Workshops
All Workshops are 2-3 hours in length including a break.

Monday, October 20, 2014 - 1:00PM 

Identification of Native and Exotic Aquatic Plants of the Upper Midwest
Paul Skawinski, Golden Sands Resource Conservation & Development Council, Inc.
Assisted by: Susan Knight - UW-Trout Lake Research Station and Michelle Nault - Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
(Note: this workshop will run 2-3 hours in length with a break)

This workshop will guide participants through the identification of a wide variety of native and exotic aquatic plants that occur in the Upper Midwest. Difficult genera including Potamogeton (pondweeds), Myriophyllum (watermilfoils) and Utricularia (bladderworts) will be thoroughly discussed, and participants will leave prepared to distinguish these species in the field. Paul will also highlight ways to discern many exotic species from native look-alike species. Abundant photographs and pressed teaching specimens will be utilized during the workshop. Some fresh specimens will be used depending on availability.



Invasive Species Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point
Invasive Species Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (IS-HACCP) Workshop
Jeff Gunderson* 1 and Nick Phelps2; 1-University of Minnesota Sea Grant and 2-University of Minnesota Extension
(Note: this workshop will run 2-3 hours in length with a break)

Aquaculture, fish stocking, wild baitfish harvest, non-native terrestrial plant use and resource management, research, and enforcement activities may pose risks for spreading invasive species. Knowing whether your activity poses a risk is the first step in the IS-HACCP process. IS-HACCP is a flexible approach that stresses appropriate procedures and verification that can ensure that operations pose minimal risk for spreading unwanted aquatic and terrestrial species. Advantages of this approach are that it can work with diverse operations and activities, fosters partnerships between industry and government regulators, and is effective if properly applied. The approach concentrates on the points in the process that are critical to the safety of the activity, minimizes risks, and stresses communication between regulators and the regulated. And, most importantly, it requires that records be kept and procedures verified which provides assurance that the IS-HACCP plan is being followed and that it works. Participants at the workshop will receive a training manual, companion video, a CD of resource materials, and a certificate of completion. Coursework is designed to train fish farmers, bait harvesters, those working with terrestrial plants, university researchers, and management agencies in the use of IS-HACCP fundamentals to control the spread of invasive species.



Wednesday, October 22, 2014 - 8:00AM 

Strategies for Manual Removal of Eurasian Watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum L.) 
(Note: this workshop will run 2-3 hours in length with a break)
Chris Hamerla* and Paul Skawinski, Golden Sands Resource Conservation & Development Council, Inc.


Manual removal of Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum L.) (EWM) can be a successful tool to reduce or eliminate EWM from a water body. Traditionally, expensive chemical herbicides are used to manage EWM populations, but early, scattered populations can often be controlled by manual removal for a lower cost, with minimal or no non-target impacts to the ecosystem. Using these techniques, Eurasian watermilfoil appears to have been eradicated from the 11-acre Rocky Run Wetland in central Wisconsin (3.5 years without being observed), and several other nearby water bodies are on the same track. A brochure and YouTube instructional video (search “EWM manual removal”) were created to further encourage lake and wetland managers to explore this viable control technique.