 My name is Kendra and I'm really excited, first of all, that we're having this conservation series. There's lots of other great speakers coming up after this session as well. And I'm really excited to be here to tell you about the Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership as well as our local partner group, the Sheboygan River Basin Partnership. So I'm gonna be talking a little bit about both of those organizations. Before I get started, just by show of hands, anyone here ever heard of Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership? Oh good, a few of you, wonderful. How about the Sheboygan River Basin Partnership? Good, oh awesome. I'm glad to see more hands go up for that one because the Sheboygan River Basin Partnership is kind of our local group here. The Sheboygan River Basin Partnership has been caring for our waters within the Sheboygan River Basin for the past 20 years. The Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership is kind of an umbrella organization that helps to provide staffing resources for the Sheboygan River Basin Partnership and other partner groups as well. Moving forward, just so I avoid some tongue twisters here, Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership, we go by LNRP and a Sheboygan River Basin Partnership, SRBP. So if you hear me referring to that throughout the presentation, that's what I'm talking about here. So first I just wanna tell you a little bit about LNRP, the Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership. We are all about cultivating community. What we do is we build community, we enrich, we empower these organizations that are doing the on-the-grounds work in our communities. And so cultivating community and building stewardship as well. From the lodge to the Lakeshore, that basically defines our geographical area from which we operate. So we've got partner groups all along the coastline here, from our area here, and even down a little bit into Ozaki County, all the way up to Door County as well. So that's kind of our area that we operate in. And our partner groups are watershed-based. So you can see there, defined even more than county lines are those watershed lines. So that is the area of land where water flows. So we care for the land and water of these areas. At LNRP, our work is really structured around what we call the five Cs. This is core to everything that we do. Number one, what we do is build common ground. This is really what it's all about. And something that we really take pride in, that we're really good at, is bringing together really, sometimes very diverse stakeholders that really can often have even opposing viewpoints. Getting them to sit down at the table together, finding that common ground. What do we have in common? What is this all about? What are we doing this for? And what are our goals that we can work towards together? So that's something that we're really proud of and that we do really excel in. We also really focus on competency-based learning. So really creating these really meaningful watershed experiences that you are learning from something that really is meaningful to you in connecting you to your watershed. Also along with competency-based learning comes community-based learning. So identifying those opportunities in your very own community that connect you to the environment, to the land and water. So finding those really special places and really cultivating that sense of place. Where is that place here that is special to you that draws you to the outdoors, that makes you want to protect it and inspires you to inspire others to protect it? Cultivating stewardship. Again, this is a huge part of our mission statement. So we bring people together and we build that ownership over the environment. Again, we serve as an umbrella organization to different watershed partners and regional networks. And that helps us to, those are the groups that really do the boots on the ground kind of work and we really empower them to do that work. And I'll get into that a little bit more later. And also again, back to our mission statement, cultivating community is a huge part of that. So finding those key pieces in what is going to make that community come together over an issue. What makes that community tick? Who do we need to bring on board to accomplish our goals? And this is actually some of these photos you might recognize. This one here was one, this is at Maywood, a Friends of North Point meeting that we brought a lot of different stakeholders together. These are all of our partner groups. So again, we have partners all throughout the region and watershed partners as well as regional networks. And there are quite a few of them. And these are all the organizations that are doing the work on the ground. They're invested in their own communities. They know their communities and they know what needs to be done to make a difference there. What we do at Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership, we provide shared staffing resources. So a lot of these are all volunteer-based groups and they're doing really awesome work. But sometimes it gets to the point where they're like, man, you know, we just can't get over this hump. We don't know what to do next. Everybody's busy with their lives. We don't have the time. We don't have money for staff. Our umbrella network and that shared staffing resource, that helps them to get to the next level and to advance their goals and to empower them to really make a difference in their community. So we provide staffing, let's say, they need some help with grant writing or they need help with fiscal management or they need help with marketing, whatever it may be, we assist them so that they can advance their goals. And you will see the one that is near and dear to my heart. There's a Boykin River-based in partnership. I've been a staff member with Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership for a little over a year now, but I've been involved with Sheboygan River-based in partnership for a number of years as a board member and as president of the board for the last few years and on the board for five or six years prior to that. And as a lifelong resident in Sheboygan, our issues surrounding the Sheboygan River-based and are really important to me personally as well. So with that, I'm gonna tell you a little bit about the Sheboygan River-based in partnership. So again, this