Announcer:
You know what that sound means. It's time for the Michigan DNR's Wildtalk Podcast. Welcome to the Wildtalk Podcast, where representatives from the DNR's Wildlife Division chew the fat and shoot the scat about all things habitat, feathers, and fur. With insights, interviews, and your questions answered on the air, you'll get a better picture of what's happening in the world of wildlife here in the great state of Michigan.

Hannah:
Welcome to Wildtalk. I'm Hannah Shower, and hosting with me today is Holly Vaughn.

Holly:
Yes. And we're very excited to have Ryan Wheeler and Greg Norwood on the show today to talk to us about invasive species.

Hannah:
And as we always do, we'll be answering your questions from the mailbag, so stick around as we kick things off with what is happening around the state.

Announcer:
Don't miss your shot at putting a Michigan wild turkey on your table this fall. The application period for fall turkey runs from July 1st through August 1st. So the time to apply is now. The comeback of the wild turkey is one of the greatest stories in wildlife conservation. Due to the efforts of the Michigan DNR and Partners in Conservation going back to the 1980s, the turkey population has expanded to a historic level. To find out more or to purchase your application, visit michigan.gov/turkey.

Hannah:
All right. So welcome back to Wildtalk. Holly, do you want to let us know what's going on in southern Michigan?

Holly:
July is the time for goose banding around the southern part of the state. We band quite a few geese and it's actually a really fun process. At this time of the year, geese are not able to fly. They molt all of their flight feathers all at once and they're not able to fly. So our staff round geese into these little pens, might be a temporary snow fence pen or some temporary fencing, but we herd geese into these pens and then take the geese and put bands on them. These bands help scientists to understand where these geese go once they leave the state of Michigan and also help to track the lifespan of these birds.

Holly:
If you ever find a goose or a duck with a band or really any other bird, you can report those bands to www.reportband.gov and you'll get a neat little certificate that talks a little bit about where that goose was banded and who banded it and how old it was and all those fun things. Goose banding is a really important activity for us to learn more about geese in Michigan and throughout the Mississippi flyway. Our staff have also been working on planting food plots on our state game areas throughout the southeast and southwest regions, but this spring has been extremely rainy.

Hannah:
Yes. So wet. There's so much rain.

Holly:
It seems like it waits for the weekend to start raining.

Hannah:
Of course, when we all want to be outside.

Holly:
And we have had very rainy weekends. With all this rain, the soil has been very wet and a lot of our state game areas, especially our state game areas that are wetland areas have had a lot of trouble planting those food plots this year. The estimates are at this point that our crops of corn and small grains this year are going to be ... They're going to be planted late and so they may not be as mature by the time the fall rolls around. In some cases, we may not be able to get certain fields planted this year. So you may see conditions that are a little bit different this coming fall than they have been in years past, so just be prepared for that those of you that are hunters here in Michigan.

Holly:
We've also been doing some work, habitat management work, for various wildlife species in the southern parts of the state. We've been doing some timber harvests around the southwest especially and a little bit in the southeast as well. This habitat management work creates nice young forests that are important for species like woodcock and grouse and other early successional forest species. Deer really like these early successional forests as well.

Holly:
Couple updates from the southwest region, the Echo Point Shooting Range at the Allegan State Game Area is currently closed through August 31st. They're undergoing renovations and improvements. These improvements include a new parking lot, accessible pathways, new structures and benches for shooters, new berms and ricochet baffles to improve safety, and also sound abatement measures so that our neighbors aren't complaining as much about the noise coming from the shooting range. All of these activities are going to make your experience at the Echo Point Shooting Range even better. Again, it's closed through August 31st.

Hannah:
Yeah. Looking forward to seeing those improvements.

Holly:
Exactly. So we'll see you this fall when you get ready to pattern your shotguns for small game season. We'll see you out there at the Echo Point Shooting Range.

Holly:
Finally, the Trowbridge Dam on the Kalamazoo River in Allegan is the highest priority dam removal project in the state and is going on very soon. The project is to address public safety concerns related to its poor condition and high hazard rating. We've received funding to oversee this removal project and you'll hear more about this project in the future. So stay tuned for that. What's going on in the northern regions of the state, Hannah?

