Welcome to the Circle City Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA)!
Learn more about our resources and events and how
you can help us nurture native habitats in Indianapolis!
What is a CISMA?
A Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA) is a local group or partnership of organizations and people who collectively manage the problem of invasive species spreading across the landscape. Circle City CISMA is part of the Indiana Invasives Initiative, a 5 year effort to develop CISMAs in all 92 Indiana counties.
What is an Invasive Species?
The National Invasives Species Council defines invasive species as non-native to the ecosystem in which they are found and whose introduction is likely to cause environmental and economic harm. Invasives species are often introduced by accident to our local communities via shipping crates, packing materials and railways or are intentionally planted for various purposes. Invasive species also frequently have escaped cultivation and their seeds are spread by wind, water and/or wildlife. It is estimated that 82% of woody invasives in natural areas come from landscaping.
Why should I care?
Invasives species:
- Can negatively affect property values, agriculture productivity, aquatic resources and recreation opportunities, and the overall heath of our ecosystems
- Destroy habitat for rare wildflowers and animals, threatening two-thirds of all endangered species
- Cost the US more than $120 billion in damages annually and over 100 million acres in the US
“On a global basis…the two great destroyers of biodiversity are, first, habitat destruction, and, second, invasion by exotic species”
– E.O. Wilson