is just one of our partners, but since we're here in Sheboygan, I think this is where I'm gonna focus most of my attention on tonight. And the Sheboygan River-based in partnership, again, that cultivation of partnerships is really important to this organization as well. And they do that in order to raise public awareness, engage participation in stewardship, promote sound decision making, all regarding issues that affect the health of our water resources here in the Sheboygan River-based. I'm just gonna talk through a few of the really exciting things that we've got going on here in the Sheboygan area. The first one I wanna talk about is the Sheboygan River water trail. Excuse me for just one moment. Water is so very important. So this is a screenshot of a project that we've been working on in collaboration with Sheboygan County. And basically, I'm gonna get into this in further detail and actually show you a little bit of this site in just a moment. But what we're doing is we're creating this water trail, which is basically a recreation trail along the river. So it's going to highlight different access points and really make the river more accessible. Why this is so important to us. We're really invested in the future of the Sheboygan River. The Sheboygan River-based in partnership, as I mentioned, we've been caring for the river for the past 20 years. And our river has gone through a really long journey. It was designated as an AOC or Area of Concern. Raise your hand if you're familiar with when I say AOC or Area of Concern. Do we know kind of what that means? Maybe we've heard the term tossed around before. So an Area of Concern, that means that it was designated as one of the most polluted bodies of water along the Great Lakes. The Sheboygan River, you know, it's a really wonderful resource, but we haven't always treated it as that. So it's really gone through a long journey in its restoration. There've been many, many stakeholders and a lot of funding donated and devoted to cleaning up the river, as far as dredging, removing contaminants, habitat restoration. And now it's in this phase of recovery and healing. And it's really important that we remember all of this work that has gone into it and not just say, yeah, it's good to go now, it's all set. If we forget that, you know, it's easy to slip back into those old ways or neglect it again. So we want to make sure that we continue to care for the river and we continue to draw attention to it. And it's really cool actually, the Sheboygan River, the Sheboygan Area of Concern, all of this investment that's been made, it is paying off big time. And Sheboygan is one of those areas where you can really see that. I think we've seen a big difference in our downtown area and the waterfront, the riverfront. There's all this economic development, community revitalization going on. And that's a huge component of the result of the cleanup along the Sheboygan River. So it's really important to keep that in mind. And that's one of the big things that kind of drives the Sheboygan River based on partnership. We've been involved in the process. We're really proud to have been a key player in the cleanup of the Sheboygan River and we will continue to be involved in caring for it. After the presentation, if you would like to, I have a little trifold over here set up that really kind of tells our story of our involvement throughout this journey with the Sheboygan River area of concern. We've done a number of things. We've been involved in the Technical Advisory Committee during that restoration period. We've done river cleanups for several years. We've done paddles on the river just to get people exposed and appreciating and enjoying that. So we really continue to be really actively involved in that. This past year was really exciting to see the Sheboygan Square Business District had a River Days event. So they were really specifically celebrating the riverfront. What's going on here? What are the businesses? And they invited us to be a part of that. And we were really excited. We said, hey, if you're celebrating the river, we need to be there. So we were sharing that message. This picture is from that day. We kind of had some creepy crawlies, some of the really cool animals that live along the Sheboygan River. So we had some reptiles and amphibians and lots of just different information and interactive things for kids to get involved in. And it was really great to continue to share that message that, hey, these are the animals that call this river their home. It's really important for them. And it's critical to our own quality of life, our health and well-being and the well-being of our community. So that's the message that we really continue to share. And that is why we wanted to embark on this project of creating this river map. It's kind of a turning point in the river. So we wanna make sure that we continue to encourage people to use the river and to really cultivate that appreciation and understanding of the river. Again, this project is in collaboration with the Sheboygan County Planning and Conservation Department. This picture here is a photo of one of the outings that we did, a paddle in cooperation with Camp Waikota Outdoor Skills and Education. We got some people out on the river, kind of asked them to help us in building this inventory of, all right, let's say you just bought a kayak, you don't know what to do with it, you really wanna explore the river, but you're a little hesitant. What is some of that information that you need? And we kind of put together some of these things that you need to know, distance, what kind of parking is available, what restroom facilities, what kind of wildlife should you watch out for along the way, those sorts of things. And we're also going to be populating that map with lots of great photos. So for example, you wanna know what you're getting into before you get there. Again, looking at the example of the Metal Arc Trailhead, this picture would show you kind of what you're looking for as far as when you first pull up and you wanna park. And then if you're not really sure where you go to get into the river, this kind of shows you what that looks like, the actual entry point. So for each one of those locations, we'll have photos, we'll have some really great descriptions. So we're really working on developing that. And as a part of that, we're also going to have some physical