The Southwest Rangeland Invasive Plants Initiative, or SRIPI, is a multi-part outreach and research project that will promote and evaluate low-cost, community-based approaches to the management of invasive plants. SRIPI will use a "wildfire" model of invasive species management focusing on prevention, early detection, and eradication. As part of SRIPI survey research will be conducted to assess citizens' knowledge, attitudes, and willingness to participate in weed management. This research will help to identify the specific information needs of extension audiences. Concurrent studies will examine the organizational dynamics of community-based weed management and analyze economic costs and benefits of the community approach. Research will use a social-psychological approach to identifying factors that will facilitate or constrain efforts to control invasive plants. A self-administered mail-back survey is to be completed by residents in eight non-metropolitan counties in the desert southwest. The survey will measure personal and land ownership characteristics, plant ecology knowledge, impacts and effectiveness of control efforts, and effectiveness of citizen-based stewardship. It will also ascertain attitudes towards management practices, assessment of peers' attitudes, willingness to support or take part in control efforts, and preferences towards and use of alternative education methods.

Key words: attitudes, environment, volunteerism, weed management