Hannah:
All right. In the northern lower region, they've been working on Kirtland's warbler surveys and also goose banding, similar to what Holly mentioned for our southern folks. Staff in the northern lower have also been working on putting in food plots and also have been getting lots of questions as we all have about things like fawns and, certainly for the northern portions of the state, also getting questions about bear sightings and what to do if you see one in your yard. Also our northern lower staff have been preparing for elk season orientation, getting ready to give those hunters the background and information they'll need to hopefully be successful this season.

Hannah:
Our staff are also finalizing plans for chronic wasting disease testing and other deer check station changes for this fall, which is the case for much of the state including the upper peninsula, for example, which leads me into some important updates related to deer and deer hunting for the UP. We have a little bit of an update for you all on our antlerless deer quotas that were approved at the June Natural Resource Commission meeting. Specifically we're reopening Deer Management Unit 022 to antlerless licenses. So we'll have that opportunity available for folks this fall.

Hannah:
We're also increasing antlerless license quotas in Deer Management Units 022, 055, 121, 122, 155, and 255. Be sure to check that out. You can find out all the specific quota numbers and details on our website, michigan.gov/deer. Speaking of antlerless deer, don't forget that the application period is coming up. That's July 15th through August 15th. You can get your application in for either public or private land antlerless day. As I mentioned, quotas and open counties are available at michigan.gov.deer.

Hannah:
Also, fall turkey application period is currently open through August 1st. You can find your turkey application information at michigan.gov/turkey, so be sure if you're into some fall turkey hunting that you get your application in for that. I think that wraps up our around the state updates for you all. Please stick around because next up is our interview on invasive species with Greg and Ryan.

Announcer:
Pure Michigan hunt applications are on sale now. If you want your shot of what is considered Michigan's ultimate hunt, pick up a $5-application or two. There's no limit to the number you can buy. If you're one of the three lucky winners, you'll get a hunting prize package worth thousands as well as licenses for elk, bear, spring and fall turkey, antlerless deer, and first pick at a managed waterfowl area for a reserved hunt. Purchase anywhere hunting licenses are sold or online at michigan.gov/pmh.

Holly:
All right. Welcome back to Wildtalk. In the studio today we have Ryan Wheeler. He's our invasive species biologist for the DNR Wildlife and Forest Resources Divisions. We also have Greg Norwood. Greg serves as the terrestrial invasive species program coordinator for the DNR, the Department of Agriculture, and the newly-formed EGLE Department, which is the former DEQ. It is now the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

Holly:
Greg, first of all, which species are considered invasive? Most people have heard of Asian carp, but what are some others and what makes them invasive?

Greg:
That's a great question. First, thanks for having us today. Invasive, so what is an invasive species? For us, the definition's pretty simple, but there's some gray area there of what an invasive species is. Invasives generally are ones that are "not native and they cause harm." What's not native and how do you determine what harm is? The definition of invasive can be challenging, but most of the time it's pretty clearcut as far as what researchers and scientists think is not native. As far as what causes harm, usually it's pretty clear when a species is causing harm. But of course, lots of folks want to argue about the fringes, the rare exceptions. That's where it can get pretty interesting.

Holly:
Maybe an eel sticking to the side of a fish might be considered harmful?

Greg:
Right. An Asian carp, very few people would argue the disaster that would happen or that could happen with Asian carp entering the Great Lakes. It's very important that especially when we're working with other states and lots of partners that we work on things we agree on and we can, on behalf of conservation, do a tremendous amount of good by working on these issues together.

Greg:
Not native, I did want to mention what we mean by that. That trips up a lot of people when we talk about what exactly a nonnative species is. One of the reasons it's confusing, there's lots of examples of ones that are clearly not native, so a species that's brought, say, Japanese stiltgrass was brought here in the early 1950s. I think it was introduced in Tennessee. We can trace it back to that time period. There was one introduction. Since that time, that particular plant species has caused a tremendous amount of change in forests across eastern North America. That is clearly a nonnative species, in that if you took a long perspective on things, like hundreds of years to thousands of years perspective on things. That's one introduction that happened very recently.

Greg:
Where it gets gray, where there's lots of fun arguments between scientists even is when there's some uncertainty about when a fungus, say, of trees has been introduced. Did it come from South America and did it come 300 years ago or more. That's where things get pretty interesting and tough to call not native versus native. But by and large, we know usually about when a species has been introduced and think about it in terms of thousands of years, not years, not individual years.