signage along the river at some of these entry and exit locations. This is actually a photo of some existing signage. And this signage was done as a part of the Sheboygan River AOC Restoration Project. What we want to do is really align our signage with the existing signage. So that you can see, this is a part of that same kind of process. So it'll be kind of similar. It'll have a map, it'll have some interesting information and highlights about the area. And we are hoping to launch that this summer. So keep on lookout for that. We're really excited. We're going to be having some paddle events with some kayaks and canoes available, some guided tours, highlighting this and celebrating the launch of it. And kind of a ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony as well. So this is just one of our projects that we're really excited about. We think the timing is critical. We think it's a good time to really engage people in recreation on the river. So anyone have any questions so far just about this one project? And feel free to jump in at any time if you've got a question or something you want to share. Yes. Do you feel that Sheboygan River has some deal with the pine rivers and the county? Yes. Yep, we do. All of them? Mm-hmm, yep. Yep, yep. So we have a watershed-based approach. So all of those waters eventually drain into, some of them drain into the Sheboygan River and eventually into Lake Michigan or some of them drain directly into Lake Michigan as well. So we definitely do have, we care for, sometimes a lot of our efforts are focused specifically on Sheboygan River but we do also have involvement in those other tributaries as well. There was a kid when we swam, it was, there was no sea weed growing in between the jetties and now you can already see the bottom of the jetties. Yeah. And I don't know who's polluting and is that bad? And do you have any, who takes care of that? Absolutely, so Lake Michigan is definitely a really important resource for all of us. So our approach to caring for the entire watershed, what we do to these rivers, that all eventually ends up in Lake Michigan, what we do to the land within the watershed. The water flows across that, that all ends up in Lake Michigan. So it's definitely from a lot of different sources and we look at how can we have an impact on those sources. Lake Michigan has gone through a lot, a lot of changes and we're doing everything that we can to really ensure that it is cared for. I was lucky enough to actually this past week, I went to Washington DC to advocate for funding through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and meet with our legislators and just tell them how important this is to continue having this really federal funding dedicated to caring for our lakes and the rivers that flow into them. And it was really an awesome event because there was really great representation from the state of Wisconsin. So not only what we're doing here in Sheboygan, but all throughout the state. There was great representation from all of the states around the Great Lakes, Illinois, New York, everywhere. It was really cool to see all these different people coming together. We even got to participate in a reception with the Canadian Embassy. So it was really cool to see this is, our Great Lakes are really, it's not just one person's responsibility, it's all of us that are responsible for caring for that, I mean, it's really a national treasure. It's really, or an international, I should say. So really important, great question. In 1982, we were at a meeting in Door Company and they were worried about the polluting of the Anipi River. And they were talking about the farmers not watching the fertilizer and it all runs into the water. And we were just up in Q&A, and I was at Algoma and they had another meeting. This was about, since 1982, that was just last year. And they still were having the same problem. So nothing has been moving. We just had to watch how they do it. I don't know if you know what they think about. Yeah, you know, unfortunately, these issues, they can be slow moving, but our goal is to really bring, that's when it gets down to those partnerships. People often operate in silos. Oh, it's their fault or it's their fault or it's a finger pointing or disagreeing on things. Our goal is to really, again, find that common ground, bring people together so that we can really work to find these solutions and to find them in a timely manner so that we can effectively make some change. Yes. We have a really diverse source of funding. We do, and it depends on if you're looking at the Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership or our partner groups as well. They all kind of have a variety of funding sources. We do engage in a lot of grant projects. So we do get a lot of grant funding. We also have individual supporters, corporate supporters, foundations. So we really have a really diverse funding portfolio. Always. You know, that's all. I know it's always been there, but is it going to get worse or are we going to have to fight more for the funding or? You know, I think that's something that, one of the great things, you know, I mentioned that here in Sheboygan, we're able to see the economic development. What we look for, and I think a lot of, it's really a benefit that we're able to see what we call this triple bottom line. So for me, I think the environment is important. I love it just because, you know, in its own right. We should do it because it's the right thing to do. But it's also really showing that it's not only about the environment, but it's about our economy. It's about the social impact. So when I say triple bottom line, that's the environmental, economic, and social impact. And that's all coming together. And it's really showing that, hey, we're doing this because it's the right thing, but also because it's having this amazing impact on our communities. And that's something that, so federal funding through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, they've begun really taking, getting a really close look at that and looking at that economic impact. And every dollar invested in our Great Lakes comes back as $3. So it's really has a great impact on our communities and economic impact as well. And Sheboygan is one of those areas where it can be really dramatically seen in our community. It's kind of one of the case studies that is making a big difference. So