Crayfish Monitoring Workshops: Spots still available!

[IISG ICC]

Invasive Crayfish Collaborators,

This is a friendly reminder that Michigan State University and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant are offering multiple crayfish monitoring workshops for natural resource agency staff and conservation professionals next month! The Michigan workshop is filling up fast, but the Illinois and Minnesota workshops still have many spots available. Register for one of the workshops using the registration link below. If you've already registered, you will be receiving an email confirming your spot next week.

About the workshops: To increase crayfish monitoring capacity across the Great Lakes basin, Michigan State University and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant are partnering to offer full-day workshops designed for natural resource management agencies and conservation professionals located throughout the Great Lakes states. These workshops aim to strengthen regional coordination and improve crayfish identification in both wild populations and the live trade. Workshops will be led by expert aquatic ecologists and crayfish professionals. 

Participants will learn:

1. How to identify high-priority crayfish species through hands-on activities
2. Crayfish introduction pathways and regulations
3. State-specific reporting lines and rapid response efforts
4. Common crayfish sampling techniques, with the option to practice in the field at a nearby waterbody

REGISTER TODAY! https://forms.gle/oFdmKnSuWHQzbZfEA 

Workshop Dates & Locations:

Wednesday, October 1 (St. Charles, IL) - 23 spots left

Creek Bend Nature Center

37W700 Dean St, Saint Charles, IL 60175

Thursday, October 2 (Jackson, MI) - 6 spots left

Cascades Manor

1970 Kibby Rd, Jackson, MI 49203

Tuesday, October 7 (Lanesboro, MN) - 15 spots left

Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center

28097 Goodview Dr, Lanesboro, MN 55949

Cost: Free–Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Registration Deadline: Two weeks before each workshop date.

Open to Great Lakes natural resource agency staff and conservation professionals.

What to bring: Please bring a laptop, notebook, and water. If you plan on participating in the optional crayfish sampling, please dress for the weather and bring your own waders/knee boots/shoes you don't mind getting wet. 

Michigan State University Extension and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant provide programs that are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, or veteran status. If you need reasonable accommodation to participate in programming, please contact Natalia Szklaruk at szkl...@illinois.edu or by phone at 217-265-4021.

Feel free to share this opportunity with any relevant partners.