On February 26th, the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance’s AIS Coordinator (AISC) for Shawano and Menominee Counties attended the Timberland Invasives Partnership Annual (TIP) Meeting. The Timberland Invasives Partnership is a Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA) encompassing Langlade, Menominee, Oconto and Shawano Counties as well as the Menominee Nation and Stockbridge-Munsee Community. They are devoted to the management of invasive species through cooperative education, control and native habitat restoration efforts. Since the establishment of Connecting Our Waters, we have coordinated closely with TIP to accomplish several activities including the implementation of a Rapid Response Grant through the WDNR, updates for the Menominee County Invasive Species Management Plan, Education and Outreach to local organizations and tribal members, and several other things.
Connecting Our Waters was invited to present at the TIP annual meeting. There were roughly 30 attendees from Golden Sands RC & D, Menominee Nation, Stockbridge-Munsee community, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as well as other, smaller organizations. During the presentation the AISC for Connecting Our Waters gave introduction to the program, what we aim to do, and our overall goals. Towards the end of the presentation, true or false questions were asked about relevant AIS in the project area.
The Timberland Invasives Partnership kicked things off with a very interesting and informative presentation of what TIP has accomplished in 2018 and plans for 2019. There was also a project update from the Tribal Tech Cierra and Representative Heather Pyatskowit.
Finally, a representative from the Stockbridge Munsee Community gave an update about their project area and logging development. Each presentation was a fantastic reminder of all the great work that is being done in the region by several different organizations that all share the same vision to conserve a pristine and beautiful area. We look forward to working with all the invested partners!
For more information on Connecting Our Waters, contact Emily Henrigillis at emily@fwwa.org or 920.851.6472
For more information on TIP, contact Alix Bjorklund at tip2@co.menominee.wi.us
