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Michigan's Invasive Species Community

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Showing content with the highest reputation since 12/14/15 in Posts

  1. Hi all, just wanted to share some success I've had recently. I'm really bad about making social media posts, partially (but not entirely) because it takes a while to write and edit the text for the post. Earlier today I decided to see if ChatGPT could do it for me. turns out it can. It required some minimal editing, and you should always fact check AI generated content, but it was a great way to get a post out quickly so I could move on to other tasks.
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  2. Please feel encouraged to share this video on any and all platforms! Thanks, McKenzi
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  3. Yes, it's a round goby. (A key characteristic is the black spot on the dorsal fin).
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  4. In addition, it's something to be cautious about; rare plants can attract too many visitors, leading them to be "loved to death" or even vandalized. They're probably best off telling a local DNR office.
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  5. Both! The first photograph is just knotweed. The second photo has pokeweed in the foreground and knotweed in the background.
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  6. They're not going to like this, but it's because it doesn't harm the economy (though arguments could be made), the environment (any more than any other corn monoculture, anyway), or human health (no, really, it doesn't). Really, it's not a very useful question that's just guaranteed to start an argument with no satisfactory conclusion.
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  7. Shaun Howard of TNC asked me to join your group and post this: When I used a couple different models of herbicide applicator dauber wand, I grew annoyed whenever it dripped on the ground or on my boots. I experimented, and found a way to reduce that to near-zero. And hold more herbicide. And reduce me having to lean over when using it. After some people asked for this, I posted it (and occaisionally update it) at www.ericpiehl.com/wand.pdf. If you want to see the original designs, please see their attributions in section 1 "Document History". Pretty good, but needs some work. If you want to help with edits or improvements, or think of a better home for this document, please let me know! In particular, it needs some serious review of labeling and pesticide applicator license requirements. If you would review this, I would greatly appreciate it; otherwise I will update the next time I go through the docs.
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  8. QGIS has been a hot topic lately, so let's use this area to share information about it! As some of you know, WRISC has been using QGIS quite a bit over the last year. This winter we will be creating some more detailed instructions on how we want our summer staff to use QGIS in data entry, but until then please enjoy this handout we made on QGIS and other free software for mapping. http://www.wrisc.org/2015%20Documents/Documents/FREE%20Software%20Handout.pdf
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  9. Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program will fund 19 projects across the state The Michigan departments of Natural Resources, Environmental Quality and Agriculture and Rural Development today announced the award of 19 grant projects totaling $3.6 million, under the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program. The program – a joint effort of the three departments – is part of a statewide initiative launched in 2014 to help prevent and control invasive species in Michigan. This grant program seeks to strengthen partners’ efforts in: Preventing, through outreach and education, new introductions of invasive species. Monitoring for the introduction of new invasive species and the expansion of current invasive species. Responding to and working to eradicate new findings and range expansions. Strategically managing and controlling key colonized species. Grant amounts range from approximately $35,000 to $350,000, and recipients include nonprofit organizations, universities, conservation districts and other units of government. Thefull list of grant recipients, project descriptions and grant amounts is available on the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program Web page. “Invasive species pose significant risk to Michigan’s world-class natural resources, and funding from this program is vital to our continued fight against these invaders,” said DNR Director Bill Moritz. “These important grant dollars will aid our partners in their efforts to battle invasive species. Their hard work will go a long way toward protecting our natural resources, as well as the many recreational and economic opportunities tied to Michigan’s woods and waters.” A portion of the funding supports Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas (CISMAs), including five new CISMAs that will provide local leadership for invasive species detection and management in 13 counties, as well as continuing CISMA efforts in seven counties. Several projects are designed to reduce the introduction and spread of invasive species via pathways such as firewood, recreational travel and ship ballast water. Outreach campaigns targeting oak wilt, invasive plants and aquarium pets will help industries and consumers adopt strategies to prevent those species’ unintentional introduction and spread in Michigan. Funding will expand efforts to eradicate invasive phragmites from coastal areas and wetlands in Saginaw Bay and the Upper Peninsula through aggressive treatment, monitoring and strategic management and restoration planning. A host of technologies, including high-resolution satellite and drone imagery, radio telemetry and environmental DNA will assist in detecting and controlling populations of European frogbit, invasive phragmites and feral swine. The DNR began accepting grant applications for this funding cycle in July 2015. After the original call for pre-proposals (which yielded 55 applications seeking a total of $9.2 million), the department received 25 full proposals, requesting more than $5 million in support. Grant applicants were asked to commit to providing at least 10 percent of the total project cost in the form of a local match. Learn more about invasive species in Michigan at www.michigan.gov/invasivespecies. http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDNR/bulletins/135a395
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