Aquatic invasive species (AIS) are one of the most significant threats to fish and wildlife and their habitats. Local and regional economies are severely affected with control costs exceeding $123 billion annually. The Ashland NFWCO has focused its efforts on preventing introductions of new aquatic invasive species, detecting and monitoring new and established invasives, controlling the spread of established invasives, providing coordination and technical assistance to organizations that respond to invasive species problems, and developing comprehensive, integrated plans to fight aquatic invasive species.

Objectives:

• Reduce the risk of new AIS introductions.

• Monitor and track the existing range and impacts of AIS.

• Develop and implement programs to limit the expansion of those populations through outreach, management and control.

Great Lakes National Parks (GLNP) Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Report on the Web
Under an interagency agreement with the Great Lakes Inventory and Monitoring Network of the National Park Service, the Ashland National Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office completed a report addressing AIS issues within and in the vicinity of nine National Parks in the Great Lakes Basin.   Highlights of the report include life history summaries of 12 AIS of concern to the GLNP; the selection of 3-5 priority AIS for each of the 9 GLNP; protocols for monitoring the priority AIS; and organizations conducting sampling activity within and in the vicinity of each of the 9 parks that could monitor the priority AIS directly or incidentally.   In addition to the GLNP, this report provides helpful AIS background and monitoring information to any organization that manages aquatic ecosystems, conducts AIS monitoring, or is preparing to conduct AIS monitoring.   The report can be found at: http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/GLKN/reports/USFWS_AIS_Final_Report_20070927.pdf. 

 

Ashland NFWCO Proposes New Aquatic Invasive Species Plan for Lake Superior
The Ashland National Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office (NFWCO) unveiled four components that it will propose to its partners as its new aquatic invasive species (AIS) plan, (exclusive of sea lamprey control), addressing high risk locations on the south shore of Lake Superior.  These components include early detection monitoring and rapid response for new invasive fish introduced into the Duluth-Superior Harbor, Minnesota/Wisconsin; fish community monitoring of indigenous, nonindigenous, and invasive fish in three major Lake Superior embayments, where nonindigenous and invasive fish are already established, present, or potentially could exist; early detection monitoring for zebra and quagga mussels in high risk locations; and investigation of any potential threat relating to nonindigenous and invasive species.  These AIS activities, are advocated in the Lake Superior Lakewide Management Plan, the Lake Superior Fish Community Objectives, the Ruffe Control Plan, and have undergone testing in past AIS experiments and control operations. The Duluth-Superior Harbor (St. Louis River Estuary) has become a single collection point for virtually every invasive fish in the Great Lakes due to its stature within the maritime shipping industry.  Many commercial ships arrive here with ballast water, and expel the ballast into the harbor in order to take on cargos of grain or taconite.  Due to its importance, complexity, and size, the St. Louis River Estuary has also been identified as a “focus point” for habitat management and preservation by the Fish & Wildlife Service.  The Ashland NFWCO is anticipating implementing the fish component of an AIS early detection monitoring model being developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Mid-Continent Ecology Division, Duluth, Minnesota.  The Ashland NFWCO is interested in monitoring and exploring the resiliency of Huron Bay to invasive fish, and Huron Bay would also serve as an invasive free control embayment to compare with Chequamegon and Whitefish Bays.

The Ashland NFWCO proposes to initiate Dreissena monitoring by examining vessel hulls in drydock after they have spent the open water season parked in marina slips.  Early detection of Dreissena on vessel hulls would then lead to increased monitoring activity and other potential control activities.
Rainbow smelt, a nonindigenous fish, are suspect in limiting abundance of lake herring in Lake Superior by possible predation on lake herring larvae.  The Ashland NFWCO will assist with this investigation by collecting smelt for diet analysis, when larval lake herring are available (May). These AIS issues are what the Ashland NFWCO envisions as important to the Lake Superior fishery.  A more detailed plan will be sent to partners for their review and comment. The Ashland NFWCO desires to implement a Lake Superior AIS plan, exclusive of sea lamprey control, that best serves the needs of the managing jurisdictions, within the abilities of our office.

