Invasive Species Tool Talk Advances Tool Development Conversation, Draws 150 Participants

More than 150 members of the climate adaptation science community gathered via Zoom on September 11th for an NE CASC virtual Tool Talk focusing on range-shifting invasive species.  Co-sponsored by the Northeast Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change Management Network (RISCC), this hour-long event provided researchers and managers with a forum to discuss key challenges and successes in the development of effective tools for identifying the geographical range expansion of invasive species, a major climate change-driven threat to native ecosystems.  The conversation marked the third in a series of Tool Talks that NE CASC has organized to shed light on the common attributes of successful resource management tools and the approaches used to create them. 

The discussion featured exchanges between a group of four experienced invasive species tool users and designers from the NE CASC community: 

• Jenica Allen, Senior Research Fellow, UMass Amherst & RISCC Leadership Team member
• Wesley Daniel, Fishery Biologist, USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
• Gary Fish, State Horticulturist, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry
• Catherine Jarnevich, Research Ecologist, USGS Fort Collins Science Center

Largely driven by panelist input, the conversation was also shaped by contributions from an audience that included representatives of more than 35 government agencies, 20 NGOs, and 15 universities. Together, participants shared their experiences developing and using invasive species range-shifting tools such as INHABIT, the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Tool, and the EDDMapS Invasive Range Expanders Listing Tool. 

Although Tool Talk panelists represented a wide range of organizations, institutional roles, and focal areas, they agreed on a key point: To be effective, a resource management tool must be produced with rather than for its intended end users. “The old adage is that ‘if you build it, they will come,” said Wesley Daniel. “But the truth is, people won’t come unless you build something they need.” In the case of resource management tools, he added, “The only way to accomplish that goal is through co-production,” through engaging stakeholders from the beginning of the development process to understand their needs and preferences. “As a researcher,” Daniel continued, “I strongly advocate integrating as much co-production as possible into tool projects.” 

Gary Fish, Maine’s State Horticulturist and a frequent user of invasive species range-shifting tools, amplified Daniel’s point by stressing the need for researchers to earn the trust of their stakeholders. “To build that trust,” Fish continued, “researchers must include stakeholders in their projects from the very beginning. The more transparent and engaged researchers are from the early stages of tool development, the more likely it is that stakeholders will trust and use their tools.” 

Aside from helping build relationships with tool users, co-production also strengthens tools themselves, said Jenica Allen, a third panelist. “In developing RISCC tools such as the EDDMapS Invasive Range Expander, we organized several RISCC workshops and held additional workshops at existing professional meetings to gather feedback on app performance and features from prospective users,” she said. “As a result, those tools experienced major changes prior to publication. Our stakeholders were adept at identifying potential pitfalls in our tools…and provided input that caused us to change technology platforms, alter user inputs, and expand user options. Soliciting stakeholder input is the process that has led to the most significant development of our tools–and has caused their published iterations to look much different from the way we originally planned.”  Adding to Allen’s point, Catherine Jarnevich noted that consistent engagement with stakeholders via webinars and other communication channels allowed her team to vastly expand the features and capabilities of the USGS INHABIT tool she developed along with a team of collaborators.  “INHABIT is a far more expansive and powerful tool due to stakeholder input,” she said. 

Responding to Allen and Jarnevich, Fish observed that participation in research-manager networks and dialogues designed to facilitate co-production benefits managers as much as it does researchers. “I think it’s important to stay connected,” Fish said. “That’s why I joined the RISCC network almost from its very beginning. Staying connected to networks keeps me informed about new publications and tools that will advance our state’s regulatory objectives. And by staying connected to the RISCC network, our state has benefited from the expertise of RISCC personnel, particularly by expanding  our “do not sell” and “watch” lists. There’s no question that participating in these boundary-spanning networks and dialogues is essential to enhancing prevention and rapid response strategies, which are themselves essential to combating the accelerating threat of range-shifting invasive species. If we don’t support these kinds of forward-looking efforts, we’re putting ourselves at a significant disadvantage.”  

A link to the Tool Talk recording is available below along with key resources and other links. Click on the + button to the right of "Tool Talk Recording & Resources" to access it.