Imagining a Virginia Without Invasive Plants.

Preventing Harms from Invasive Plants

Our Common Ground Agenda

Common ground is a quilt of many voices.

The purpose of the Virginia Invasive Plant Coalition is to identify and launch a series of new statewide initiatives and action plans to make dramatic progress against invasive plants, and, as part of that effort, support the use of native plants.

On Thursday December 14th, 2023, a group of 76 stakeholders from across Virginia worked together to identify goals that would form the road map for a statewide strategic plan to reduce invasive plants. The 10 goals below form the PRISM Future Search invasive plant workshop’s Common Ground Agenda.

  • Awareness & Education

    Change the social norm in favor of native plants versus invasive plants.

  • Workforce Development

    Increase availability of people with the necessary capacity, training, and skills to meet the need for ecological restoration* in Virginia.

    * This includes education, leadership, management, and boots-on-the-ground.

  • Support & Implement the VISMP

    Support and hold accountable the implementation of the Virginia Invasive Species Management Plan (VISMP).

  • Incentives & Cost Sharing

    Create or provide expertise, incentives, and/or easy-to-access funding to private land stewards to mitigate invasive species in the Commonwealth.

  • Limit Access to Invasive Plants

    Phase all DCR-listed invasive plants out of the commercial trade in Virginia and expand the availability of native plants and seeds.

  • Research

    Identify and address knowledge gaps to facilitate holistic ecological restoration and to effectively communicate evolving best practices to stakeholders across Virginia.

  • Remove Invasives & Restore with Native Plants

    Across our landscapes, remove invasive plants for the strategic protection, restoration, and expansion of native plant communities.

  • Equitable Access

    Ensure that ecological restoration processes are equitable for all people in Virginia and across all landscapes.

  • Build Collaborative Networks

    Develop a robust network that facilitates collaboration across Virginia.

  • Effective Policy

    Ensure that Virginia has impactful policies to support the reduction of invasive plants and reverse the economic damage they are causing across the Commonwealth.

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“There can be no purpose more inspiring than to begin the age of restoration, reweaving the wondrous diversity of life that still surrounds us.”

— E. O. Wilson

English ivy Hedera helix

Coalition Partners

Are you passionate about a Virginia without invasive plants?

We’d love to hear from you.

Email
vipc@blueridgeprism.org