The 2019 year is kicking off well for aquatic invasive species (AIS) prevention as more initiatives and campaigns are becoming introduced into new areas. In Shawano County, the bait shop initiative is in the works of being implemented by the Connecting Our Waters Program. The bait shop initiative is a program that is implemented throughout the entire state of Wisconsin. It aims to educate bait shop owners on the prevention and spread of AIS as well as to increase awareness to anglers and boaters. In exchange for participating in the program, the businesses receive a certificate of participation which can be a helpful selling point or promotional tool. They also receive publicity as the program promotes businesses that support the mission of preventing AIS. Overall, the bait shop initiative helps create a working relationship with the businesses in the area that provides mutual benefits.

In Shawano County, the initiative has taken on the addition of two bait shops in the Shawano area. Hacker Bait & Tackle in Shawano and Kuhn’s Bait & Tackle Palace have both chosen to participate in the initiative. Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance’s AISC for Shawano/Menominee Counties reached out to both business owners in an attempt to get them to join the initiative. Fortunately, both Stan Hacker (Hacker Bait & Tackle) and Corey Kuhn (Kuhn’s Bait & Tackle) were open minded to the idea. Brady Stockwell (AISC for Shawano/Menominee Counties) states “I could tell in the first minute of talking with them that they were both very passionate about their favorite lakes and were interested in learning how they can help to conserve them.” Thanks to Hacker’s and Kuhn’s cooperation the angling community around Shawano will have more exposure to AIS knowledge which results in greater odds of spread prevention. Hopefully, these two bait shops will set the tone for other bait shops in Shawano County to take action for AIS prevention. Together we can preserve our valued waterways.

To conclude, the Bait Shop Initiative is a great program to expand knowledge of AIS into the angling community. Moving forward the Connecting Our Waters Program will continue to reach out to local businesses and other bait shops to further expand the efforts of AIS prevention throughout the county. COW will also support the local bait shops that advocate for prevention of AIS spread in Shawano county.

Article Written by: Brady Stockwell (Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator for Menominee/Shawano Counties)

For more information or if you have questions/comments/concerns contact Brady at:
E-Mail: brady@fwwa.org
Phone: (920)-851-4336
or visit us online at fwwa.org
Thanks for reading!