Operating a volunteer-driven, landowner-focused CWMA

Most CWMAs are organized and run by a combination of governmental units and non-profits. Most of them at least started by focusing on the lands owned or operated by the founders. The Blue Ridge PRISM (Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management) was the first CWMA formed in Virginia (in 2014). From its beginning it has sought to motivate and educate the tens of thousands of landowners in its 10-county territory to take action to remove invasive plants. In the last 5 years the PRISM has generated over a million dollars in federal awards and grants to provide financial assistance to landowners. This presentation discusses the successes of the PRISM and how other interested groups could do the same. The PRISM itself has received no government funding and is run by volunteer landowners.