Aquatic Invasive Species
Project Riverine Early Detection

The River Alliance of Wisconsin recognized a need for more monitoring of invasive species in river corridors, and developed Project Riverine Early Detection (RED) with the support of a DNR AIS grant. The goal of Project RED is to engage river groups in invasive species issues, and document the spread of a variety of important invaders. They built the project from the ground up, developing monitoring protocols, fact sheets, and a volunteer monitoring handbook.

The River Alliance of Wisconsin hosted six Project RED trainings during summer 2009. So far they have partnered with Florence County Lake and Rivers, Friends of the White River, Wild Rivers TU, Bad River Watershed Association, Rock River Coalition, Southeast TU, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Madcity Paddlers, and Friends of the Platte River to train over 50 individuals to monitor their rivers and streams for invasive species.

Project RED monitoring data are being collected in the www.CitSci.org database, and can be found by searching for Project RED.