Holly:
We have native species. We have nonnative species. Can a nonnative species ever become a native species?

Greg:
Yeah. It's a really good question and one that we get all the time. It's not possible to set a date at which time a species becomes native all of a sudden. That question resolves itself when you think in terms of thousands of years or usually even tens of thousands of years. What's most relevant is time scales that take into account climate. Michigan, of course, as lots of folks know, used to be a block of ice 10,000 years ago. So lots of changes have happened since that time. The environment changes, new species come and go. But that's on the scale of tens of thousands of years.

Greg:
We don't really need to say, "Hey, in 200 years I think reed canary grass," another invasive in wetlands. You don't need to worry about, "Well, should we call it native in 250 years from now?" It's not really the time scale. Again, we're talking about much longer time periods.

Hannah:
All right. Well, thank you, Greg, for giving us that rundown of native versus nonnative. I know that's something that I always wonder about in my head with some of these species and thinking about them. If I could, Ryan, I'd like to ask you why is addressing invasive species so important for conservation of fish and wildlife and their habitats? We've talked a little bit about what they are, now why is it important that we address them?

Ryan:
The biggest threat to the conservation of fish and wildlife are typically considered the destruction and degradation of their habitat and, in many ways, invasive species directly degrade habitat. More indirectly, as invasive species spread they create imbalance within an ecosystem. That can make it less resilient to other impacts like disease and stress and further ongoing invasive species infestations, additional species. So it's important to address invasive species because if they're ignored then things can cascade in expected ways. But ultimately it's, I think, most important to address invasive species because they have negative effects on our values and heritage.

Ryan:
Our sense of place, our culture, values, and traditions, and interacting with our natural resources is incredibly important. Invasive species really threaten our ability to continue those traditions, whether it's birdwatching or hunting or fishing and all the other experiences we love just being outdoors in Michigan.

Hannah:
Yeah. Absolutely. I know I've got some invasive plants on my property and they're not always the prettiest to look at. I'd much rather have some of our native species to look at. So even that in and of itself is minor, but certainly impacts that sense of place for me. So I would agree that that's an important consideration for us to have.

Hannah:
What are we doing? What are we doing to address invasive species in Michigan?

Ryan:
Effective invasive species management is always a team effort. There's a lot of great work being done by nonprofits and colleges and universities as well as state, federal, tribal, and local governments, certainly more than I could ever cover in a one-hour podcast here. For example, in state government there are various regulatory authorities, funding, and land ownerships that span across a whole bunch of different agencies. Those departments that we mentioned earlier, Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Department of Transportation, and the DNR, we're all working together on invasive species issues so that we can manage the impacts and see if we can't leverage additional resources to that effort.

Ryan:
For example, state programs last year were able to leverage an additional $2.3 million in federal funding for invasive species projects in Michigan beyond what we already had. So that cooperation and resources allowed us to respond to, this is last year now, allowed us to respond to 58 early detections of invasive species. It allowed us to manage over, well, almost 10,000 acres for invasive species and then connect with a little over four million people through different outreach and education efforts. We're also fortunate in Michigan to have the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program. This program provided $3.6 million in grants each year to different agencies and university and nonprofit organizations to assist with various aspects of invasive species management like prevention, detection, eradication, and just overall control of invasive species.

Ryan:
I think one of that program's biggest accomplishments has been covering the state with cooperative invasive species management areas or CISMA as we like to call them.

Hannah:
I like that word, CISMA.

Ryan:
CISMA.

Hannah:
It's a good word.

Ryan:
These are grassroots cooperatives made up of agencies and universities, nonprofits, and even individual citizens within different areas of the state. These are usually multiple-county cooperatives. They all work together to overcome the challenges related to invasive species management, provide a local resource for folks looking for help with invasive species issues. They really just make us better prepared as a state to respond to emerging invasive species issues. There's a lot of accomplishments to be celebrated, but there's certainly no shortage of work to be done on these issues. I think we'll continue to work on that stuff.

Hannah:
As far as early detection goes and some of the actual management practices, for those who listen to our podcast regularly, last episode we had Glenn Palmgren talk about prescribed burns and how that certainly is one method we use to help control invasive species in some areas. Could you give maybe an example of something that we might do at one of these early detection sites? Early detection is maybe a first sign of a particular species in a location, and then what do we try and do when we hear about this?

