A meeting later this month will celebrate 10 years of Northwoods efforts to fight aquatic invasive species, but a spokesperson says the gathering will also look at challenges for the next decade.
Vilas County’s AIS Partnership launched in 2004. The Vilas County AIS Partnership started with funding as a three year pilot project to determine if coordination of state AIS programs and services at the county level would be effective. Ted Ritter was hired by the County Land & Water Conservation Department to coordinate the project. The partnership quickly expanded beyond its affiliation with the WDNR to include several public agencies, businesses and volunteers.
Ritter says while the event celebrates successes, other topics include...
"....have we been successful? What have we accomplished? What does the future look like? Those are the things we're going to look at at this upcoming meeting...."
Ritter says while the partnership has been a success, the battle against invasives will be ongoing...
".....we didn't go into this expecting to eliminate aquatic invasive species. Had that been the case it would have been foolhardy. Those challenges are with us to stay. I think we have come a long ways in slowing the spread. I think we've become much smarter about how to manage what's here when it's manageable...."
He says they've learned much about prevention. The Partners will gather to review their efforts, successes, disappointments and expectations on Thursday, September 25th from 12:45 – 4:00 pm at the Boulder Junction Community Center.
The public is welcome to attend. Advance registration is not required. There a cost to attend. More information is available at Vilas County Land and Water Conservation Department.
