Volunteers needed to help search lakes for invasive species

A closeup of starry stonewort, an aquatic invasive species that has spread in several Minnesota lakes. The weed-like algae grow fast in 2-22 feet of water and grow so thick that boating, fishing and swimming become nearly impossible.

By John Myers

July 31, 2024 at 4:07 PM

DULUTH 鈥� Volunteers are needed across Minnesota and Wisconsin to fan out and inspect lakes for new invasions of aquatic invasive species.

This year's event, called "Starry Trek" in Minnesota and "AIS Snapshot Day" in Wisconsin, is Saturday, Aug. 10.

No formal experience, tools, boats or knowledge is needed. You do need to sign up now for some easy training on the morning of the event at a location of your choice.

Zebra mussels — A cluster of zebra mussels sits on a navigation buoy pulled from the Twin Ports harbor.

Training and meeting locations are scattered across both states, including Ely, Aitkin, Grand Rapids, Hackensack, Marcel and Lake of the Woods in Minnesota and Amnicon Lake near Superior in Wisconsin.

The events are citizen science at its best, promoters say, allowing natural resource agencies to get data on many more lakes than they could on their own. It鈥檚 also a way to engage the public on the problem of aquatic invasive species and how they are spread, mostly inadvertently by humans, from lake to lake.

All ages are welcome to help search for invasive species, but the event is recommended for ages 8 and up. An adult must accompany all minors.

It鈥檚 the eighth year for the Minnesota effort and the 11th for Wisconsin. Over that time, thousands of volunteers have inspected hundreds of lakes, revealing several new invasions previously unknown.

In Minnesota, Starry Trek volunteers have been responsible for the discovery of four previously unrecorded populations of starry stonewort, a new zebra mussel population and three new locations with Eurasian watermilfoil.

Participants will meet at the local training site in the morning and will be assigned monitoring routes to search upon arrival. They will then drive their personal vehicles or carpool with another participant to up to five public accesses. All participants must return to the local training site by 1 p.m. to check in and turn in any specimens and datasheets at the end of the day.

In Minnesota, the event is organized by the Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center at the University of Minnesota. To sign up or for more information, go to Youth clubs, like Scouts and 4-H, can contact Megan Weber at mmweber@umn.edu to learn how to participate as a club.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension run the event in that state. Go to and click on "Aquatic Invasive Species Snapshot Day 鈥� 2024" to sign up. The deadline is Friday, Aug. 9.

In the event of storms, the event will be moved to Sunday, Aug. 11.