The State of Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management (SICIM) has officially entered into a new five-year agreement with USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to help fund the “Indiana Invasives Initiative.” SICIM is a non-profit organization established in 2008 whose mission is to protect, restore, and enhance Indiana's landscapes by coordinating efforts to identify, prevent and control invasive species. In 2017, SICIM undertook a statewide role, in partnership with NRCS, to represent all counties in Indiana.

The new agreement provides partial funding for Indiana Invasives Initiative staffing and general operations required to manage the initiative. This next round of funding will also include reimbursements to Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas (CISMAs) in Indiana for conducting Weed Wrangles, landowner surveys and outreach events.

SICIM will work with the CISMAs to develop a method for reimbursement, starting with Weed Wrangles, and more information will be made available as this process is finalized. SICIM will also continue working with counties who are not yet represented by a local CISMA, with the goal of having every county in Indiana represented. Regional Specialists will continue to work in their counties to help maintain current and create new CISMAs, as well as conduct landowner surveys and create management plans for landowners while participating in outreach events throughout the state.  There are currently 40 active CISMAs working in 45 counties.  There were 200 Weed Wrangles around the state in 2022, with 1870 volunteers putting in almost 6000 hours, equal to $145,200 in labor. Land surveys have covered close to 37,000 acres of public and privately owned land in search of invasive species over the course of the last funding cycle.

For more information about SICIM and the Indiana Invasives Initiative, visit www.sicim.info