About

goals
activities

Overview

Invasive crayfish pose a substantial threat to aquatic habitats in the Great Lakes Region because of their ability to reduce habitat quality and dramatically alter aquatic food webs. Currently, efforts to prevent the introduction and spread of invasive crayfish consist largely of reducing the size of existing populations and encouraging people to refrain from releasing crayfish into new bodies of water. The ICC focuses on improving upon our collective management and outreach capabilities.

Membership

The ICC includes representatives of Great Lakes local, state, and federal natural resource agencies, universities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and private businesses. These experts and stakeholders are working towards the region's collective ability to manage and control invasive crayfish. New members are always welcome. Join Us!

Goals

The ICC's goals will be defined by the needs of the ICC members. These goals are being identified through a needs assessment being conducted by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) in conjunction with social scientists at the Illinois Natural History Survey.

Activities

Below are some of the ICC activities planned by IISG and funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Please note that these activities may change once member needs and ICC goals are identified through the member needs assessment.

  • A website that acts as a one-stop-shop for invasive crayfish information.
  • Four meetings to advance identified goals.
  • An electronic mailing list that facilitates communication among ICC members.
  • Four webinars that address information needs and knowledge gaps of the ICC membership.
  • An invasive crayfish symposium at the 2018 meeting of the International Association of Great Lakes Research.
  • Identification of crayfish species most likely to negatively impact the Great Lakes Region based on ND STAIRcrayfish risk assessment results, occurrence in trade, and climate models.
  • Identification of ICC member research needs.
  • Identification of ICC member outreach needs.
  • A framework for creating invasive crayfish best management practices.
  • An outreach tool for buyers and sellers of invasive crayfish.
  • An experiential learning workshop for teachers on invasive crayfish.
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