Contact Us
For more information about the Western Invasive Network, or to share comments and ideas for improving this website, please contact:
Vern Holm
Vern is the Coordinator for the Northwest Weed Management Partnership, an informal multi-agency network of individuals and organizations concerned with rural and urban invasive weed issues in northwestern Oregon and southwestern Washington. To that end, he is responsible for building the capacity of six Cooperative Weed Management Areas in northwest Oregon and southwest Washington.
He sees communication and education as critical to fostering partnered weed management efforts, and this has led him to work on the development of the WIN web site. He is particularly interested in promoting Early Detection Rapid Response and is actively engaged in developing the infrastructure that will support these efforts.
Sam Leininger
Sam is a native Oregonian and was raised in a rural setting where he became familiar with the problem of invasive species. He attended Oregon State University where he received an Honors Bachelor's degree in 2001. At OSU he participated in various ecological research programs involved in Willamette Valley Prairie restoration. As an undergraduate he spearheaded a two year restoration program to propagate the endangered Willamette daisy and Kincaid’s lupine.
Sam later attended the University of California, Davis where his research focused on evaluating the invasive spread of Perennial pepperweed. He developed a model to predict and evaluate the susceptibility of a landscape to pepperweed invasion.
Upon completion of graduate school Sam returned to Oregon to contribute his skills as an ecologist. Concerned with invasive species control, he recognized a need for integration between the various managers, researchers, and citizens within the region. This led him to collaborate in the formation of the Western Invasives Network, where he has focused on developing the WIN website as a tool for weed workers to share their knowledge, skills, and observations.
Sam currently lives in Portland with his wife Amy, where he is currently freelancing as the owner and operator of an ecological consulting company.
Tania Siemens
Tania Siemens grew up in Eugene, where she spent her time biking and hiking in Oregon's beautiful outdoors. These early connections to nature inspired Tania to make a life out of exploring, studying, and conserving natural places. She got her Bachelor's degree in Biology (summa cum laude) from the University of Oregon, where she gained a keen interest in aquatic ecosystems. Tania first became interested in invasive species after an internship on the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. (Invasive species are the primary threat to the globally unique flora and fauna on the Galápagos.) Her interest in invasive species led Tania to do her Master's research at Cornell University, where she studied the ecological impacts of invasive plants on aquatic ecosystems. Also while at Cornell, Tania won a prestigious National Science Foundation teaching fellowship, in which she worked to integrate inquiry-based education into high school science curriculum. After receiving her Masters, Tania moved home to Oregon and went to work for The Nature Conservancy in Oregon as their Weed Watchers Program Coordinator. The goal of the Weed Watchers Program is to develop a statewide network of public and private partners working together to detect, report, and respond to invasive species infestations before they become established. Tania is also a research assistant at Oregon State University Sea Grant Extension, where she researches and develops educational tools designed to increase awareness of and stewardship surrounding aquatic invasive species. Tania currently lives in Eugene with her husband Jorge, their 2 year old son Noah, and their very cute dog Dibley.