FWWA brings Habitattitude Outreach to Fish and Reptile Swap

On February 10th, 2019, the Green Bay Aquarium Society held their annual Fish and Reptile Show in Kaukauna. Vendors from all over northeast Wisconsin came to the offer their animals and services. With so many people coming to the event hoping to leave with a new pet, the Fish and Reptile Swap presented a perfect place to exhibit on Habitattitude. This national campaign is designed to protect our environment by not releasing  unwanted plants and animals into our waterways. Pet owners that no longer want to keep their pet may think that releasing the animal into the wild is the right thing to do. However, there are many exotic pet species that could wreak serious havoc on the environment if they were to become established.

By providing education to people before they even purchase a pet about the dangers of releasing pets into the environment, we are working to stop illegal aquarium releases into our waterways. One alternative to relasing a pet would be to contact one of the organizations in the Habitattitude Rehoming Network of Green Bay and Fox Cities which is an area resource that aims to provide responsible alternatives to release for exotic pet owners who are no longer able to care for their pets.

To learn more about Habitattitude, visit http://www.habitattitude.net/

For more information about how Fox-Wolf is working to prevent invasive species in our area, visit www.WinnebagoWaterways.org or contact Chris Acy, Winnebago Waterways AIS Coordinator, at chris@fwwa.org or (920)460-3674.

Winnebago Waterways is a Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance program. The Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance is an independent nonprofit organization that identifies and advocates effective policies and actions that protect, restore, and sustain water resources in the Fox-Wolf River Basin.

Follow the Fox Wolf Watershed Alliance’s Winnebago Waterways Program on our Winnebago Waterways Facebook page or @WinnWaterways on Twitter! You can also sign-up for email updates at WinnebagoWaterways.org.

This article was written by Chris Acy, the AIS Coordinator for the Winnebago Waterways Program covering Calumet, Winnebago, and Fond du Lac counties.