As the coordinator of the Midwest Invasive Plant Network (MIPN), Clair supports the Arboretum’s mission of conserving trees and forest ecosystems.

Clair’s primary interest is invasive plants, particularly their impacts on natural ecosystems and different cohorts of people. Invasive species pose the second largest threat to biodiversity, behind habitat destruction, and MIPN’s mission is to reduce those impacts in the Midwest.

Clair also focuses on the economic valuation of invasive plant impacts relative to the costs of control, and research initiatives assessing the efficacy of various control methods on invasive plant populations in the Midwest. As MIPN’s Coordinator, Clair seeks to share research findings in these areas with regional stakeholders and improve communication on research needs between natural resource managers and the research community.