

• Steve Cavin (2022)
• Linda Lehrbaum (2021)
• Roger Frazier, MDC Priority Habitat Coordinator (2020)

Group Collaborator Award

A collaborative network (e.g., homeowners, city park, school, business, institutions) working together to fight the spread of invasive plants in a particular geographic area.

Past recipients include:

• Greenbelt Land Trust of Mid-Missouri (2021)
• Jason Jensen, Jan Dellamano, Roger Frazier, Chris Rutledge, Mark Auffenberg, and Tony Jaco of MDC and MoDOT, and the Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF). (MPF is excluded from the award, due to the nature of MoIP’s being housed under MPF’s Grow Native! program). (2020)
• The Southwest Missouri Hydrilla Working Group, a collaborative effort among representatives from City Utilities of Springfield, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources—Southwest Regional Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Pomme de Terre and Stockton Lake), Greene County, Watershed Committee of the Ozarks, the James River Basin Partnership, and the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) (2019)

Researcher Award

An individual or group of individuals who have published research on invasive plant management relevant to the ecology and agriculture of Missouri.