Starry Trek: join the search for Minnesota's invasive species!
DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA - Local officials with the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center (MAISRC) are looking for volunteers for the 7th annual Starry Trek, held on Saturday, August 19, 2023. During the starry trek, volunteers across the state will come together with local partners and receive brief training on identifying starry stonewort and other target invasive species and following protocols for searching for such species. After training, groups are sent out to nearby lakes to search for these invasive species and collect any suspicious organisms they might find.
Starry stonewort is an invasive algae found in 2015 in Lake Koronis and has spread to 23 Minnesota waterbodies since it was found. Starry Trek was founded to help researchers search other lakes across the state for Starry stonewort to understand better how it is being distributed across the State and also to help identify other invasive species that could be in our state waterbodies.
This is a free event with no experience or special equipment required. All ages are welcome, but if they are under 18, they must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Previous Starry Trek Results
Starry Trek began in 2017 when it was organized by the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Research Center and the University of Minnesota Extension in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund funds Starry Trek.
Since it began, over 200 Minnesotans volunteer each year to search over 200 public water accesses all across the State of Minnesota for invasive species. While there were no new starry stonewort discoveries last year, confirmed cases were found in Lake Carnelian (2020), Wolf Lake (2018), Lake Beltrami (2018), and Grand Lake (2017) over the years. 13 other invasive species were found last year by starry trek volunteers in Cass, Dakota, Kanabec, Bubbard, Sherburne, and Washington Counties. The new findings within Dakota County include banded mystery snails in Thompson Lake and Chinese mystery snails in Rogers Lake, Lake Farquar, and Lake Lac Lavon.
Registration
If you are interested in volunteering, you can register at the following link: Starry Trek Registration. Volunteers will meet at the Lakeview Deck at Lebanon Hills Visitors Center at 8:30 AM for training before being sent to check the surrounding lakes.
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