DNR to hold series of public meetings on starry stonewort
http://dnr.wi.gov/news/releases/article/?id=3653
MILWAUKEE -- The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will hold a series of public meetings in southeast Wisconsin to share information about starry stonewort and answer questions from area lake organizations and interested community members.
The first meeting will be held on July 29 with additional meetings to be scheduled around the region.
Starry stonewort, which arrived from Eurasia and was first discovered in the U.S. in the St. Lawrence River in 1978, has now been confirmed in Long Lake in Racine County and Silver Lake in Washington County as well as the previously reported findings in Little Muskego Lake, Big Muskego Lake and Bass Bay in Waukesha County, said Carroll Schaal, DNR lakes and rivers section chief. Starry stonewort, also found in Michigan, Indiana and the northeastern U.S., can form dense lakebed mats that crowd out native plants and eliminate habitat for juvenile fish.
The series of meetings will present information on the biology of starry stonewort, its current status and monitoring and management efforts. The audience will learn about actions that can help prevent the spread and what lake residents can do to help monitor and control it.
The first informational meeting will be held July 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the DNR Waukesha Service Center, 141 NW Barstow St., Room 151. Additional meetings will be announced at a later date. To learn more about starry stonewort, visit dnr.wi.gov, and search for "aquatic invasive species."