Ryan:
Every early detection, I mean, it's right there in the name. It requires somebody to notice it, recognize it, and then report it to the right people. We've had a lot of these being reported by professionals in various green industries, like power companies, tree companies, folks in the aquatic plant trade, and different things like that. We have various tools out there that are fed by our outreach efforts so that folks will recognize them when they see them but then know who to tell about it if they suspect it could be an early detection.

Ryan:
One of those resources we have is the, we call it the one-stop shop for invasive species reporting, the Midwest Invasive Species Information Network. This is a phone app that we worked with Michigan State University to create. That's a pretty good resource for getting reports into the right hands. A lot of times if it's state folks and even some of these CISMA partners who are the on-the-ground people who respond and either confirm that it is actually an early detection species and then do the follow-up work to address the concern.

Hannah:
We talked a little bit about some of the broad-scale efforts that we're working on right now to address invasive species. Is that likely to change? Are we going to have to take different tactics in the future with addressing invasive species concerns?

Ryan:
Yeah. There's a rich history on the development of the approach to invasive species. I think that will continue in the future, maybe more rapidly, who knows? So yeah, we'll continue to increase the sophistication of our approach on these things. There's a lot of critical research that happens often behind the scenes that helps us more effectively manage invasive species, whether it's developing better ways to detect invasive species, like environmental DNA or understanding better ways to manage the landscape so that we're more resilient to invasive species being able to get a foothold to begin with. There's a lot of work being done to develop new bowel controls and have long-term solutions for different pests.

Ryan:
A lot of these are the long game. Many years ago when folks just started working on beech bark disease or Asian carp, I often wonder if they really predicted that we'd start planting the first beech bark-resistant trees just last year and that we would now have a good plan for keeping Asian carp out of Lake Michigan. A lot of other differences I suspect would be technology-related, like surveying for invasive species using small drones or having an app on your phone that can identify an invasive species just by taking a picture. But I think maybe one of the biggest ways is we'll have greater awareness and engagement through things like social media.

Ryan:
One of the best ways to prevent invasive species is just getting folks engaged and aware and taking steps to reduce the risk of spreading or introducing invasive species. Another aspect to that is having a better understanding of people's values. When we engage with people about what they consider harm, you could imagine there's a lot of variation there. Our ability as a society to be able to effectively represent and communicate our values is important for figuring out how to best address different invasive species. I think in many ways social media and other forms of media, for sure, really enhance our ability to do that.

Holly:
All right. Greg, we've talked a little bit about how we combat invasive species. We've talked about the difference between nonnative and invasive. What do you really think are the worst invasive species issues that we face today.

Greg:
I'll suggest we take the long view and look backwards maybe. Let's go back 50, 60 years. There was a thing called a Dutch elm disease that came through. And then maybe just in the southeast part of Michigan, there was the chestnut blight. Some folks were not around who are listening to this podcast to see the dead elm trees along the streets throughout Michigan, nor were they around when the chestnut blight went through. But these are two pests that have basically transformed much of our forest ecosystem permanently. Those maybe are the previous examples. Today we have similar threats and they are accelerating in number, unfortunately.

Greg:
The hemlock wooly adelgid, much like Dutch elm disease and chestnut blight, that pest has the capacity to transform the entire landscapes of much of Michigan by removing an iconic tree, the hemlock. So that is probably the one species that ranks top for me in terms of the most important invasive species. The aftermath of emerald ash borer is very important and not just the aftermath, it's still an ongoing expansion of that pest in the Upper Peninsula and on island in the Great Lakes. That issue is still unfolding. Each of these pests require a unique management solution. Usually those management solutions are not our first choices.

Greg:
For hemlock wooly adelgid, it does require an enormous amount of resources through multiple partners to survey to even find the stuff growing in the hemlock trees, at which point we can then try to slow down the spread. For emerald ash borer, it requires in the past, quarantine. You couldn't move material through different counties. That's been lifted more now. Now you can transport things a little bit more liberally. But there's still the aftermath of a bunch of dead ash trees through much of our forests. Beyond that, there's a number, like I said, an accelerating number.