 

The Ruffe Control Program, “Celebrate Success”
“Celebrate success”  was a comment expressed by Tom Busiahn, Chief – Branch of Fish & Wildlife Mgt. Assistance, USFWS Washington, DC Office, in reference to the Ruffe Control Program.  In 1992, the ruffe, pronounced ruff, was the first fish to be designated a “nuisance species” under the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990.  Busiahn, then project leader of the USFWS Ashland Fishery Resources Office, was the initial Chair of the Ruffe Control Committee that was tasked by the National Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force to draft a plan to control ruffe. 

Ruffe were first detected in the Duluth-Superior Harbor (St. Louis River Estuary (SLRE)), Minnesota/Wisconsin by the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources in 1986, a likely accidental introduction from the ballast water discharge of ocean-going shipping.  Ruffe were very invasive (became abundant very rapidly) in the SLRE, and became the dominant member of the fish community by 1990.  Initially, the goal of the Ruffe Control Program was “to prevent ruffe from spreading outside of Lake Superior”, but ruffe migrated rapidly eastward along the south shore of Lake Superior, reaching the Ontonagon River, Michigan, by 1994, 276 km east of the SLRE.  Then in 1995, ruffe were detected in Lake Huron near Alpena, Michigan, 756 km east of the SLRE, likely a ballast water discharge of intra-lake shipping originating from the Duluth-Superior harbor.  The goal of the program was then revised “to prevent or delay the spread of ruffe through the Great Lakes and prevent their spread into inland waters”.  However, upon reaching the Thunder Bay River in Lake Huron and the Ontonagon River in Lake Superior, ruffe range expansion began to slow, and surveillance verified that ruffe range expansion was proceeding very close to an unassisted migratory rate projected by the USGS-Lake Superior Biological Station.  It took 20 years (1986-2006) for ruffe to span the south shore of Lake Superior.  In Lake Huron, a combination of ruffe population reduction and natural predation likely prevented ruffe from expanding outside of the Thunder Bay River shipping channel, where they were initially detected, and no ruffe have been reported captured from Lake Huron since 2003.  In Green Bay of Lake Michigan, it has taken five years (2002-2007) for ruffe to expand a distance of 55 miles, and no ruffe have been reported captured in Lake Michigan outside of Green Bay.  No ruffe have ever been confirmed captured from the Lower Great Lakes, where they remain undetected, as well as in all inland lakes and streams within the Great Lakes Basin.  Five elements of the Ruffe Control Plan: ballast water management, bait fish management, education, population reduction, and surveillance, along with unfavorable habitat and predation are believed to have contributed in slowing and delaying the spread of ruffe.  The success of the Ruffe Control Program can also be attributed to outstanding cooperation between federal, state, and provincial agencies; the Great Lakes Maritime Industry; the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network; Great Lakes bait fish associations; Great Lakes universities; Great Lakes media; sport anglers; and commercial fishing operations. 

 

Fact Sheet on Invasive Ruffe Completed for 2007
The National Fish & Wildlife Conservation Offices (NFWCO) of Ashland and Green Bay, Wisconsin, Alpena, Michigan, Amherst, New York, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Geological Survey updated a fact sheet on the range of Eurasian ruffe, a Great Lakes invasive fish.  The fact sheet highlights ruffe range expansion during 2007, and illustrates the detected range of ruffe from initial discovery in 1986 through 2007.  The fact sheet was made available to participants at each of the five Great Lakes technical committee meetings of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, held last month in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  The fact sheet is also available to the public on the Ashland NFWCO website at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/ashland/images/ruffe-range-map_w.jpg. 

 

Ashland NFWCO Plans Invasive Fish Outreach
The Ashland National Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office (NFWCO) plans to purchase and distribute 1,000 copies of the aquatic invasive species publication A Field Guide to Fish Invaders of the Great Lakes Region.  This 20-page pocket-sized booklet, produced by Minnesota Sea Grant, contains color illustrations of invasive fish in the Great Lakes, and distinguishes them from native fish of similar appearance.  During implementation of the control plan for the invasive fish, ruffe, many of the ruffe discoveries were reported by anglers.  Therefore, the Ashland NFWCO plans to distribute this informative invasive fish booklet to bait shops along the north and south shores of Lake Superior for free distribution to anglers.  This helpful tool will equip anglers to assist with implementation of early detection monitoring of invasive fish in Lake Superior and inland waters in proximity.  Early detection monitoring is followed by appropriate levels of rapid response activities used in the management and control of invasive fish.  A detailed description of the field guide is available at the Ashland NFWCO home page (http://www.fws.gov/midwest/ashland/) and also at: http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/publications/X105. 

