Introduced

This week, we dive deep into two news stories that flew under the public’s radar. In the summer of 2020, individuals all over the country started receiving random packages of unsolicited and unidentified seeds. In the spring of 2021, pet stores around the country found that the moss balls on their shelves carried a notorious aquatic hitchhiker. On this episode, we talk to some of the people who devoted months of their lives to dealing with these first-of-their-kind international crises.  

Special thanks to our guests Christopher Deegan, Wesley Daniels, Amy Kretlow and Amy McGovern.  

Report a nonindigenous aquatic species - https://nas.er.usgs.gov/SightingReport.aspx

Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database - USGS - https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/default.aspx

Destroy! Don’t dump! - Zebra Mussel Disposal - https://www.fws.gov/fisheries/ANS/zebra-mussel-disposal.html

Hungry pests - Leave hungry pests behind - https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/resources/pests-diseases/hungry-pests/hungrypests

Zebra mussels - https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/our-work/focus-areas/ais/invasive-species/invasive-species-fact-sheets/mollusks/zebra-mussels/

Quagga mussels - https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/our-work/focus-areas/ais/invasive-species/invasive-species-fact-sheets/mollusks/quagga-mussel/

On August 27, 2009, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources gets a call about small lobsters crawling around a neighborhood pond in Germantown. The extent of the problem is more than anyone bargained for.

Tim Campbell, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Pete Jopke, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Tim Zabel, initial sighter

Heidi Bunk, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Scott Van Egeren, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Doug and Mary, Esquire Estates residents

Jake Vander Zanden, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Erin Vennie-Vollrath, (former) University of Wisconsin-Madison

Chris Hamerla, Golden Sands Resource Conservation & Development

Stephanie Peay, Independent crayfish researcher

Red Swamp Crayfish

The miniscule Spiny waterflea was introduced into Madison’s Lake Mendota and lurked undetected for years. This hour, Bonnie and Sydney take a new look at a well-studied lake and try to figure out how an introduced species can float below science’s radar for so long.

Jake Walsh, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Dick Lathrop, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Mike Spear, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Study: Stories of Invasive Species Often Begin with Undetected “Sleeper Populations”

Too Hot? Too Cold? Just Right? Lakes Sharing the Same Climate Can Be Worlds Apart for Invasive Species

Forget “Needle in a Haystack.” Try Finding an Invasive Species in a Lake

Tiny Invasive Species Eats Enough to Devour an Entire City

What Lies Beneath: Sudden Invasion of a Wisconsin Lake Wasn’t So Sudden After All

Wild rice faces challenges like introduced species, pollution, habitat destruction and climate change. We learn how the Sokaogon Chippewa Community cares for this wonderfully resilient being. Opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Sokaogon Chippewa Community Mole Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

Sarah Dance, (former) Wisconsin Sea Grant

Melonee Montano, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission

Nathan Podany, Sokaogon Chippewa Community

Peter McGeshick III, Sokaogon Chippewa Community

Read More About Sarah Dance’s Research

Sokaogon Chippewa Community

Manoomin Education and Outreach Toolkit

Sydney debriefs Bonnie on what it was like to filet her very first fish, which happened to be a silver carp.

Cooking Silver Carp

Canines Betty White and Ernie are training to detect the scent of New Zealand Mudsnail, and Sydney goes bow hunting for flying carp. Also, we talk to a group that is trying to make carp burgers the next popular tailgating food.

Laura Holder, Conservation Dogs Collective

Amy Wagnitz, (former) Conservation Dogs Collective

Betty White and Ernie, Conservation Dogs Collective

Captain Nate Wallick, Peoria Carp Hunters

Chris Litzau, Great Lakes Community Conservation Corps

New Zealand Mud Snail

Silver Carp

Water Hyacinth

Asian carp – Silverfin™

Why Does the State of Illinois Want to Rename Asian Carp? Racism and Economics

Pacific salmon were introduced into the Great Lakes to control nuisance alewives. Now, alewives and salmon are both being challenged by a new wave of introduced species.

Barb Carey, WI Women Fish, Women Ice Angler Project

Brad Eggold, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Titus Seilheimer, Wisconsin Sea Grant

WI Women Fish

Women Ice Angler Project

Root River Steelhead Facility

Automated Marking & Tagging Trailer

Even the smallest snails can mean big changes for the region’s lakes and streams. We visit the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, where mystery snails encroach on wild rice, and track the spread of New Zealand mudsnail across Wisconsin trout streams.

Kathryn Perez, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Kelsey Taylor, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

Ellen Voss, River Alliance of Wisconsin

Nick Voss, Driftless Angler

Bobbi Peckarsky, Black Earth Creek Watershed Association, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Maureen Ferry, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Key to Wisconsin Freshwater Snails

Kelsey Taylor’s Snail Salsa Recipe

Chinese Mystery Snail

New Zealand Mud Snail

Smelting became a beloved tradition after rainbow smelt were introduced into the Great Lakes. How did smelt get introduced, how do they fit into the food web and what happens when humans fall in love with a non-native species?

Jared Myers, US Fish and Wildlife Service 

Carolyn Swartz, Angler’s All 

Titus Seilheimer, Wisconsin Sea Grant 

Sara Hudson, Ashland Parks and Recreation 

Smelt Wrestling

New Smelt Consumption Advisory for Lake Superior

Trash Trunk: A Grab and Go Teaching Tool

Teach Me About the Great Lakes podcast

Who gets to decide where a species belongs? What does it mean for something to be “invasive?”

The term “invasive species” is commonly used by researchers and academics. But as the authors of the Dibaginjigaadeg Anishinaabe Ezhitwaad – A Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu developed the indigenous resilience guide, they spent long hours reckoning with the term “invasive,” along with a slew of other Western terms like “climate change” and “management.” Next, we speak to scholar Paul Robbins, whose personal journey with invasive species started with a flat tire in Rajestan, India. Since then, he’s studied human interactions with nature and the politics of natural resource management. Lastly, we join a group of reptile and amphibian experts who are debating if a popular pet turtle species, the red-eared slider, should be listed as prohibited or restricted in Wisconsin’s invasive species law. 

Paul Robbins, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Tara Bergeson, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Jerry Jondreau and Katy Bresette, Dynamite Hill Farms

Melonee Montano, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission

Sara Smith, College of Menominee Nation

Davin Lopez, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Herptile Species Assessment Group members

Mammals Species Assessment Group members

Dibaginjigaadeg Anishinaabe Ezhitwaad – A Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu

Invasive species Rule NR-40