Greg:
Oak wilt is an issue in Michigan. It is expanding, so we're working hard with specialists who are expert on the pest as well as forest health in general to try to craft solutions that are best for Michigan. Other ones would be something like Japanese stiltgrass that I mentioned before, three populations in Michigan. We want to position the conservation community in a way that prepares us to protect the awesome floodplain forests that we have and protect all the resources that could change because of Japanese stiltgrass. Some of the solutions are monitoring, but also herbicide, also some insecticide. That's an important piece of it to basically respond early to these things so we can minimize how many chemicals we use.

Greg:
Then in the long-term, we want to be thinking long-term while we do those immediate reaction-type management actions.

Holly:
Respond early, respond often, right?

Greg:
That's right. It's the motto, Holly, yes.

Holly:
Do you think climate change will have any effect on how we address invasive species in Michigan

Greg:
Yeah. Climate change is having effect right now as we speak. It's important for us to plan with that in mind. So when we think about how to spend our time with our partners, we have to be able to project the best we can what species are going to be arriving in Michigan and which ones maybe are here and will have a greater impact because of climate change. A lot of this has to do with that two-faceted aspect to our responses, the short-term reaction, okay, how do we whack Japanese stiltgrass as fast as possible with the least amount of chemicals possible with the least collateral damage while at the same time thinking about what do we want to achieve in 30 years because it is unlikely we can put up a biological barrier of some kind to keep species from entering Michigan. We just can't control all of that.

Greg:
So we're going to have to think long-term as well. What are we passing on to our successors in terms of knowledge? What can we learn in this generation and pass that knowledge down and so maybe our successors hopefully will have, like Ryan said, better technology to use. In many instances in invasive species management we are limited by our technology, limited by our knowledge, the biology of the species. So that, of course, will grow exponentially. That's exciting. That's the most exciting part of invasive species is the amount of knowledge we're going to be able to gain over time. So we should be able to stand up solutions that are much more sophisticated, Ryan mentioned that, than they are today.

Holly:
I've heard some people say that invasive species really aren't as big of a concern as they are made out to be. What do you say to people who say things like that?

Greg:
Well, that actually has a grain of truth to it. There is some merits to questioning to what in popular publications has been coined the "war" on invasives. Really good questions should be asked about should we wage a war on species X, say, one that we like to talk a lot about is probably familiar with a lot of folks especially along Lake Erie and that's phragmites. What do we do about phragmites? Phragmites is a tall grass that's not native. The genetic type of phragmites is not native in the Great Lakes, that we are having problem with. The plant grows, as many listeners know, over 12 feet in height.

Greg:
Sometimes I think we've seen certain parts of Lake Erie, it can grow to 15 feet high and very impenetrable. It displaces lots of biodiversity. So what people recognize is that, well, it's here. We can't eliminate something like phragmites and that's just one species where we just cannot eliminate it altogether. Should we be waging a war usually with chemicals against these species? It's a very good question. What I think we try to do with our partners is to have the right kinds of conversations around it. The reality is that there are some benefits that come from even invasive plants. So phragmites, if it does one thing well, it's that it does grow. It does protect coastal wetland, the mechanics, the wave energy.

Greg:
It does take up nutrients, the excess nutrients that certain wetlands have. But at the same time, it has major trade-offs where it decreases at many instances biological diversity, the amount of life in different scales out there. Those are things that society will have to weigh when it decides on whether or not to wage a war on invasive species. So it's not so simple. It goes species by species and human values have to be taken into account. But ultimately, we have to be very wise about the use of resources and very wise when it comes to the protection of what we hold most dear. That's the natural resources, the biological diversity that's out there.

Holly:
Sometimes fighting can be extremely costly.

Hannah:
It's not black and white.

Holly:
No, not at all.

Hannah:
Like you said, it's not simple to figure that out.

Hannah:
All right. To kind of wrap things up here I would like to know what can our listeners do to help?

Ryan:
Generally across the board, a lot of our big outreach campaigns, their names are verbs, like clean, drain, and dry your boat. That's a big one. Clean, drain, and dry your boat. Another one that's maybe a little more terrestrial-focused is play, clean, go. This is make sure you're not transporting seeds on your boots and your equipment and vehicles or your dog or something like that. Another one I'd say, absolutely buy local firewood. Buy it where you burn it. That's another one we say quite a bit. If a tree mysteriously dies very quickly in your yard, be aware if you cut it up and give it to your neighbor, you might also be giving them a tree disease or a bug that could potentially impact them as well.

