Oconto County lost its watchdog who protected waterways from invasive species for almost three years, but county officials are hopeful they can hire a replacement at the start of 2015.
Amanda Strick, who became the county’s first aquatic invasive species (AIS) coordinator in January 2012, resigned, effective Sept. 20.
Her position was funded by a three-year, $150,000 grant from the Department of Natural Resources that expires at the end of 2014. Strick was responsible for creating an aquatic invasive species inventory and monitoring program and helped coordinate AIS projects for lake districts and associations. She also developed an Oconto County AIS strategic management plan, completed in July.
Oconto County has submitted a grant application to the DNR, and Ken Dolata, head of the Oconto County Land Conservation Department, said he is hopeful the county will receive another grant, although there is no guarantee. Grant awards will be announced in January.
Without outside funding, the county cannot afford to have a full-time AIS coordinator, he said.
Invasive animal species found in the county’s waterways include rusty crayfish, zebra and quagga mussels, and mystery snails. Invasive vegetation includes curly-leaf pondweed and Eurasian watermilfoil. The non-native plants and animals face no competition or predators and choke out native plants and animals from the habitat.
Invasive species can make waterways less enjoyable to use, which could have a negative impact on northern Oconto County’s economy, Dolata said.
“The big thing is the northern half of Oconto County is all tourism,” he said.
Dolata said Oconto County’s proximity to the bay of Green Bay makes preventing the spread of invasive species especially critical. The bay is known as a “super spreader” of invasive species because of the heavy boat traffic. Boaters who leave the bay without properly cleaning their boats may carry “hitchhikers,” which can move from one body of water to another.
Strick helped to coordinate a Clean Boats-Clean Water project to educate boaters on how to prevent the spread of invasive species.
Oconto County returned the remaining $10,000 of the original grant to the DNR and did not advertise to fill the remaining three months of the position.
“Seeing as we’re at the end of our grant, we’re just covering it ourselves,” Dolata said.
The land conservation department employs Dolata, two technicians and a part-time program assistant.
Categories
