Invasive species are a problem all over the world nowadays. Ever since we started transporting goods between countries we have opened the door for species to live on new territory. They choke out native species, grow or mate quickly, and lack natural predators so they are able to be become a dangerous problem very quickly. Since the nineties when invasive species were beginning to become a recognized issue in the US many groups and organizations have been created in hopes of taking care of this growing problem. There are many actors in the southeastern area of Wisconsin working towards controlling and eliminating these invasive species. A big actor in the problem of terrestrial invasive species is southeast Wisconsin is the Southeastern Wisconsin Invasive Species Consortium or SEWISC for short. SEWISC started out as a Cooperative Weed Management Area in 2007.

            I had the privilege of meeting with one of the workers for SEWISC recently, Julia Robson who also is the assistant natural areas coordinator for Milwaukee County Parks. She said that SEWISC officially became a non-profit organization (501 (c)3) in 2010 and also became a membership organization. Because they are a nonprofit organization they have many sponsorships that help support them. SEWISC does however work in partnership with the state and many governmental organizations. This includes but is not limited to the US Forest Service, the DNR, MMSD, and many more. SEWISC is located and focuses on taking care of southeastern Wisconsin as a whole. SEWISC in their mission statement says that “The mission of SEWISC is to educate the public and protect biodiversity and ecological function throughout this region, contributing to a high quality of life for present and future generations.” They focus on many areas both terrestrial an aquatic. And they promote effective management and removal of invasive species.

            If you visit SEWISC’s website: http://sewisc.org/ you will find plenty of information about invasive species in the area and how to manage and remove them. They have many videos and pictures to aid in the education of identifying invasive species in the area. They even tell you the best times of the year to treat or manage individual invasive species. You can also find groups to join in the effort to combat invasive species. There are places listed where you can sign up and volunteer to help in the cause. SEWISC hosts events on educating the general public about what threats there are in Wisconsin and even what may be coming our way in the near future. They host events like the Garlic Mustard Pullathon where many people and organization come together to pull as much garlic mustard from the land as possible. You can sign up for newsletters as well. SEWISC will provide anyone interested with the information needed to identify invasive species in our area. They will also teach you ways to manage them as well. SEWISC is a great organization because they have a goal of educating the people of Wisconsin and getting people involved in the fight against invasive species. Getting people involved in citizen science like this is a great way to not only educate others but help our environment as well. 

By Nick Durham

 Blog Post 1

I will be covering the Urban Ecology Center and their land stewardship team's role in combating terrestrial invasive species. The Urban Ecology Center is a local or micro-scale actor in governance who's stated goals are: to provide outdoor science education for urban youth, to protect and use public natural areas making them safe accessible and vibrant, to preserve and enhance these natural areas and their surrounding waters, to promote community by offering resources that support learning, volunteerism, stewardship, recreation and camaraderie, and to practice and model environmentally responsible behaviors.

The EEC traces its roots to 1991, when a group of concerned citizens were motivated to restore and protect Riverside Park in Milwaukee due to the fact that government and state actors had neglected the park and utterly failed in their environmental governance of the area. They have locations at Riverside Park, Washington Park and Menomonee Valley. The Urban Ecology Center's land stewardship program presently works on 70 acres of urban land, utilizing hundreds of volunteers in an effort to combat invasive species such as garlic mustard, Canada thistle, burdock, honeysuckle, and buckthorn.

The EEC is a remarkable success story in micro-scale governance and citizen science. Their efforts have successfully reclaimed hundreds of acres of critically under managed urban land in the Milwaukee River corridor and elsewhere.

Sources:

http://urbanecologycenter.org/about-us/mission.html 
http://urbanecologycenter.org/about-us/history.html
http://urbanecologycenter.org/what-we-do/land-stewardship.html  

Blog Post 1

I chose the Mequon Nature Preserve as an example of a NGO in Mequon, Wisconsin. It is an actor helping to combat invasive species. The Mequon Nature Preserve is a 438 acre nature preserve that strives to restore and bring back the area to how it was before European settlement in the area. Part of this means ridding the area of invasive species.

                The Mequon Nature Preserve has been around for almost fifteen years. The land for the nature preserve was acquired in 2002 by multiple actors including the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Ozaukee Washington Land Trust, and the City of Mequon.

                For much of the activities the Mequon Nature Preserve would be considered to be on a local scale for things such as environmental education for children and adults within the Milwaukee area. Many local area schools are taught about nature here.  

Many goals and analysis have been made by the Mequon Nature preserve to remove invasive species within the preserve making this a local problem. Some restoration methods being used are chemical herbicides, monitoring forest remnants, and setting goals in invasive species reduction. Volunteers and interns have helped a lot and are needed for removal but, they can lead to some problems due to not understanding how to properly use herbicide. The 2014 report that they came out with has led to a large decline in some invasive species but, some other invasive species have popped up and were quickly stopped. For other aspects of invasive species the scale would be a little bigger due to invasive species being able to spread.

                On another thought The Mequon Nature Preserve spends a lot of time educating people about invasive species which can lead to people reporting them to other actors such as the Wisconsin DNR and others to help remove them and restore the land as well as monitor those species which could possibly put it on a larger scale due to environmental education. So the scope of the scale can vary depending on what subject is done.

                Some of the invasive species the preserve is covering are: buckthorn, reed canary grass, garlic mustard, and dame’s rocket.

                MNP is a great example of what a local actor is doing to combat invasive species. These smaller scale local actors can be very important. I find that its role for locally removing invasive species can be really helpful.

 

Sources:

http://mequonnaturepreserve.org/our-vision

http://mequonnaturepreserve.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Mequon-Nature-Preserve-Master-Plan-6-2006.pdf

http://mequonnaturepreserve.org/our-history-2

http://mequonnaturepreserve.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/mequ-2007donorar-web1.pdf

http://mequonnaturepreserve.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2014-Restoration-Report.pdf