Ryan:
With all those things, don't underestimate the power that small steps can have on preserving your neighborhood and the places you love to visit. Just a couple of minutes cleaning off your boots could prevent a plant from getting into somewhere it's not supposed to be. I'd also say volunteer. Get involved if you can. There are so many great organizations doing amazing work across the state that need help. We've got a list of volunteer opportunities on the Michigan invasive species website. More directly to your question there, if you think you have an invasive species in your yard or on your property, there's a lot of resources on the Michigan invasive species website.

Ryan:
The CISMAs are a great resource. Their contact information is available there as well. They've got a ton of knowledge and partners. There's a lot of resources out there for folks.

Greg:
Like a lot of folks out there who happen to have a yard or property, I'm one of them. Folks might be struggling with what to do about invasive species on their properties. Let's talk about some examples that Ryan and I have run across a lot across the state of Michigan and that's buckthorn. It's a plant. Autumn olive, these are shrubs if folks aren't familiar, shrubs that definitely tend to run pretty rambunctiously over time on landscapes. Then like lots of ground covers that people probably inherited from previous landowners, many of which aren't even sold any more because, well, they are invasive.

Greg:
What do you do about that? How do you tout yourself as an upstanding conservationist but at the same time your yard is filled with invasives? I think what I would suggest to people is to, again, I started this mentioning the long view, taking that long-term approach. You have to recognize that ecosystems, first of all, we have probably less control than we think we do even in places as small as a typical backyard. No matter how hard we work, there are certain things that might be a fool's errand. That's okay.

Greg:
Secondly, beyond taking a long-term timeframe, you can understand what might be the way you can prioritize how you spend your time weeding. Buckthorn I mentioned first. That's a plant that clearly is not maybe your first choice as a landowner. The reality though is that it does provide something, some cover usually for things like robins and other common species. We'd rather it not be there. But perhaps there are, over time, opportunities for you to select the individual buckthorns that are actually seeding, providing berries. We don't want to spread those around more than we need to. Or you can, over time, remove some and start building the soil up.

Greg:
Think about the ground up rather just root out the buckthorn and leave it to go and have other invasives come in. Really take a holistic look at your yard and understand based on what you're observing what might be a more patient approach. That's just some tidbits.

Hannah:
That's great. Thank you so much. We really appreciate both of you taking some time to share your invasive species knowledge with us. For folks who want to know a little bit more about invasive species here in Michigan and get some of those species profiles and find out how to report and all that good stuff, you can go to michigan.gov/invasives.

Hannah:
Once again, thank you Ryan and Greg for being with us today. Everyone, stick around because next up is our mailbag.

Announcer:
Enter the Explore Michigan Wetland Wonders Contest for your shot at Cabela's gift cards ranging in value from $250 to $1000. Consumers Energy, My Birds, and Michigan United Conservation Clubs have partnered with the DNR to hold an annual contest for birders, anglers, photographers, and outdoor enthusiasts. The contest runs from May 1st to July 14th. For details on how to enter, visit michigan.gov/wetlandwonders and click on the Wetland Wonders Challenge.

Hannah:
Welcome back to Wildtalk. Now it's time to answer your questions from our mailbag.

Speaker 6:
One, two, three.

Hannah:
The first question I've got kind of ties in quite nicely with our conversation with Greg Ryan a little bit earlier. I got a question from Joshua. He says, "I found what looks like a jumping worm. Heard it hurts the forest ecosystems. Thought you might want to know."

Holly:
I want to see a jumping worm.

Hannah:
No. It doesn't sound like you do. Fortunately I don't believe they are here. But they are an invasive species. Any possible sightings of an invasive species are really important to let us know about particularly if it's one that's not been found here yet or we're watching out for because early detections is really critical. You can report invasive species, potential sightings, through our Midwest Invasive Species Information Network online reporting form. We will have a link for that in our show notes. You can provide all the details of the sighting, upload pictures, that kind of thing. That lets our specialists take a look at it and determine if this is something we need to respond to.

Hannah:
You can learn more about the invasive species that are currently found in Michigan and species that are on our watch list by visiting michigan.gov/invasives. You can also find a link to our reporting forms on there as well.

