Invasive species conference targets plants and aquatic pests

It was a day of learning about invasive species at NMU today.

The Upper Peninsula Invasive Council hosted the 5th Annual Northern Great Lakes Invasive Species Conference. This year’s conference was titled The Dry, the Wet, and the Ugly.

One of the major topics of discussion was funding for invasive species control and the grants that could be used toward the effort. The opening presentation touched on invasive plant species such as garlic mustard and Japanese knotweed.

The conference serves to create a discussion and raise awareness about controlling invasive species.

“It’s really important to inform the public and let them know identification techniques and what’s going on, and why it’s important to control these species,” said Abbie Debiak, the coordinator for the Central Upper Peninsula Cooperative Weed Management Area.

The conference continued throughout the day with concurrent breakout sessions covering topics from monitoring environmental DNA in aquatic invasive species to harvesting them.