Northwest Michigan Invasive Species Network

05/22/2026

Time for a "best practices" reminder as we head into Memorial Day weekend! We hope that you have amazing plans for the weekend, but we also hope that includes buying firewood where you burn it. Transporting firewood can help spread forest pests, like oak wilt, spotted lanternfly, and Asian longhorn beetle (not yet in Michigan). You can protect the natural areas that you love to visit by supporting local businesses (or your State Park!) and buying your firewood locally. We'll also thank you - we have enough invasive species to manage already!

MDARD and DNR remind Michiganders to use safe firewood practices during camping season Michigan Department of Natural Resources sent this bulletin at 05/19/2026 10:13 AM EDT Share or view as webpage | Update preferences News Release The following news release was issued earlier today by the Michigan...

05/21/2026

Have you heard the good news yet? 🎉🎉

Six species added to Michigan’s invasive plant lists following MI Commission of Ag & Rural Development vote Michigan Department of Natural Resources sent this bulletin at 05/21/2026 02:12 PM EDT Share or view as webpage | Update preferences News Release The following news release was issued as a b...

05/20/2026

🎉It's the time of year again! 🎉
ISN will be hosting their second annual Beats at the Barn fundraiser! Bring a chair to listen to the Stay At Home Sons (a local Frankfort band and back for year 2!), grab something to drink and eat, buy a raffle ticket to try and win a prize (details on raffle coming!), and help support ISN. We'll have Stormcloud Brewing Company for some great beer, Taqueria Mosqueda & more for some great food, and, of course, our handcrafted white wine sangria (back by popular demand!). Tickets are $25 pre-sale, and $30 at the door, and come with one drink ticket per ticket purchase! Beer tickets, raffle tickets, ISN merchandise, and food are available for purchase separately.
You can buy tickets using the QR code, or by visiting our website here: www.HabitatMatters.org/beats-at-the-barn

05/12/2026

Time for more garlic mustard events! The rest of our yearly garlic mustard workbees are happening next week. Come join us at one of our upcoming events! If you bring your willingness to pull garlic mustard, we'll bring some donuts and trash bags 🎉

🌱 Tuesday, May 19th, 10am - 12pm: Magoon Creek Natural Area
🌱 Wednesday, May 20th, 10am - 12pm: in partnership with Leelanau Conservancy at Clay Cliffs Natural Area
🌱 Thursday, May 21st, 10am - 12pm: in partnership with the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy and Benzie Conservation District at Railroad Point Natural Area
You can sign up for these events on our website at www.HabitatMatters.org/Events - signing up for an event ensures that there's a donut waiting for you!

05/08/2026

In our week full of garlic mustard, if you're looking for something to do next Friday, come join ISN and the Grand Traverse Conservation District for our annual restoration workbee at Hickory Meadows! Help manage garlic mustard populations and then do some active restoration by planting some tree seedlings. You can register by visiting our website here: www.HabitatMatters.org/Events.

05/07/2026

We sincerely hope you don't have any invasive Japanese barberry in your landscape... but if you do: we are once again giving landowners the opportunity to trade-in Japanese barberry shrubs for a coupon* good for a non-invasive alternative or service!

Register for one of our events and bring us your whole barberry plants to be disposed of properly. In exchange, receive a coupon to a local horticultural business that participates in ISN's Go Beyond Beauty program (see second graphic). This ensures that any replacement plant or service will be non-invasive and support an array of wildlife!

We are hosting two trade-ups this year:
1. FULL/REGISTRATION CLOSED: Tuesday, June 2nd from 4-7pm with Manistee Conservation District in Bear Lake
2. Saturday, June 6th from 10am-noon at our 'new' offices in Traverse City

*Each Japanese barberry plant can be exchanged for a $5 coupon (up to $40 per household/property). Registration required*
Registration closes Memorial Day or sooner if we reach capacity.
Find out more at: www.HabitatMatters.org

05/05/2026

It's here! ISN's garlic mustard dumpster was placed yesterday afternoon, and is ready for business. You can find that dumpster in our overflow lot at our office - for a pin on a map, check out our website at www.HabitatMatters.org/Garlic-Mustard-Dumpsters. Don't forget to double bag those garlic mustard bags to prevent spread, and to use the helpful QR code (or use the website link above) to report what you've dumped. ISN uses these reports to find grant funding to support this program.
Happy garlic mustard pulling!

11/24/2025

As the days turn colder, our hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) crew has wrapped up their treatment season for the year - that means it's time for detection survey work! In our service area (Manistee, Benzie, Leelanau, and Grand Traverse Counties) there are three pockets of known infestation: Filer Township in Manistee County, Frankfort in Benzie County, and Leelanau Township in Leelanau County. Our HWA crew will be focusing our detection efforts in the pockets of these infestations, as well as Grand Traverse County which remains undetected at this time.
You can help our crew! If you have hemlocks (you can learn how to identify hemlocks *and* HWA in this article) you can check them for HWA. If you think you've found something suspicious and want a second opinion you can send pictures to our HWA crew at isnhemlockwoollyadelgidcrew@habitatmatters. And if you ever have any questions about HWA, don't hesitate to reach out to our crew as well!

Winter is the best time to check trees for hemlock woolly adelgid Michigan Department of Natural Resources sent this bulletin at 11/20/2025 10:23 AM EST Share or view as webpage | Update preferences News Release Nov. 20, 2025Contact Cheryl Nelson, 231-287-1714, or Joanne Foreman, 517-284-5814 Winter...