Holly:
We don't just need reports of invasive insects and jumping worms, but we also need reports of invasive plants as well. Keep your eye out for those invasive shrubs and other plants that are moving into Michigan. If you want more information about which plants are native and which plants are invasive, that's also a good resource for learning those things.

Holly:
Speaking of invasive species, this question also had to do with one of our invasive species that we have here in Michigan. I got a letter from Irene. She says, "I live on the Clinton River and there's a swan's nest just west of my house that is causing swans to attack boaters. My husband was in a kayak and swans threatened to attack him. Yesterday I saw a swan flying down the river chasing a dinghy. I'm not sure if the dinghy did something to provoke the swan, but my husband didn't, and he was chased. So I'm concerned for my safety and for the safety of others, especially children. I was told if the DNR was contacted that the swan would be moved to another area. Please let me know what the process is. Thank you."

Hannah:
Yes. We get this question quite often with those aggressive mute swans.

Holly:
July is the month when a lot of us are out boating and enjoying the waters in Michigan, so we appreciate hearing reports like this. We generally don't allow relocation of wildlife, period. That's generally because some wildlife species won't survive a relocation process. They might be very stressed by that whole process. There's also concern for spreading diseases by moving animals from one place to another. And if the animal is habituated or have lost their fear of people, moving them will only cause a problem for someone else down the road. So for all those reasons, we typically don't allow the relocation of wildlife.

Holly:
Mute swans, especially, because they are an invasive species we definitely don't want to relocate them because then that just spreads an invasive species problem elsewhere. They are especially aggressive this time of year as they raise their young. If you have mute swans on your property and you want to remove them or their nest and eggs, you must request a permit from your local DNR office. But the permitting process is a little bit complex. Because lake properties are owned by generally multiple landowners, you have to submit a petition that's been signed by 70% of the lake shore owners or 70% of the shoreline ownership or you can also provide a resolution from an elected government official who represents the property owners on that body of water that approves mute swan control for that site.

Holly:
You're going to want to get either approval from your neighbors, sign a petition together or get a resolution from a local government official. This is because it's a pretty contentious issue to remove swans from an area. So we just want to make sure that most of the people on the lakefront are in agreement that the swans should be removed. Now, if the swan is causing an immediate danger for people on the water body, it can be removed by local law enforcement. So if there's imminent danger occurring from these mute swans, you can contact local law enforcement to come in and remove these birds.

Holly:
We do have a webpage with a wealth of information about mute swans in Michigan, including information about how to go about getting nuisance swans removed from your local water body. That website is michigan.gov/muteswans.

Hannah:
All right. Yeah. That's always a tricky situation, especially because they are such large birds, so they can be potentially dangerous. People should certainly exercise caution. Give them their space if you are out boating and see a family of swans.

Holly:
Exactly.

Hannah:
Good idea.

Holly:
Especially when you're out boating around the 4th of July, just give the swans plenty of space and warn your neighbors to do the same as well.

Hannah:
All right. Final question from our mailbag today is from Steven. He says, "I spotted a squirrel with mange in my yard today. It had huge bare spots of pink skin on both sides of its body and a large bare stripe down its back. My major concern is if mange is contagious to other squirrels." This is a good question. We get asked about squirrels with mange quite often. Mange is a skin disease of mammals and it's caused by a little mite. Now, there are a couple different types of mange. There is a specific type of mange that squirrels tend to contract and there's also another type of mange that impacts other species in addition to squirrels.

Hannah:
Depending on the type of mite it is that these particular squirrels have, it may or may not be transmissible to other species. But certainly if one squirrel has mange it could be transmitted to other squirrels. Mange is not unusual to find in squirrels, particularly in areas where they congregate. If you have bird feeders and have a lot of squirrels hanging around and start to notice squirrels with mange, it's probably a good idea to remove those feeders so that the squirrels aren't grouping together quite so much and potentially spreading that disease around.

Hannah:
Now, mange is not necessarily fatal to the squirrels. It could lead to death, especially in the wintertime though just because they could die from cold exposure due to the hair loss. Now, there really isn't anything we can do to treat the squirrels for it, but if for some reason your dog or cat or yourself comes into contact with an animal that looks like it has mange, there are treatments that you can get from your veterinarian to treat your pets. We also would appreciate if you do see diseased wildlife or dead or dying animals, you can provide detailed sighting information on our online reporting form to let us know if you've found something in your area that you think we should be aware of. That's at michigan.gov/eyesinthefield.

