With funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s Grow grant program, the Water Steward Program offers training for volunteers in the Durham, Haliburton, Kawartha, and Pine Ridge regions. During the late spring and summer, teams of volunteer Water Stewards set up watercraft AIS-check stations at public boat launches across these regions, where they can provide boaters the opportunity to learn how to effectively Clean, Drain, and Dry their watercraft, pertinent AIS regulations, species of concern for Ontario, and more. Together, we can protect Ontario’s waterways from the impacts of aquatic invasive species so they can be enjoyed for many generations to come!

To learn more about what the Water Steward Program, or become a volunteer, contact our Aquatic Invasive Species Outreach Liaison Matt Robbins at matthew_robbins@ofah.org

Grass carp is an invasive fish that could severely impact the Great Lakes’ fisheries. By competing with native fish for food and habitat, Grass carp would reduce populations of our most sought-after sportsfish species.

Ontario needs your help! If you see a Grass Carp, report it! Take a few pictures, mark your location, and call the Invading Species Hotline at 1-800-563-7711, or report online at www.EDDMapS.org

Learn more at www.invadingspecies.com/invaders/fish/asian-carps/

Grass Carp illustration courtesy of the Invasive Species Centre
Smallmouth Bass, Muskellunge, and Yellow Perch illustrations courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Walleye illustration by Sherman Foote Denton

Grass carp is an invasive fish that could severely impact cottage life on the Great Lakes. By expelling large amounts of undigested food, Grass Carp can decrease water quality and increase the presence of toxic algal blooms along shorelines.

Ontario needs your help! If you see a Grass Carp, report it! Take a few pictures, mark your location, and call the Invading Species Hotline at 1-800-563-7711, or report online at www.EDDMapS.org

Learn more at www.invadingspecies.com/invaders/fish/asian-carps/

Grass Carp illustration courtesy of the Invasive Species Centre

Grass carp is an invasive fish that could severely impact hunting opportunities on the Great Lakes. By destroying wetland habit our native waterfowl rely on, Grass Carp could reduce both the quantity and quality of our hunts.

Ontario needs your help! If you see a Grass Carp, report it! Take a few pictures, mark your location, and call the Invading Species Hotline at 1-800-563-7711, or report online at www.EDDMapS.org

Learn more at www.invadingspecies.com/invaders/fish/asian-carps/

Grass Carp illustration courtesy of the Invasive Species Centre

With a focus on Lake Simcoe, presenters highlight some key invasive species, including their impacts, identification, distribution, and how to report them. The webinar also highlights the new boater regulations for 2022 and what anglers and boaters need to know.

Recorded on January 27, 2022

ISAP's Matt Robbins goes over what anglers need to know about live bait and Ontario's new baitfish regulations going into the 2022 angling season, followed by a Q&A session with NDMNRF Provincial Enforcement Specialist, Brenda Keonig.

This webinar was recorded on January 13th, 2022.

ISAP staff were up in Haliburton again yesterday to help our volunteers remove invasive Banded and Chinese Mysterysnails from the lakes! To learn more about the Mysterysnail Management and Removal Project, visit http://www.invadingspecies.com/programs/mysterysnail-project/

Last week we visited a lake in Haliburton where an extensive banded mysterysnail (Viviparus georgianus) invasion has resulted in hundreds of thousands of snails covering the shoreline. We met up with a very passionate volunteer from our Mysterysnail Management and Removal Project to see the problem for ourselves. After only a few hours knee deep in the lake scooping around with colanders, we had removed an estimated 72,000 snails!

Learn more about the Mysterysnail Management and Removal Project here: http://www.invadingspecies.com/programs/mysterysnail-project/

Riley is on the trails today to tell us about one of Ontario’s most hazardous invasive plants, wild parsnip! For more information visit www.invadingspecies.com/invaders/plants/wild-parsnip/

This week Riley is back on the trail to tell us about common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), how it got here, why its trouble, and what we can do to prevent its spread.

To learn more, visit www.invadingspecies.com/common-buckthorn/