Upcoming Meeting: Discussing the 5-Year Strategic Plan

[IISG ICC]

Invasive Crayfish Collaborators,

Thank you to everyone who filled out the ICC strategic planning survey last month. We appreciate your time and feedback to help us craft our 5-year strategic plan, which will systematically guide the direction of the ICC and identify priorities for research, collaboration, and outreach. We wanted to provide a brief summary of our survey results and plans for moving forward during a virtual ICC meeting on Tuesday, January 30th from 11:00am to 12:30pm CT. During the meeting, we will present our initial focus goals for the 5-year strategic plan and ask for your input on specific priorities. We are particularly interested in hearing your thoughts on these priorities to ensure that they align with your needs and support your work. You will also have the opportunity to add any additional comments that will help advance our plan. Our goal is to create a plan that benefits all ICC members, so your participation is crucial!

Please register for the meeting and review the attached two-paged summary document.

For reference, the initial focus goals we have identified from the survey and will be addressing in the virtual meeting include:

1. Detection, Response, Control, Containment, and Eradication: Implementing swift and effective measures in response to invasive crayfish threats is crucial. This involves developing strategies for control, containment, and, where appropriate, eradication. The ICC will support research and management efforts that strive to mitigate the impacts of invasive crayfish and conserve aquatic ecosystems and native crayfish populations. This may include, but is will not be limited to: (1) the use of monitoring tools (e.g., trapping, sampling, eDNA, etc.) to support detection efforts, (2) continued work on rapid response efforts, (3) chemical/biological/physical removal (e.g., pesticides, electrofishing, autocidal control, species-specific methods), and (4) analysis of non-target impacts of various techniques.
2. Organism-In-Trade Pathways: This goal aims to address invasive crayfish spread by increasing understanding and management of one of the most important pathways (organisms-in-trade, OIT). The ICC will collaborate with stakeholders involved in trade and commerce of crayfish and implement measures that minimize the introductions of crayfish species into new environments. A strong focus on OIT pathways in research, policy, outreach, and education is essential for preventing future invasions.
3. Interjurisdictional Collaboration: In recognition of the interconnected and often regional nature of invasive crayfish challenges, this goal focuses on fostering collaboration across jurisdictions. By establishing strong partnerships with regional, national, and international entities, we aim to create a unified response to invasive crayfish. Supporting interjurisdictional collaboration includes facilitating bi-directional information exchange among our members and partners.
4. Education, Outreach, and Activity from Diverse Partnerships: Central to our strategy is the engagement of diverse partners in educational and outreach activities. This involves engagement with consumers, hobbyists, retailers, suppliers, and producers. The ICC will support educational and outreach programming that enhances public awareness and engagement regarding invasive crayfish issues. This goal seeks to create a network of informed and responsible individuals. Additionally, the ICC will strive to recruit and highlight participants with diverse perspectives and affiliations, promoting diverse engagement in our programming.
5. Program Sustainability: This goal involves developing and implementing strategies to ensure the ongoing success and impact of our programs. This includes exploring funding diversification, establishing multiple partnerships for long-term support, and creating a long-term funding model to help with the identification and evaluation of funding programs (i.e., a place to identify funding sources for our partners).

If you have any questions, please reach out to me at szkl...@illinois.edu. We look forward to seeing you on January 30! Thank you!

Best,
Natalia