We recently connected with Michael Hindy and have shared our conversation below.

Michael, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

You might hear our name, Three Shores CISMA, and wonder “what in the world is a CISMA?” The acronym CISMA stands for Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area, or a partnership between regional organizations working together to manage invasive species. Our CISMA is named Three Shores after our location in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, nestled between the shorelines of the three largest great lakes: Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Superior. Our mission is to protect our “Gateway to the Upper Peninsula” from invasive species threats and restore it to its native, natural beauty.

Our CISMA was originally founded in 2010 with a Memorandum of Understanding between two partners: the Chippewa, Luce, Mackinac Conservation District and the USDA Forest Service. From there, we’ve grown to over 40 partners who work together annually to treat well over 300 acres of high-priority invasive species throughout the region. Here at the Three Shores CISMA we’re committed to continuing our mission of creating and fostering partnerships toward an invasive-free future in the Eastern Upper Peninsula.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

A CISMA is another acronym for a broader range of invasive fighting partnerships that fall under multiple names, such as Invasive Species Networks (ISNs), Invasive Species Coalitions (ISCs), Cooperative Weed Management Areas (CWMAs), and Partnerships for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISMs). Prior to the creation of these wide arrays of partnership networks, various agencies of land managers were often confined by political or land ownership boundaries. The struggle between these agencies was amplified when intensive control efforts of different land managers weren’t successful when invasive plants were finding refuge on neighboring properties. Out of this struggle, the need for a unified strategy and the ability to coordinate efforts across jurisdictional boundaries became evident.

In 1992 the first CWMA was formed in the greater Yellowstone area. From there, CISMA’s began to grow across the nation as local citizens, land owners, and non-profits joined with local, state, tribal, and federal governments to create unified strategies, coordinated efforts, and expand treatment efforts across jurisdictional boundaries within a local area of similar demographics. The Three Shores CISMA is one of the oldest examples of these partnerships in Michigan that was created to address the threat of invasive species. Our group of partners works throughout the three easternmost counties in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (Chippewa, Luce, and Mackinac counties). These counties are home to a plenitude of unique features, such as the largest remaining Alvar ecosystem, an abundance of Great Lakes coastline, wetlands, forests, and protected natural areas, making it a remote outdoorsmen paradise. Within our region, we are home to a state forest, national forest, two nationally recognized tribes, two units of US Fish and Wildlife refuge, as well as thousands of acres of nature preserves and private lands. Here at the Three Shores CISMA, we are a completely grant-funded entity that helps build partnerships and break the bonds of jurisdictional boundaries so that all of these areas can stay pristine for future generations.

Any advice for managing a team?

Over the years, depending on grant funding, the Three Shores CISMA team has varied from as low as 4 individuals up to 13 core team members. As our work can vary from below-zero temperatures, high winds, and mountains of snow to 90 degrees (f) days wearing waders in mosquito-infested swamps hand-pulling plants for hours, hiking 10+ miles a day, and/or carrying 50-pound packs across rough terrains, the high degree of physical demand our job requires can quickly deplete team morale. If one team’s morale drops, it can quickly become a pandemic of negativity that not only spreads throughout the other members of the CISMA core team but also other entities of the CISMA partnership. With the crucial role the members of the CISMA core team, as well as members in the CISMA partnership play, it’s important that team morale stays high.

When I started my career I was in a similar position as my supporting team members. While it can be very easy to forget what the struggles were for their positions as I rose in responsibilities, I believe it’s important for any team manager to put themselves in their co-workers’ shoes. When you messed up, did you like to be chewed out? Or did you prefer it when a manager encouraged you to learn from the opportunity and helped pick you up? I’m a believer that negativity, especially from a manager, only yields negative results. Everyone messes up something in their life, and sometimes those mistakes can be huge and costly to the organization. But the setbacks from team mistakes are only temporary and can always be used as a positive learning experience for both the manager and team members for organizational growth.

In addition to creating an environment of positive learning from mistakes, I’m also a strong believer in doing whatever is difficult to alleviate struggles for other members of the team, or at least being actively involved in the most difficult of jobs and doing all I can to make them fun. Do we have to hike at a steep incline while carrying contractor bags full of invasive plants? Awesome! Let’s turn on the Bluetooth speaker to “Eye of the Tiger” and I’ll take the lead with the heaviest bag up the hill! Were we one bag shy of being able to carry it all in one trip? No worries, I’ll head back for that last bag. Any opportunity to lead from the front and alleviate the stress of the team by playing an active role should be taken to keep team morale high, increase production, and build and retain quality team members.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

While our social media presence is still growing, our CISMA recognizes it as a vital tool to reach a wide array of audiences including the younger generation. As smart devices and social media continue to increase in the role they play in society, it’s the perfect passive outreach avenue.

While our CISMA doesn’t do anything particularly special towards social media, we do all that we can to increase our presence on social media as much as possible. Following the advice of social media marketing experts, we use simple tactics such as encouraging employee creativity, posting regularly, and following trends to promote our organization and goals. While we still have a way to go, the growth has been great so far and we hope to continue that trend in the future.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.threeshorescisma.org
• Instagram: threeshorescisma
• Facebook: threeshores

Image Credits
Three Shores CISMA, Lake to Lake CISMA, Chippewa Luce Mackinac Conservation District, Michigan DNR