MISSOULA — Missoula is buzzing this week with even more natural resources professionals than usual, as a conference on invasive species management rolled into town Monday.
The 32nd year of the annual North American Invasive Species Management Association (NAISMA) Conference is set to be the biggest one yet, bringing more than 450 people together to swap strategies.
"We connect to managers, researchers, policy and advocacy, folks and they're in the field usually, so a lot of our work is remote. But once a year we get together for an in-person experience, get everybody together, people from all walks of life, all aspects of the work,” said NAISMA Executive Director Christie Trifone. “We share stories. We celebrate the partnerships have been created and those in-person experiences, the collaboration is what creates community."
The conference came to Billings more than 15 years ago, but organizers have been eager to return to Montana ever since.
"We wanted to host a conference in Montana because we have a lot of good stories to share successes with dealing with invasive species and things that we can just show other folks that we're doing here in Montana to combat all kinds of different invasive species,” Montana Invasive Species Council administrator Liz Lodman told MTN.
This year's event is co-hosted with the Montana Invasive Species Council.
Montana is at the forefront of invasive species management. The state is full of check stations and cleaning machines, aimed at stopping the spread of harmful aquatic invasives, like zebra mussels, which can clog pipes and devastate waterways. While this is one of the more visible aspects of management, dealing with invasive species goes beyond cleaning boats.
"So, Montana has been really strong in trying to prevent the introduction of feral swine. We do not have feral swine in Montana,” Lodman noted. “And so, we've had a really good outreach program to just let landowners and people know that if they think they see feral swine to report it so we can deal with them quickly."
Feral pigs carry dangerous diseases and have caused an estimated $1.5 billion worth of damage to crops, wildlife and the environment. Montana banned the transportation and hunting of feral swine in 2015 to keep populations from North Dakota and Canada out of the state.
Conference attendees can listen to lectures and take field trips in every direction out of Missoula, learning about everything from pests to invasive grasses to white bark pines.
"Our theme this year is sharing stories and celebrating partnerships in the field of invasive species management. The way that we partner, the way that we share our stories helps to further our mission, helps to increase resources and helps us to connect to communities,” Trifone said.
The conference continues through Friday, allowing attendees to see first-hand how Western Montana is tackling invasive species head on.