I think that'll really help us moving forward. It's not just a feel good thing, it really is, it has great benefits all around. All right, I'm gonna talk a little bit more about some of the other exciting stuff we've got going on. Has anyone heard of roots yet? Restoration of our trees, Sheboygan. Ah, great. So this is a program we're really excited about. It's a partnership between Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership and the Sheboygan Rotary Club. And this program is dedicated to mitigating the impact of the Emerald Ash Borer here in Sheboygan County and doing so through a public-private collaboration. Raise your hand if you're familiar with the Emerald Ash Borer. Oh boy, all right, nasty little bugger. I'm gonna pass around. I've got some samples here, some specimens I should say, in case you haven't had the pleasure of seeing this critter up close. I've got an example of the adult as well as the larvae. So I'll go ahead and pass those around if you wanna take a look. And I also have some bark samples here. This one is of the damage that the larvae causes beneath the bark and how it damages the tree. And this is what you're looking for as the adult emerges from the tree, this D-shaped exit hole. So I'll pass those around, just for you to take a look while I'm talking here. And I'll tell you a little bit more about this program that we're embarking on. So again, about the Emerald Ash Borer. I'll kind of be brief since you're all familiar with it, but it is a non-native invasive insect that is really just bringing devastation throughout the Midwest, throughout Wisconsin. And what it does is it attacks, it bores into ash trees. All of our ash trees are susceptible and it disrupts the tree's ability to transport water and nutrients and kills the trees. It's very aggressive and it affects trees very rapidly. So the Emerald Ash Borer, oh, I'm just gonna back up a second. It was first found in the United States in 2002 in Michigan. And it was first found in Wisconsin in 2008 in Ozaki County here. And in the past 10 years, it has really exploded. It's really very aggressive, traveling very quickly and causing devastation in its path. The reason it's a problem here in Sheboygan is we have a really, a large percentage of ash trees. They're native to Wisconsin, so in our woodlands, we've got a large composition and we also have a lot of them making up our street trees as well as in our public trees. Again, I mentioned it's really aggressive, spreads quickly. Once trees are infested, they die very quickly within two or four years, if not sooner. And they create, these dying trees create additional ecological problems because these tree stands create space for invasive plants to move in like frag mites, which I'll be talking a little bit about as well. So it's definitely a huge problem here in Sheboygan and throughout the Midwest. And we're trying to build some support to help this. So just to kind of give you an idea of how dramatic of an effect this can have, here's a beautiful tree line street lined with ash trees. This example is from Ohio, 2006. Just a few short years later, three years later. That's how quickly this can take effect. So they look just great, perfectly fine, beautiful. Three years later, boom. Absolutely devastating. Anyone remember the Dutch Elm disease? Not a pleasant thing, really just a tragedy. This is right up there along the same scope. That's what's happening now. So it's something that, there's nothing we can really do to stop this, but we can take proactive approach to help prevent it from being as detrimental to our community as we can. Another example, this is one from Wisconsin, 2009 and a few years later, 2013. So that's more of a natural area whereas the other one was a tree line street. But really dramatic effects here just because those ash trees make up such a big portion. We all know trees are so important. And here this again gets to the dollar value. I can say I love trees just because they're beautiful and they're great and they're wonderful, but we literally can put a dollar on it. They have a value. They lead to savings for homeowners with reduced heating and cooling costs. They raise our property values. Studies have shown that people spend more in shopping districts that have tree line streets. So it's really important that we replant some of these trees that we're going to be losing and really be aware that this is an investment in our quality of life. Again, to show you that value, I think this is kind of a cool website here, but that statistic that it showed there as far as the value of a shaboy against trees being over 1.3 million. And each of those trees having a value of $205 approximately. That's based on a county-wide inventory that was done in 2009 and 2010. So that information, and that was just looking at public trees. So trees along the streets and in some parks, not even looking at some of those natural spaces that are really filled with these and not looking at the trees in your backyard as well. But so just based on the problem that our public utilities have to deal with as far as the city of Shaboy and the county of Shaboy and all of our cities and villages in Shaboy County and townships. This is really an overwhelming problem that they need to deal with that they're not really prepared for. This is kind of a useful tool. This is just kind of a really interesting thing. You can actually put a dollar value on that tree. So for you, you like looking at the tree, it's there, but it also is providing all of these great benefits. So it's an estimate that 20 inch green ash in front of your home is providing $197 in value per year. It breaks it down into its contribution to property value, how much stormwater infiltration it's helping with, the air quality, and it's really kind of a cool resource. So this is the National Tree Benefit Calculator. It also tells you if this tree is cared for and continues to grow to 25 inches, it'll provide $250 in annual benefits. So it's kind of a useful tool that I just want to share with you in case anyone's really interested in like, oh, hey, I've got one in my front yard. I want to know what that value is. As I mentioned, this inventory, it was not a complete inventory. It was just public trees in Shaboy and County. So not counting all in our backyards. And again, it was 10 years old. So that estimate, that value, those trees have grown larger in the