Brandon Mobley of the Fort Worth District was named 2014 Stewardship Employee of the Year for his tireless work coping with numerous invasive species both plant and animal--that threaten his District'’s projects. On top of his work at the District level, Mobley also worked on developing an overall Corps strategy to deal with invasive species and then went on to work with managers across the country to develop tactics for their properties.

He serves on the National Invasive Species Leadership Team (ISLT), the Stewardship Advisory Team, the Military Master Planning team and several district PDTs. He has developed a reputation as an expert on invasives, and is in high demand to make presentations to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and others. He is also considered a subject matter expert (SME) on the biology of mussels and other aquatics.

Educating the public on the problem of exotic invasives is a big part of his job, and he works closely with various Texas state and federal agencies such as Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the US Geologic Survey to let people know what they can do to keep these potentially dangerous species under control. He feels that once they learn about the perils of invasives, that they are willing to do what they can to protect against their spread.

Mobley coordinates with a number of resource agencies on efforts utilizing a number of specialized technologies to test for the presence of certain species, including highly sensitive eDNA tests, which analyze water for the presence of invasive species’ DNA, and phytoplantic tows, in which analysts use large round nets that funnel down to the water at the bottom of the lake to capture water samples for testing.

Mobley is serving on an Environmental Stewardship pilot program to look at which Corps lakes are at greatest risk from a number of variables including the likelihood of invasive species establishment, impacts to cultural resource sites and sensitive habitats as well as encroachments from neighboring developments, in an effort to reduce the increasing pressure from developers and neighboring property owners who cut trees and otherwise encroach on Corps property.

Mobley said about the award, "I believe having supervisors that provide a work environment that pushes me and allows me to tackle projects on a regional and national level was extremely instrumental in me attaining the award. To have that opportunity is extremely rewarding and I am humbled and honored to be recognized by my peers."