Remember To Take Caution With Invasive Species

Summer plans usually involve taking trips with friends or family to indulge in the beautiful outdoors of Michigan. Invasive species are commonly spread through travelers, either on vehicles or by other means. It was estimated there are likely hundreds of invasive species in the U.P.  

“Barberry is a landscaped species that gets planted in people’s yards and carried by birds and animals into the neighboring forest, and it’s changing the understory of our forest. And then we have wetland invaders that I focus on, like [canary grass]… [those] are changing our wetland system in that it impacts anything from our aquatic invertebrates. Then there’s also a variety of forest insects that are also a concern. Our top insect here that we had the most damage from is [the] Emerald Ash Borer. So I’m not concerned with trying to remove it so much as I am trying to restore areas that have experienced ash collapse from Emerald Ash Borer kill. Broadly, it has impacts on the diversity of all living creatures in the area.” – Sigrid Resh, Coordinator for Keweenaw Invasive Species Management Area and Assistant Research Professor at Michigan Technological University

It affects human health by affecting the pollinators that pollinate the farm crops where our food is grown.