meantime. So we're really losing more than that per tree. And so our goal is to really help with this. As they say, unfortunately, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. But what we want to do is make sure that as these trees come down, that we are replanting and really helping to make a difference here. And the good news is we can be part of the solution. This is a picture of these students here. They're from Grant Elementary School. They're part of what's called Great Lakes Gang. The Great Lakes Gang, it's an environmental club. They participated in the Arbor Day celebration two years ago, planting some trees at Maywood. And they even got an opportunity to climb some of their older maples in the maple forest there. So it's really cool to see that we can be a part of the solution proactively planting more trees so that we can continue to experience the benefits of trees. A little bit more about our approach. So this Roots program, again, it was a partnership between, or it is a growing partnership, between LNRP and the Sheboygan Roarie Club. And really it grew out of the initiative of, there was an international initiative for each Rotarian worldwide to plant one tree. And the folks with our local Rotary Club, they engaged with the city of Sheboygan to be able to see, how can we contribute these trees to the city of Sheboygan? And that's when they really found out about this problem that the city was going through. And not only the city of Sheboygan, but the surrounding cities, villages and townships. Really realized that, hey, this is something that they weren't prepared for. These trees, as they die, they put with safety hazards. We're losing the value of trees. It's really not in the budget to replace these trees. So what we're doing here, we've got a three pillar approach here. The first is targeted at implementation. Roots is building an investment fund. So we are looking to our community to support this. Say, hey, those trees are important to all of us. And I can donate some money to this investment fund. So individuals, businesses that are in a position to provide some funding to build this investment fund, to build a pool. And then from there, what we will do is provide grants to the local municipalities, the cities, villages and townships. If they say, all right, we know we have a problem here. We have to take down all these trees. We don't have the capacity to do it. We need some extra funding for removal. We need some extra funding for replanting. Here's our plan. We have a good plan in place. We have deliverables. We can measure the impact that we're going to have. And they would apply for funding from this investment fund. So that's what we're putting together is these funds that are available to provide to supplement the resources of the municipalities. The other part of this is, oops, the planning. So some of the municipalities, they know they've got a problem. They kind of have an idea of how they want to solve it. Others are like, man, we really haven't even thought about that yet. We're really, we don't even have a forestry department. We don't know where to start. So what we're doing with those is we are working to help them put together response plans and recovery plans to deal with the problem. And we've received funding from the DNR in the form of an urban forestry grant to work with some of these municipalities to develop the plan so that they can move forward and address the problem in a safe and responsible way and looking to the future. And also, keep doing that. Community engagement is always a really important part. There are a lot of people, individual landowners and homeowners that don't know what's going on with this problem. They don't know why all these trees are coming down. They don't know how to begin to understand what they need to do with their own trees. So we're really working to provide some outreach and education to help increase understanding in our community. What's really cool is we have been working with Lakeland University to engage the students there. The biology department has a plant science course where the students are doing kind of a feasibility study right on campus. They're treating the Lakeland University campus as kind of a small municipality, maybe a township, a little small town, and they're going through and doing an inventory. The first step to creating a plan is taking an inventory. What do you have? What state are those trees in? Are they already dying? Are they dead? Which ones are really important to remove first that are safety hazards? Where are there places available that there's potential for planting trees? And what trees might we be able to plant in those areas? So they're currently going through this study on campus and that will really set the tone for how we're going to move forward in our townships here to start planning this process. So we're really excited about this program and we need your help, of course. So ways that you can help are by providing financial support if you're able to spreading the word about this program so that we can get the word out there. I do have some slides available with additional information. If you're interested in donating your time, as we move forward, we'll definitely need lots of volunteers to help with inventory collection, monitoring and planting. And of course, when it comes to your own property, continuing to plant diverse, native and non-ash species of trees. And with your help, we can lessen the impact and protect our beautiful woodlands and tree-lined streets for generations to come. So it really is a community effort that we're working on building this collaboration so that we can all kind of work together to maintain that quality of life again. Any questions about the Roots program? It's a really great partnership and we're really excited about it. Again, it's a part of bringing all those diverse stakeholders to the table and working together to make a difference here in our community. Yes, so far it's really an ongoing moving target so I couldn't give you specifically how many have been taken down, but it's definitely. And I guess the number that have been taken down isn't accurate. Some of them are being taken down really proactively so that they can't cause further damage, but they do make up a large percentage of our trees, of our public trees and then an even greater percentage. So I believe back to that slide I had, it was 