Despite efforts to prevent new invasive species from entering Michigan, some invaders still make it into the state. But experts say, finding and identifying new invasions early improves chances of slowing their spread, or even eradicating the population. Billy Keiper is an Aquatic Biologist with the Michigan Department of Great Lakes and Energy. He says they have a watchlist.
“These are the specials we don’t want established in Michigan. Som these are species that are not yet here or are here in limited abundance. Kind of the worst of the worst species.”
Keiper says the state’s aquatic invasive species program has resources in place to respond to new detections of high-priority invasive species, but the program staff needs your help spotting and reporting the invasive plants.
“Look for something out of place, you don’t need to become an species expert by any means. You just need to look for something that you’ve never seen before or looks out of place, always a good starting point. Take a picture email it over and we’ll take a look at it.”
Keiper says their goal is to eradicate any new invasions and they’ve already had success in eradicating some populations thus far. He says there are ten species on their aquatic watchlist that they recognize as being the most critical,
If you want more information about what to look out for or have something to report, you can do connect at https://www.michigan.gov/invasives
