Patrick Canniff (University of Michigan, M.S. Conservation Ecology; Loyola University Chicago, B.S. Environmental Science) is the Natural Resources Outreach and CISMA Coordinator for Oakland County Parks and Recreation. Patrick assists with coordination of the CHIPs program and works on public/municipal partnerships for land management best practices, use of native/non-invasive plants, and management of priority invasives. When not driving around the county for site visits and projects, you will find Patrick collecting various hobbies like: homebrewing something hopefully consumable, hiking, creating a cacophony of sounds on a drumset, or much to his wife’s chagrin – covertly converting more and more of his home lawn to prairie (somewhere around 20% currently).

TSN Conference 2026

January 22nd, 2026 (Thursday) // 3:05 pm – 4:05 pm // Room 103 // CHIPs! Funding Community Habitat Improvement Projects: Implementation, Data Streamlining, Case Studies, and Lessons Learned // Initiated in 2021, Oakland County Parks’ annual grants through the Community Habitat Improvement Projects (CHIPs) have been taking a bite out of the urgent local conservation and restoration needs one year at a time. CHIPs assists Oakland County municipalities and CISMA partners to tackle local invasive species and restoration priorities through indirect funding, coordinating contractor management, and directing staff capacity to maximize impact. This presentation will showcase the successes and pitfalls of this multi-pronged program from organizational development and coordination, GIS applications and data streamlining, impact and work completed, and implications for management innovations and recommendations from case studies. Types of projects that have been implemented through this program include: invasive species treatment, winter forestry mowing, turf-conversion projects, and native seed/plug plantings. Check out the webpage HERE for more information.