JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Invasive Plant Council (MoIP) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 Invasive Plant Action Awards. MoIP established the Invasive Plant Action Award program to recognize the outstanding work being done in Missouri to control invasive plant species.
The MoIP Invasive Plant Action Awards recognize exceptional effort and leadership in the field and also demonstrate to the broader community how controlling the spread of invasive plants on Missouri farms, forests, woodlands, prairies, gardens, parks, neighborhoods, roadsides, and along waterways is attainable and very important land stewardship. Members of MoIP evaluate nominations and select winners annually.
For more information about this awards program, visit moinvasives.org/awards.
2025 MoIP Award Winner: Individual Citizen
Alan Hopefl, of Kirkwood, Missouri, is the winner in the Individual Citizen category, awarded to an individual for outstanding contributions to the long-term management of invasive plant species and working to fight the spread of invasive plants.
((INSERT PHOTO…INVASIVE 1…HERE))
Alan Hopefl, (left). resident of Kirkwood, Missouri, and winner of the MoIP 2025 Invasive Plant Action Award, Individual Citizen category, receiving his award from MoIP Council Member Bill Ruppert.
Alan began volunteering in Kirkwood in 2011, and since March 2015, he has recorded 2,852 volunteer hours, averaging over 300 hours each year, focused on controlling invasive bush honeysuckle and restoring habitat in Emmenegger Nature Park and across the grounds of Kirkwood parks. More than 2,266 of his volunteer hours have been devoted single-handedly to honeysuckle removal in Emmenegger. In 2024, he amassed 313 hours for the calendar year. This labor has allowed native seedlings to repopulate, regenerating native diversity. By removing dense honeysuckle thickets, Alan has helped fulfill the park’s mission to be a refuge where visitors find peace, solace, and education in a thriving wooded setting.
Hopefl’s efforts are certainly recognized and appreciated by City of Kirkwood officials. “By my estimates since we started removal efforts in 2013, close to 70 acres of the accessible portions of Emmenegger have had the largest populations of honeysuckle removed,” said Peter Laufersweiler, Superintendent of Park Operations, Kirkwood Parks & Recreation. “Alan has been involved in almost all of that, and I estimate that over the years he alone is responsible for over 40 acres. That is a staggering number to be completed mostly by one individual.”
2025 MoIP Award Winner: Individual Organization
The Columbia Audubon Society is the winner in the Individual Organization category, awarded to an organization for outstanding contributions to the long-term management of invasive plant species and working to fight the spread of invasive plants. Columbia Audubon Society (CAS) owns three properties: Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary (28 acres), Wild Haven Nature Area (102 acres), and Albert Children’s Wildlife Area (78 acres).
((INSERT PHOTO…INVASIVE 2…HERE))
Lottie Bushmann, (right), President of the Columbia Audubon Society (CAS), accepting the award on behalf of CAS, winner of the MoIP 2025 Invasive Plant Action Award, Individual Organization category, from MoIP Council Chair Carol Davit.
CAS manages these areas as habitat for native plants and animals, and for enjoyment by the general public. This management includes ongoing removal of invasive plants. With each year’s work, habitat improvement at these properties becomes ever more noticeable. Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary has benefitted from the removal of over 90% of the bush honeysuckle, demonstrating what is possible with sustained effort.
David Dittmer, Natural Resources Supervisor with the City of Columbia Parks and Recreation Department, said, “CAS has worked hard to make sure this prairie and the woodlands of their nature sanctuary remain clear of honeysuckle and other invasives, long after the initial work has been completed. Their property stands as a wonderful example to the community of how healthy and diverse a landscape can become when properly managed and rid of non-native invasive species.”
About MoIP
The Missouri Invasive Plant Council (MoIP) advocates for making early detection and control of known and potential invasive plants a statewide priority. In 2015, the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Grow Native! program spearheaded this multi-agency, multi-industry networking and advocacy group to bolster statewide efforts to identify and control the invasive plants that severely impact several sectors of the Missouri economy and native biodiversity. The purpose of MoIP—working as a united, supportive front—is to review, discuss, and recommend educational and regulatory action related to managing known and potential non-native invasive plants. Representatives from the fields of conservation, agriculture, botanical science, ecological services, plant production, horticulture, landscape services and design, and forestry make up the council.
Attached Photos
Alan Hopefl MoIP Award Presentation.jpeg: At left, Alan Hopefl, resident of Kirkwood, Missouri, and winner of the MoIP 2025 Invasive Plant Action Award, Individual Citizen category, receiving his award from MoIP Council Member Bill Ruppert.
CAS MoIP Award Presentation.jpg: At right, Lottie Bushmann, President of the Columbia Audubon Society (CAS), accepting the award on behalf of CAS, winner of the MoIP 2025 Invasive Plant Action Award, Individual Organization category, from MoIP Council Chair Carol Davit.