The Cass County Conservation District is taking a stand against foreign invaders — of the flora variety, that is.

The local organization is teaming with conservation districts to combat the spread of a number of invasive plant species affecting lakeside and landlocked properties across the region. The collation has been working together for the last several weeks, creating a joint application to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to secure grant money to fund the initiative.

“We’re part of nine different south counties from southwest Michigan and their partners going after this grant, which is due by the end of the week,” said Justin Miller, director of the conservation district.

Cass is joining Berrien, Van Buren, St. Joseph, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Jackson, Hillsdale and Branch counties to form the Southern Michigan Invasive Species Cooperative.

If their two-year grant application is successful, they expect to receive more than $100,000 to help fund part-time staffing positions to handle the program.

“We think we’re in a good position to receive it,” Miller said. “One of the big parts of the scoring is the creation of one of these cooperative areas. As we form this, we should score a lot higher on our application.”

The cooperative hopes to bring in three of these technicians, who will provide education to local residents, hosting workshops on how to identify and eradicate threatening non-native plant life.

The grant from the DNR will cover such as species the Japanese knotweed, flowering rush, Chinese yam, and certain varieties of swallowwort, Miller said. The program is more about prevention and awareness than treatment of heavily infested areas, focusing more on small pockets across the southern Michigan.

“By the second year of the grant, we’re hoping to treat these areas and get rid of these invasive plants before explode into larger populations,” Miller said.

Each county receiving state funding will be required to put up a 10 percent match as well, Miller said. They should receive word as to whether or not they’ll receive funding by February, director added.

The conservation district, which has been in operation since 1943, provides a number of educational and technical services to county landowners, through land and natural resource management.

The organization is primarily funded through grants from various state and federal agencies, as well as from revenue generated from its annual tree and plant sales.

Residents looking for assistance with soil or wildlife concerns are encouraged to contact the conservation district at (269) 445-8641 or online at facebook.com/pages/Cass-County-Conservation-District.