23% is what they found from that initial inventory. Again, that was not a real thorough that in fact that was just looking at just public trees. It varies from community to community. In the town of Sheboygan they have a really large percentage of ash trees in their township. They're over 70% composition of ash trees. So as far as how many are currently still standing or taken down, that I know that they've been really active this winter and trying to be proactive and taking some of them down before it becomes a really big problem or a safety hazard. Sheboygan colony, as you say, has done the most as far as in and growing and planting new trees. As far as planting new trees, that's a really good question. I don't know. I think that the larger cities, the city of Sheboygan, the city of Plymouth, the city of Sheboygan Falls, they definitely have more capacity. They have a larger budget to work with. They have some staff on hand that are dedicated to that. So they have more of a clear plan. And the city of Sheboygan has a planting plan in place. So those areas definitely have done more as far as removal and planting. They're just more in a better position to be more forward thinking. Some of the other communities really just don't have the capacity, don't have the capability to look at that. And they've never been in this position, none of them have ever been in this position to have to deal with this many replacement trees at one time. So that's why this comes into play, that we need to step in and provide them some support. That's a really good question. So I guess if we look back at, when I say grants, I'm more referring to the money that we're getting from. Primarily would be federal sources. So there's a lot of money set aside since this is definitely a threat to the environment. The Department of Natural Resources has some money set aside. There's federal funding as well. So when I say that we're applying for grant funding, that's kind of what I'm referring to. And that would be for this planning component as far as where businesses and corporations and foundations come into play. That would be where we're looking to provide money for the implementation. Yeah, thank you. So I wanna talk a little bit more about different type of invasive species looking at plants. So we've got some lots of ongoing programs involving invasive species. And I'm gonna kind of breeze through this a little bit because there is definitely, this could be a whole nother presentation. And we are holding actually several presentations coming up for those of you who are interested in this or that it might be a personal concern to you if you have any of these plants on your personal property. So we have several different invasive species management programs going on and lots of different stakeholders involved in these. One of the big invasive species of plants that we're looking at that is really detrimental to our ecosystems here is phragmites. There is a native phragmites, but the majority of what you see is this non-native phragmites. And you can recognize it. It's a very tall plant. It's in very dense stands. Nothing else can grow there. And the reason invasive species like this are such a threat to our ecosystem is they're not from around here. They're not a part of the natural ecosystems so they can out-compete natural plants and they really choke out any other plant life and they're really of no value to animal life here either. And in this case, phragmites can cause lots of other problems as well. It can be a fire hazard. It can be a visual obstruction on roadways and really just a huge nuisance. So this is one of the ones I'm gonna be talking a little bit about. And then Japanese knotweed is another, that is. Both of these are really aggressive, really tall, dense, and difficult to get rid of. So one of our project areas, again, lots of different stakeholders involved in this that have been working on this is the Pigeon River Estuary. So this is a really incredibly valuable ecosystem. And right in here where the Pigeon River meets, where the mouth of the Pigeon River meets Lake Michigan, all of this orange area here, that's phragmite stands. So there's really just a huge patch of it. So this project has made some really great progress. They've been doing treatments. There was just some signage installed here along the Pigeon River so that people know, again, education is really important so people can see what's going on there. And the really important thing about dealing with these invasive species is follow-up. So not just going in and treating it once, but following up the year after, following up making sure that it really is under control and that then following up with planting of native species as well. So this is one example of one of the areas of focus that's going really well. We also have our county-wide phragmites initiative. This is another one of those projects that's broken down into phases. So if we look at phase one, we're starting with the east and working to the west, just based on where there is the heaviest population. So it's a little hard to see here, but any of those little orange dots, there's a really kind of heavy here. Those orange dots are the areas where phragmites has been located. And for this project, we actually had interns that we employed to drive every single road in the county. And they did visual, they saw this from driving the routes, identified it, mapped it. And this is an ongoing project. And this Sheboygan County initiative is modeled after a similar one in Manitowoc. One of the cool things about Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership and this regional approach that we have, we don't have to reinvent the wheel every time. When we find a project or an approach that works, we can often replicate that model elsewhere. So this has been going on in Manitowoc for a number of years and we're just really beginning to implement it here in Sheboygan. Right now the key to this is getting landowner engagement. We need to have permission to be able to come onto their property and treat their phragmites populations. The cool part is we have received grant funding to do so. So we are going out and free of charge to the landowners treating their phragmites stance on private land, on business-owned land. So it's really important that we have this county-wide approach and this regional approach because if it's treated on one land but