Aurora borealis over abandoned farmstead. Shanagolden, WI. March 17, 2015

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1 Aurora borealis over abandoned farmstead. Shanagolden, WI. March 17, 2015 With the 4 th of July drawing near, I thought it only appropriate to share a picture of Mother Nature s fireworks Although I missed the fantastic aurora show we had about a week ago, I did catch our awesome March solar storm. New Oneida County mapping site. Check out the following link to view our brand new mapping tool for our AIS program. The site is still being worked on, but it has been working very well for our team. If you hold down your shift button, you can use your mouse to draw a box to enlarge a section of the map. Please note there are native and invasive species mapped! Not all symbols represent invasive species. Coming soon if you click on a lake, you can find out if there is an AIS monitoring report written for the lake and find out what invasive species are in it. If Eurasian water-milfoil is in the lake we hope to have a map to show you exactly where it is! Please check out this new tool and let me know how it works! Help needed on these lakes. Many of you have probably seen the list of lakes your Oneida County AIS team will be monitoring this summer. Some of them are quite large to monitor by canoe! Here they are: Buckskin, Mildred, Thompson, Maple, and Squaw. If there are lake associations willing to help monitor these lakes, please let me know. We monitor on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Just remember you can claim your time and gas as grant matches Clam monitoring workshop. Did you know that over half of Wisconsin s mussels are endangered, threatened, or are species of special concern? Once abundant in both numbers and diversity, many mussel species in Wisconsin watersheds are now in danger of extinction. Please join us on Tuesday, July 14, 10:00 a.m., to learn more about these fascinating creatures and how you can help! Please see the flier below.

2 AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE FOR CLAMS Half of Wisconsin s mussel species are endangered, threatened or are species of special concern. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY Once abundant in both numbers and diversity, many species in Wisconsin watersheds are now in danger of extinction. Streams without mussels are at a serious disadvantage. Mussels provide valuable natural benefits, such as streambed stabilization, increased habitat diversity, and the ability to remove harmful particles. A single mussel can filter up to 10 gallons of water per day! They are a Natural Water Treatment Plant. Identifying mussel species in the field is FUN and volunteers will have the opportunity to learn about the different species in our states watersheds. No prior knowledge is required and volunteers only need a pair of waders. Join us on Tuesday, July 14, 2015, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to find out how YOU can help! INSTRUCTOR / GUIDE: Jesse Weinzinger, UW-Green Bay graduate student, is asking for your help conducting freshwater mussel surveys. You can learn how at this workshop sponsored by the Oneida County AIS Program. In partnership with the Wisconsin Mussel Monitoring Program, Jesse is developing a standardized mussel sampling and reporting protocol for volunteers. An increased awareness in Wisconsin s freshwater mussel population will allow for better management practices to be implemented. WORKSHOP SCHEDULE 10:00-11:00 a.m. CLASSROOM SESSION / Q & A Classroom Presentation and Question & Answer Period 11:00-11:30 a.m. TRAVEL TIME TO FIELD SITE 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. FIELD WORK SESSION In-field demonstration on how to conduct surveys. 1:00 p.m. WRAP UP SPACE IS LIMITED! SIGN UP NOW! Sponsored by : Oneida County Land & Water Conservation Department Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Program LOCATION: COUNTY BOARD ROOM (second floor) ONEIDA COUNTY COURTHOUSE RHINELANDER, WI AUDIENCE: CITIZEN SCIENTISTS YOU can help resource managers protect and prevent the loss of these amazing invertebrates! Register by calling TODAY! This Workshop is FREE! FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele Sadauskas AIS Coordinator Oneida County msadauskas@co.oneida.wi.us (715)

3 A native Garden Tiger Moth visits the garden during a June morning Invasive Species ID day. Have a pesty plant in your yard that you ve always wondered what it was? Do you have a mat of aquatic plants growing near your pier that you think might be Eurasian water milfoil? Well, now is your chance to go grocery shopping AND have your suspicious plant and/or animal identified! Our team will be stationed at the Rhinelander Trigs Greenspace on Friday, July 17, 1:00-4:00 p.m. to help answer questions about invasive species (both aquatic and terrestrial) and help you ID your sample. Just in case the Rhinelander ID station is inconvenient to drop by, regional partners will have ID stations located in Ashland, Antigo, Eagle River, and Tomahawk!! More details are coming soon, but mark your calendars now!! Garden Valerian (Valeriana officinalis), a restricted species, along Hy 13 north of Park Falls.

4 2015 Awards Banquet. We have officially set the date! The 8 th Annual Oneida County Awards Ceremony will be held on Thursday, August 20 th. Please mark your calendars now! We are working on a stunning line-up of speakers, great door prizes, sumptuous food, and super company Don t miss this one! What else is happening? Here are a few pictures of what we have been up to! Educator workshop held at Kemp Natural Resource Station. This is Brandon and Jacob. They are our summer project student data researchers! Great job gentlemen!! Prohibited Phragmites australis, HY 8 west of Rhinelander. BEFORE.

5 AFTER treatment and clean-up! Mrs. Werner s class learning how to use an aquatic plant rake. It is TALL! HAPPY 4 TH OF JULY EVERYONE!!