Holly:
Thanks Hannah. Well, as we zip this segment to a close, remember if you have questions about wildlife or about hunting in Michigan you can call 517-284-WILD or email dnr-wildlife@michigan.gov. Or just stop by one of our offices. Your question could be featured in next month's mailbag segment.

Announcer:
Michigan's state parks Centennial Geo Tour is here. The Michigan DNR is offering up a fun way to get outdoors and involved in this all-age, modern-day treasure hunt. If you're a geocacher or have ever wanted to give geocaching a try, this is the perfect opportunity. There are 100 brand-new caches in Michigan state parks spread across the Upper and Lower Peninsulas. It's super easy to get started. To find coordinates for these hidden geocaches, you can either download the geocaching app to your smartphone or visit geocaching.com to download the coordinates to your GPS unit.

Announcer:
When you find the cache, sign the logbook, log your find, and move on to the next one. Once you find a certain number of caches you can earn rewards such as silver or gold commemorative Michigan state parks Centennial Geo coins. To learn more about this and other special events, podcasts, historical stories, videos, and more visit michigan.gov/stateparks100.

Hannah:
All right. Welcome back to Wildtalk. For our last little bit here we are going to talk to you a little bit about some habitat grants we have, so an opportunity for folks who might want to do some wildlife habitat improvement. First off, our Wildlife Habitat Grant Program is accepting applications through July 26th. You only have a couple weeks more to get those applications in. Those are for projects enhancing game species habitat are usually given priority for that.

Hannah:
Now this is a really exciting opportunity to partner with others in the state to increase habitat available for game species in Michigan. So we really like being able to offer this opportunity. Funding is available for local, state, federal, and tribal governments as well as profit and nonprofit groups, and individuals even can apply. It's an open, competitive process. Minimum grant amounts will be set at $15,000 with a maximum being the total amount of funds available for the current grant cycle. Now, the 2019 overall available grant amount is approximately one million dollars. Do keep in mind that a minimum match of 10% is required.

Hannah:
The Wildlife Habitat Grant Program, for those of you who might not be aware of it, maybe this is the first time hearing about it. It began back in October of 2013 and is funded from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. The program's main objective is to be able to enhance and improve the quality and quantity of game species habitat in support of our division's strategic plan. Applications, if you're interested in applying for some grant funding, must be postmarked no later than July 26th to be considered. Successful grant applicants will be announced by October 1st. If you want application packet and other information you can find that at michigan.gov/dnr-grants.

Hannah:
We've get a couple other grants specific to deer habitat. Holly, do you want to tell us a little bit about those?

Holly:
Yes. We have the Northern Lower Peninsula Deer Plan Grant Program, which is accepting applications beginning July 15th. This grant is designed to produce deer habitat improvements, to foster productive partnerships between the DNR and sportsman's organizations and private landowners, to reduce the transmission of bovine tuberculosis, especially in the northeastern part of the state, to reduce agricultural damage caused by deer, and to encourage deer harvests, especially antlerless deer harvest in the bovine tuberculosis region.

Holly:
This is a great opportunity that you may want to check out if you live in the Northern Lower Peninsula. Then if you own private land in the Upper Peninsula, the Deer Habitat Improvement Partnership Initiative Grant will offer funding for habitat projects. But that application period doesn't open until January, so stay tuned for more information about that one.

Holly:
All of these grants are really great for improving habitat in the area for game species, for deer, and really improves wildlife habitat for a lot of different species in the state.

Hannah:
Absolutely. As I mentioned before, if you're interested in looking into more details about these grants and looking at the program information, including the handbook and applications, that is all available at michigan.gov/dnr-grants. You can find all those details and get that application in.

Holly:
Awesome. Be sure to check it out and apply.

Hannah:
Thanks for joining us for this episode of Wildtalk. Be sure to come back and join us next month for another great episode.

Holly:
We'll see you in August.

Announcer:
This has been the Wildtalk Podcast, your monthly podcast airing the 1st of each month and offering insights into the world of wildlife across the state of Michigan. You can reach the Wildlife Division at 517-284-9453 or dnr-wildlife@michigan.gov.