 

 

 

Ruffe Control Program – Celebrate Success
While ruffe were first detected in the Duluth-Superior Harbor, Minnesota/Wisconsin in 1986, they almost certainly arrived some years prior.  By 1990, ruffe had established themselves as the most abundant member of that fish community based on bottom trawl captures.  It took twenty years for ruffe to expand across the south shore of Lake Superior from the Duluth-Superior Harbor to Whitefish Bay.  Based on projections by U.S. Geological Survey, ruffe expansion across Lake Superior progressed at a pace similar to what would be expected for an unassisted migration rate.  In Lake Huron, ruffe have not expanded outside of the Thunder Bay River where they were initially detected in 1995, and no ruffe have been reported captured from Lake Huron since 2003.  In Lake Michigan, it has taken five years (2002-2007) for ruffe to expand a distance of 88 km (55 miles), and no ruffe have been reported captured in Lake Michigan outside of Green Bay.  Ruffe remain undetected in the Lower Great Lakes, as well as in all inland lakes and streams within the Great Lakes Basin.

Five elements of the Ruffe Control Plan are likely to have contributed to delay the spread of ruffe in the Great Lakes and prevent their spread into inland waters. They include voluntary ballast water management, bait fish management, education, population reduction, and surveillance, along with unfavorable habitat and interspecific interactions. The success of the these elements of the Ruffe Control Program can be attributed to outstanding cooperation between federal, state, tribal, and provincial agencies; the Great Lakes Maritime Industry; the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network; Great Lakes bait fish associations; universities; media; sport anglers; and Great Lakes commercial fishing operations. 

 

Invasive Ruffe Continue to Expand Southward in Green Bay of Lake Michigan
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reported that a commercial fisherman, captured a ruffe off Peshtigo Harbor, Wisconsin, in Green Bay of Lake Michigan on May 28th, 2008.  The capture was made at a depth of 12 meters, and it confirms a range expansion of 15 kilometers south from a previous capture site near Marinette Harbor, Wisconsin, in 2007.  Commercial fishing operators as well as sport anglers continue to be a valuable source of aquatic invasive species early detection.

Impossible to eliminate from the open waters of the Great Lakes, efforts concentrated on delaying ruffe range expansion by controlling the pathways of introduction, with the exception of natural migration, and by population reduction where feasible.  The result has been and continues to be a successful delay in ruffe range expansion.  Limiting the spread of ruffe to natural migration, combined with exposure of ruffe to areas of un-preferred habitat resulted in a time span of 20 years (1986-2006) before the ruffe reached eastern Lake Superior.  Likewise, ruffe have never been detected outside of the Thunder Bay River and Thunder Bay in Lake Huron, and no ruffe have been captured there or anywhere in Lake Huron since 2003.  In the Thunder Bay River, population reduction was feasible, and likely contributed to stop the further spread of ruffe there. In Lake Michigan, ruffe remained confined to northern Green Bay for five years (2002-2007) before likely migrating south naturally.  In the Lower Great Lakes, ruffe remain undetected, as well as in all inland lakes and streams in the Great Lakes Basin. 

 

Implementation of an Invasive Fish Early Detection Monitoring Design
The Ashland National Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (NFWCO) met with the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to begin coordination in implementing an invasive fish early detection monitoring design for the St. Louis River Estuary (Duluth-Superior Harbor), Minnesota/Wisconsin, Lake Superior waters.  The invasive fish design is part of a larger design that also includes aquatic invertebrates, currently in the final stages of development by the EPA Lab.  The EPA Lab presented three design types that were being analyzed for optimum efficiency and effectiveness.  Analysis of three years of research has shown that a minimum of 20-30 sampling locations were required to capture 95% of the known fish species in the estuary.  Further analysis demonstrated that in order to capture a majority of the available fish species in the most efficient manner, sampling methodology should consist of fyke netting, electrofishing, and bottom trawling, with more emphasis on the shallow water (surface-2 meters) gear, fyke netting and electrofishing.

