Wisconsin makes progress in aquatic invasive species control

WISCONSIN MAKES PROGRESS IN AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES CONTROL

November 1, 2011

MADISON - Wisconsin made significant progress in 2010-11 in efforts to prevent, contain, and control the damage done by aquatic invasive species, capitalizing on increased federal funding and growing involvement by counties and volunteers, according to a recent report to the Legislature.

About 200 lakes were monitored this year as part of a five-year process to paint a more accurate picture of where aquatic invasive species are found across the state, and how fast they're spreading, and to evaluate the effectiveness of outreach and education efforts.

The number of counties actively partnering with the state to prevent and control the spread of aquatic invasive species rose to 47 in 2011, up from 35 just a year earlier.

Efforts to engage new partners in geographic areas where there were gaps in the past paid off with counties and organizations in the Lake Michigan Basin and along the Mississippi River getting involved. The expanded partnership helped spread the AIS prevention message to even more water users this year with more than 85,000 boats inspected and 185,000 people contacted to date, according to the report.

"Wisconsin made important progress in building the partnerships and monitoring capacity that will help us slow the spread of aquatic invasive species and respond to new ones before they get established and start causing problems," says Bob Wakeman, Department of Natural Resources' aquatic invasive species coordinator.

"Staff, volunteers and partners spent countless hours protecting our waters from aquatic invasive species and this report shows that together we are making a difference and slowing the spread."

Numbers and percentages reflect totals as of report publication date; for the most current totals, visit the Aquatic Invasive Species page of the DNR website.

More aquatic invasive species fast facts

67 percent of Wisconsin lakes with public access are free of Eurasian water-milfoil and zebra mussels.

Only 2.5 percent of lakes predicted to be suitable for zebra mussels are currently infested.

136 inland waters have zebra mussels.

584 waters statewide have Eurasian water milfoil and only 135 are in northern Wisconsin, which has 12,000 lakes.

85,490 watercraft were inspected (July 2010-June 2011), mostly through the Clean Boats, Clean Waters network.

85 percent of watercraft inspections were on waters that contained invasive species.

92 percent of boaters were aware of these invasive species law, and 90 percent had no aquatic plants present on their boats or trailers.

$3.6 million in grants were awarded to local communities for aquatic invasive species prevention and control in fiscal year 2011, bringing to $17 million the grant money awarded to local communities since 2003 for aquatic invasive species prevention and control.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Wakeman (262) 574-2149

Last Revised: Tuesday, November 01, 2011