not on their neighbors, it's just gonna continue to spread. So to be effective, we really have to have a really aggressive, all at once coordinated approach and that's what we've got going on here and those partnerships are really crucial. So we treat it with, it's a very aquatic-approved roundup type solution. And we work with StandTech and they're really a great company to be partnered with and really mindful that they're really well-qualified, really mindful of their chemical applications. So, and we really work really closely with the landowners as well. So as I mentioned, we have some open houses that we're putting on the calendar. In June, we'll be having some more engagement with the landowners. Those that we have found that we've identified on their property will be sending out personal invitations to them to attend this workshop, to learn more, to learn more about the treatment, about the follow-up steps and all of that as well. We also have, so again, all of these projects are kind of similar but they all have kind of separate components, separate unique characteristics, different funding sources. This one is based specifically on bluff shorelines. So right along the shoreline, and that's definitely a really unique area that has different components involved in treating and caring for that unique habitat, but kind of a similar approach. And then also looking at Japanese knotweed. And so this is a little more, not quite as scattered. It's really kind of got some kind of contained areas at the moment, so that's why it's really important that we get those taken care of right away. Some of them are larger than others. But that's again, looking at public and private properties and really working on getting those under control. Again, long-term management is really important. It's not effective to just treat it and then walk away. It's really important to follow up, to ensure that there is funding for that as well, and to ensure that there's a plan in place for that follow-up. And that's something that, again, it's a really great benefit that we have all of these local groups that are able to make sure that once a project's done, we still are invested in that community, we still follow through and make sure that we are in it for the long run. So that is just a really brief clip about our invasive species projects. If you would like more information, I do have brochures about that available. And I actually also have my map along. We use iPads in the field for collecting the data. So if you think that you might have some in your property, I could take a look to see if we've got it mapped out and kind of what the status is there. And definitely do be on the lookout for those landowner workshops that we have coming up. Did anyone have any? I know I went through that kind of quickly. Anyone have any questions specifically about the invasive species management programs? Yes. We used to have elm trees on a superior and it looked like the picture you had there. And it seemed to me when we had the elm tree disease, it was down south for it. And after we had it in Cheboygan, it was up in Dore County. And it seemed like this here, other trees that you have now, it seems to be moving all north. I think when it's down south somewhere, if we don't care because it isn't in our place, maybe there should be something with the government watching that stuff already when it starts way down south. I don't know if I'm right or wrong on that, but it seems that it starts down south. It seemed like a herrington beach had it before we had it in Cheboygan. I might be wrong on that too. Right, and so each species is different, but when we do have these invasive, whether it's an invasive species or whether it's a disease that is coming through, it definitely, you know, it spuds. And sometimes you can, you're right. Sometimes you can see that pattern that it's coming. And I think for some people, it's maybe it's not realistic when it's not in your community yet. And I think we've seen that with the emerald ash borer, with Frigmites, you know, it's kind of like, yeah, it's a problem, but it's not our problem. So it really is important to be aware of that and to be proactive when we can. So I have one more project that I want to highlight. This one's really exciting and a really uplifting one. I think after some of the invasive species is always kind of a doom and gloom type thing. We're, you know, we're doing what we can to be, again, to be proactive, to manage, to get it under control, but I want to focus on something that I think is really positive and really remarkable actually that's going on here in our community. And that is our beach cleanups. So several of our different watershed groups with Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership have beach cleanups. You know, we've all got this precious resource. It's really important to care for it. So the Sheboygan River Basin Partnership, they have participated in an annual beach cleanup for a number of years. But what's really exciting is in the last couple of years, it's really, this initiative has really transformed. I had led these cleanups for a long time. You know, no matter how aggressively we tried to market them and get people there, you know, you'd get a few volunteers and it would be a good invention. You'd feel good about it. But recently we have these neighborhood groups that have really taken this on and taken it to the next level. And it is so incredible because they have this really great pride in their neighborhood. They're lucky enough to live right by the lake. So they get their neighbors really excited and involved in this. And they also, that enthusiasm and that pride spreads throughout the community as well. So they bring other people in and say, hey, help us clean up this beach. That's not only our resource, but everyone's resource. So it's been really exciting in the past couple of years. Started with the Friends of North Point. And so that began as a friends group that is partnering with the Sheboygan River Basin Partnership and they're also building a neighborhood. They have built a neighborhood association as well. The North Point and Valruth Neighborhood Association. So those groups are kind of linked. The Friends of Peace Park Sheboygan as well as the King Park Neighborhood Association. So each of these has kind of their own, not their beach, but that they feel a sense of place, a connection