Fox-Wolf, Partners Tackle Invasive Plant in Green Bay

Invasive European Frogbit Mapping and Control Work Ongoing

The Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance has partnered with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Brown County, and other local partners to confront an invasive species in the Bay of Green Bay. European frogbit was first discovered in the wild in Wisconsin late last summer and the known general extent at that time ranged from the City of Marinette to the City of Oconto. Additional monitoring by partners found additional populations within and beyond that range reaching all of the way to the Brown and Door County.

To help reduce the population in the Green Bay area, Fox-Wolf is assisting in monitoring and control work for European Frogbit (EFB). Our aquatic invasive species coordinator Chris is joining partners on large group work days to find and remove EFB. One of the recent large group work days was filmed by Dan Larson from Com-Video Productions as part of a documentary on Green Bay; the same producer that brought you the documentary Power of the River. Check out his clip of our European Frogbit monitoring days below!

The free-floating European Frogbit is native to Europe, Africa, and Asia. It likes slow-moving habitats like sheltered inlets, rivers, and ditches. The plant resembles native water lilies but is much smaller and doesn’t root in the lake bottom. The plant forms dense mats that can interfere with boaters and shade-out native plants. If you see European frog-bit, take a few photos, make note of the location, date and time of the finding, and report to Amanda Smith, WI DNR Regional Invasive Species Coordinator.