Summer is in full swing now and many people have their boats in the water. Whether you spend your time this summer fishing, skiing, or cruising on our area lakes, it is important to be aware of Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) in the lake you are on. You may notice individuals at boat launches to remind you to clean off your boat after using it. AIS can be detrimental to a lake’s ecosystem and overall health. Eurasian Water Milfoil, Rusty Crayfish, Curly Leaf Pondweed and Zebra Mussels have all been found in lakes in Forest County. Once invasives are in a lake, they are very difficult to completely eradicate. That is why it is important to do as much prevention work as possible, so that these invaders don’t enter our lakes to begin with. The Clean Boats Clean Waters program is a large part of that effort. County conservation offices work with Clean Boats Clean Waters program and other agencies, like lake associations, and volunteers to monitor boats coming in and out and public boat launches. Each year, volunteers and paid staff spend their summers monitoring lakes in Forest County. One of the more challenging parts of the effort to stop AIS spread is securing the funding. Historically, counties were in a position to run the Clean Boats Clean Waters program and funding wasn’t always secured every year for a full time position. Fortunately, the DNR’s Lake Monitoring and Protection Network has helped alleviate that issue. It sets up AIS funding more like a contract and less like a grant. The DNR will distribute the funds based on a number of factors like AIS presence, the amount of surface water, and public access availability. The state is also encouraging neighboring counties to work together to monitor lakes in the area. The DNR can’t afford to give full time aquatic invasive species coordinator program money to every county. So, they’re counting on counties to either cover the gaps or to regionalize. Forest County works with Langlade, Oconto, and Marinette County to help fight AIS. The program is managed by the Lumberjack Resource Conservation and Development Council (RC&D). The agreement allows the four counties to combine their funding and hire a full-time AIS Coordinator. The AIS Coordinator through Lumberjack is known as the FLOW AIS coordinator. (Forest, Langlade, Oconto, Marinette Waterways). Our FLOW AIS coordinator is Derek Thorn and he works towards improving aquatic ecosystems through AIS prevention, education, public outreach, and waterbody monitoring in Forest, Langlade, Marinette, & Oconto Counties in Northeast Wisconsin. Among many other of his day-to-day activities, Derek also releases a quarterly newsletter highlighting his work. The newsletter can be found on the Lumberjack RC&D website. Derek can be contacted by email at or by phone at 715-490-3325. We are thankful to have Derek for our AIS needs in Forest County!
For more information contact Kayla Littleton, Forest County Land Conservation and Land Information Director at 715-478-1387 or by e-mail at