to a sense of ownership over. And that has made all the difference. We've had some really great participation. And it's really something that they can be proud of. So I'm really excited to report on this. So they clean up at the North Point, Land Park, and then on the South Side of Sheboygan, General King Park Beach. It's really exciting. So not only seeing these neighborhood groups participating, but it's been really well received by the community with some really great support as well. So I've got a picture there of some officers that participate in the cleanups. It's really cool to see them participating. The Department of Public Works is a really strong supporter, helps us as well. And then we've got some local partners as well that different volunteers that have participated in our 2018 cleanups too. So in 2018, let's see. So we used to have an annual fall, annual September Adopt-A-Beach cleanup. We now have that in those three locations. And in addition to the fall cleanup, we also do a spring cleanup. So in 2018, those three places and the spring and fall combined, we had over 100 volunteers and they picked up over 290 pounds of garbage along the beach. Really incredible. But the thing is that may sound like, may sound like a lot of garbage to you, may not. It really can't be quantified in weight, I don't think, because a lot of what we find is tiny little things that don't weigh a lot, but can cause huge, huge problems. Cigarette butts, tiny pieces of plastic, tiny pieces of foam. All this little stuff doesn't weigh much, but it's really problematic. Those are some of the most common items collected. So we really have cleaned up a lot and made a huge difference on our beaches and continue to each year. Another cool part of the beach cleanups are we are acting locally and thinking globally. And it literally is having a global impact. So we have these really localized areas, but they're also a part of larger initiatives. The Alliance for the Great Lakes organizes a regional effort every year. And in 2018, regionally around the Great Lakes, they had a total of 15,000 volunteers and cleaned up over 36,000 pounds of litter. They also coordinate the collection of data. So we're not just picking up garbage, we're actually tallying what we find and how many of each item we find so that they can understand what the problem is. If you're finding some patterns here along specific beaches or maybe throughout the region, what is, what's causing that problem? Is there a lack of education and information? Is there not enough strategically placed garbage bins or things like that so they can really understand, is there a product that we can change and advocate for a solution? So they're keeping track of that so that they can find solutions to these problems. And not only is it a part of this regional network, but it's also a part of the international coastal cleanup. So if you look at it that way, you've got millions of people cleaning shorelines worldwide. So it's really kind of cool to know we're making a difference here and we're a part of something bigger. I wanna invite you to join us on the beach. Our spring cleanup is scheduled for May 4th. You can sign up through the Alliance for the Great Lakes on their website here at GreatLakesAdopt.org or by emailing me at Kendra at LNRP.org. I'm gonna leave you with a really lovely picture and a quote, if there's magic on this planet, it is contained in the water. We truly are dedicated to caring for our water. And I hope that I'm really glad that you were here tonight to hear a little bit about what we've got going on. These are just a few of our projects that we've got going on in this area. We've got a lot more throughout the region. And I hope that you'll continue, consider volunteering or supporting us financially or finding a way to get involved and connect with the environment on your own. So if anyone has any more questions, I'm happy to answer them. And then I also have some materials here if you're interested in taking a look. Yes. The clean up is May 4th. Yep, yep. May 4th. And again, we have locations so you can volunteer whichever location is more convenient for you either at the North Point to Land Park or General King Park Beach. In the spring of the year, they would run up the river and spawn. Do you think that the rivers were so polluted that it cut it up? Do you have any idea? Do you ever hear anything about it? And what they thought, why we don't have to melt? And ship, this is out of your mind. I'm not really sure in particular, as far as that goes, but I do know, so I should mention that we're definitely, the Shibuya Nero Basin Partnership is a really project oriented group. And we're really, we've done a lot of habitat restoration projects. I want to mention briefly, and we've got some information about it, along with our story with the Shibuya River, Willow Creek is one of the tributaries that we've been really involved in that's been a priority of ours since 2005. And we've, it's just a really unique area. And that is one area that it's a cold water tributary. And it's a really unique spawning environment for some of the cold water trout and other species there. So that's something that we've had some really successful projects on. And that's something, I believe next week, Rose will be here talking about with the Glitch Lakes Conservancy and she'll be talking a lot about the Willow Creek Preserve and some really other really exciting stuff going on there too. Is it something that's come out here and then Lake Erie will end up and they won't have any either? Yeah, I don't know about Smelton in particular. I do know, you know, definitely everything that we do has an impact, whether it's intended or unintended and the Great Lakes ecosystem has gone through a lot of changes. I mean, it's dramatically different than it used to be. Thank you. Yes. There's a wonderful book, The Death and Life in the Lakes and it's written by Dan Egan. Yes. And it addresses all about Smelton, about ale lives and it is a phenomenal book. I encourage you to get it. The gentleman who wrote it is a Milwaukee journalist and he spent years researching and is loaded with information about all the Great Lakes. Thank you. Absolutely, I agree. It's definitely a must read. Tons of information, yeah. Anyone else have any questions or comments or concerns? Good. Well, thank you so much for joining me tonight. I appreciate it. Thank you.