Under the direction of the EPA Lab, the Ashland NFWCO will begin training in the implementation of the design during late August, 2008.  Results from this training event will be used by the EPA Lab for further analysis of the invasive fish portion of the design. The Ashland NFWCO is planning to use the EPA design to conduct early detection monitoring for invasive fish in the St. Louis River Estuary on an annual basis.  Data collected in future years will be shared with the EPA Lab for continued refinement of the design. 

 

Invasive Free Zone Partnership
Since its inception the Invasive Free Zone (IFZ) has made considerable progress both inside and outside the project boundaries.  Whittlesey Creek National Wildlife Refuge provides the leadership for the project and continues to receive support from many partners and funding organizations.  The Ashland National Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (NFWCO) has been an active partner from the beginning.  Funding from the Service's Coastal Program - Great Lakes which is administered by the Ashland NFWCO helped get the IFZ off the ground.  The office has also contributed to the project through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program with both technical and financial support.  
Initially, a landscape-scale mapping effort was undertaken to determine the extent of invasive species within IFZ.  A database was then established to track the location of infestations.  The focus then shifted to treatment efforts with over 150 acres treated and 80 acres declared as invasive free.  After two years of refining mapping and treatment methods, project staff wrote a long-term plan for the project.  An Invasive Species Management Plan has been written for the area which incorporates the knowledge gained from the mapping and treatment methods.  Also recently developed is the Invasive Free Zone Guidebook, which was written as a resource for those who would like to establish an IFZ elsewhere, and along with the Invasive Species Management Plan is available at the Whittlesey Creek NWR website. 

This IFZ is one of many parts of the strategic approach being undertaken for the Whittlesey Creek watershed.  The habitat restoration and enhancement provided through this project will benefit Whittlesey Creek and its important Lake Superior tributary fishery through the removal of invasive and less stable species such as buckthorn.  These invasive plants do not hold the streambank soils in place as well as native species, thus contributing to problems like siltation of coaster brook trout spawning sites.  Removal of the invasives and planting native conifers and other species will benefit the trout as well as other Service trust resources such as migratory songbirds. 

 

Ashland NFWCO Demonstrates Bottom Trawling to Northland College Students
In cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Ashland National Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (NFWCO) demonstrated the fish sampling technique of bottom trawling to two classes of students from Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin.  Twelve students enrolled in the Superior Fisheries class and seven students enrolled in the Fisheries Science and Management class observed the operation of a bottom trawl net retrieved by a hydraulically powered winch aboard a 21 foot smallcraft trawler.  In addition, all students participated in sorting the catches by individual fish species with the target species being Eurasian ruffe, a nonindigenous invasive fish. 

Both classes are instructed by Dr. Derek H. Ogle, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Natural Resources, who described each of the classes as follows:  “Superior Fisheries is a quantitative reasoning course that focuses on the application of mathematics to Lake Superior issues with a primary focus on fisheries.  The trawling exercise with the USFWS was an opportunity for the twelve students to experience a resource-intensive sampling gear and a fish community (small forage fishes) that they would otherwise not get to see.  In addition, the data from ruffe captured during the experience were used in a variety of class projects to promote learning of mathematical and statistical concepts while also learning about invasive species in the Great Lakes watershed and ruffe in Chequamegon Bay.  Fisheries Science and Management is an upper-level course required for fisheries majors at Northland College.  One aspect of this course is for students to gain experience with a variety of field gears and to understand methods of sampling fish populations.  The trawling exercise with this class was more intensive than with the Superior Fisheries class so that students could gain more experience and see an additional fish community (deeper, off-shore communities).  Ruffe captured in the trawling were used to demonstrate biological processing including measuring length, weighing, and removal of calcified structures.  In turn, these data were used in size structure, catch-per-unit-effort, and length-at-age growth analyses”.

During reconnaissance for this bottom trawl demonstration in Chequamegon Bay, Wisconsin, an estimated 3,000-5,000 invasive ruffe were captured in one 5-minute tow.  Overall, an estimated 6,000-7,000 ruffe were captured, including both reconnaissance and demonstration trawling.  Young-of-the-year and yearlings appeared to be the primary age classes represented, which will be verified by the students.  Due to the success of the experience and the praise of the students, it is desired that this demonstration continue on an annual basis; a student project is already being considered for next years classes as a follow-up for that trawl demonstration.