Ottawa Conservation District

A West Michigan CISMA technician pulls invasive yellow-floating heart in Kent County, Mich. (Photo Courtesy, West Michigan CISMA) — A West Michigan CISMA technician pulls invasive yellow floating heart in Kent County, Mich. (Photo Courtesy, Ottawa Conservation District)

Ruth Thornton is a WKTV Contributor. She holds master’s degrees in journalism and fisheries and wildlife, both from Michigan State University. Before working as a journalist, she worked in conservation for many years in Michigan, Minnesota and West Virginia. Her work has appeared in many media outlets, including MLive, the Detroit Free Press, Bridge Michigan, Capital News Service and Great Lakes Echo. You can follow her work via her Substack newsletter, Nature Signals, and at ruththornton.com.

By Ruth Thornton
WKTV Contributor
greer@wktv.org

A local program that helps private landowners, municipalities, public agencies and others manage invasive species was recently awarded $77,000 by the state of Michigan.

“If you enjoy the outdoors at all, whether it’s on land or in the water, it’s hard to look around and not see how invasive species are impacting your ability to enjoy the outdoors, but also those industries that Michigan relies on for its economy,” said Joanne Foreman, invasive species communications coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Ottawa Conservation District received the grant to continue funding the West Michigan Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area, commonly referred to as ‘CISMA,’ for work in seven counties, including the Grand Rapids and Muskegon areas.

The grant provides core funding for the West Michigan CISMA, which coordinates three ‘strike teams’ in the area – including Allegan, Kent, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana and Ottawa counties – and provides support to private and public landowners to control invasives.

Invasive species can result in economic damages

Invasive species are animals, plants and pathogens that don’t naturally occur in an area and harm native vegetation and wildlife. That can result in economic damages.

For example, imported insects and diseases have decimated trees across the landscape.

“We’ve already lost elms. We’ve lost ash trees. We are losing oak trees to oak wilt,” Foreman said. “I think that even people who don’t recognize individual species have noticed changes. Whether you’re out on a lake and you just can’t get out of the weeds with your boat motor, or the fishing has changed.”

The grant was part of $2.4 million awarded to 27 projects throughout the state by the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program. More funding is needed, however – the state had received 55 applications requesting around $8.3 million.

The funding decreased by one-third from 2025, when $3.6 million was awarded. West Michigan’s share also went down, from $96,200 last year.

Murielle Garbarino, the West Michigan CISMA coordinator, spends much of her time applying for more funding.

“We have grants from other state, federal and local entities,” Garbarino said. She also coordinates projects with three local strike teams, housed at conservation districts across the area, who implement the field work.

“Anything on the Michigan DNR’s ‘watch list’ is a priority,” she said, referring to the state’s list of species that “pose an immediate or potential threat to Michigan’s economy, environment or human health,” according to the state’s website.

Among them are forest pests such as Asian longhorned beetle that attacks trees, carp that threaten local fisheries, kudzu that overwhelms native vegetation and yellow floating heart that forms dense mats in ponds and lakes. More than 30 species are on the list.

West Michigan CISMA technicians show off bagged invasive plant material to be disposed off. (Photo Courtesy, Ottawa Conservation District)

Garbarino’s strike teams control invasives such as stiltgrass, cinnamon vine and invasive water-primrose, she said.

“We also do work with hemlock woolly adelgid, which is a forest pest insect, and then Japanese knotweed and invasive phragmites,” she added.

A multi-year effort

Many invasives are tough to kill, so it’s often a multi-year effort.

“One thing about invasive species is that they require a lot of follow-up to make sure that they’re actually eradicated,” Garbarino said.

Foreman encourages people who want to make a difference to volunteer.

“If you’re looking for something to do, to get outside the house, get a hold of your CISMA. They have volunteer workdays. They’re always looking for an extra pair of hands,” she said.

For more information about invasive species, contact Murielle Garbarino at Ottawa Conservation District at murielle.garbarino@macd.org. Contact Kent Conservation District at kcd@macd.org for the Grand Rapids-area strike team.

Crockery Creek Watershed Advisory Council hosts meeting on water best management practices on Jan. 28.

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

The Crockery Creek Watershed Advisory Council announced that it will host a workshop on resources for land and water best management practices at its next business meeting, Tues., Jan. 28, at 6:30pm at Cellar Brewery, 133 E. Division St., in Sparta.

Speaker Ben Jordan of the Ottawa Conservation District will discuss the services it offers to farmers and land owners, as well as funding resources available to implement better environmental practices. The conservation district currently has funding to offer confidential, free or reduced-cost assistance to residents in the Deer and Bass Creek Watersheds wanting to implement better land and water management practices on their property.

“The conservation district hopes to be able make more best management practices resources available in the Crockery Creek Watershed, so we encourage residents to join us at this presentation to learn more and get involved in the process,” Jordan said. “Until then, we are always able to provide advice, technical assistance, and connect residents to resources they need to get started with their own conservation work.”

Agricultural, water and land best management practices are designed to assist land-owners and agricultural producers in: balancing efficient production with sound environmental practices, meeting scientific standards for best environmental protection, runoff prevention, planning for emergencies, and safe fuel and chemical storage.

According to Callie Melton, who handles pubic relations for the Crockery Creek Watershed Advisory Council, there are are number of things people can do right now to help address water problems where they area. She noted that all the waterways are connected.

One example is to let your grass grow to three inches or higher before moving or leave more areas un-mowed.

“The more water captured by the ground, native plans and deeper root systems — will help reduce water flow into the Grand River and Lake Michigan,” Melton said.

For more tips and ideas, visit the the Crockery Creek Watershed Advisory Council meeting and workshop on Jan. 28.at Cellar Brewery.