Brian Greene smiles next to the sign for the Nature Conservancy’s Adirondack Chapter offices in Keene Valley. He is the new aquatic invasive species coordinator for the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program, which is housed at the Nature Conservancy offices. (Photo provided)

KEENE VALLEY — Brian Greene has joined the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program as its new aquatic invasive species coordinator.

His career has focused on citizen-science monitoring of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. He most recently served as the director of trails and conservation for the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor in Pennsylvania. Previously, he established the statewide Utah Water Watch volunteer water quality monitoring program.

Greene holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and a Master of Science degree in natural resources from Cornell University. He has conducted research on amphibians, invasive plants and water resources across the United States and abroad.

“Brian brings strong plant identification, partnership building and technology skills to this position,” Tammara Van Ryn, APIPP program manager, said in a press release. “We are thrilled to welcome him to the APIPP team where he will help expand the aquatic invasive species initiatives and advance our science work.”

The APIPP team is gearing up for another busy field season including leading citizen-science efforts to survey trails and waterways for invasive species, monitoring hemlock woolly adelgid and emerald ash borer infestations in the Adirondacks, and driving innovation through the use of unmanned aerial vehicle-assisted surveys in difficult-to-access backcountry habitats and BioBase software to map lake characteristics.

APIPP is a partnership program founded in 1998 by the Nature Conservancy, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the state Department of Transportation and the state Adirondack Park Agency. Its coordinated approach to invasive species management has been a model for similar programs across the U.S. APIPP focuses on 11 aquatic and 25 terrestrial invasive species of concern to the Adirondacks.