Northwest Michigan Invasive Species Network

09/03/2026

As we move into Labor Day weekend, make sure that you're helping to protect the areas you're traveling to! We always tell people to "buy it where you burn it" to reduce the chance of spreading invasive forest pests and pathogens. Now you can find suppliers who are going the extra step to make sure they're supplying certified invasive-free wood, by heat treating the wood they sell. You can find more information, including the logo to look for on certified firewood, on the latest press release from MDARD!

MDARD, DNR Expand “Don’t Move Firewood” Campaign Ahead of Labor Day Weekend Michigan Dept of Agriculture & Rural Development sent this bulletin at 09/02/2026 12:45 PM EDT For immediate release: September 2, 2026 Media contact: Lynsey Mukomel, 517-290-1734 MDARD, DNR Expand “Don’t Move Fire...

09/02/2026

Come join ISN and the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy for our 3rd annual restoration workbee on Elberta Beach! We'll be continuing to manage spotted knapweed monoculture patches, and replanting the areas with native beach grasses and flowers, generously provided by GTRLC, plus some common milkweed from Birdsfoot Native Nursery! Join us at the first lot on Elberta Beach at 9am to give back to this wonderful beach! Register here: www.HabitatMatters.org/Events.

08/27/2026

We still have our Leelanau County Autumn Olive Workshop next week! Don't forget to sign up if you'd like to learn how to identify and manage autumn olive! Also on hand will be NRCS contact Jason, who will be talking about a reimbursement program landowners can enroll in to offset some of their costs, and Leelanau Conservation District's Forestry Assistance Program Forester Jake, who will be available to answer any of your forestry-related questions.
Register on our website at: www.HabitatMatters.org/Events

08/26/2026

Good morning! Due to low registrations, we'll be cancelling our Manistee Autumn Olive Workshop. If you were thinking about coming, don't fret! You can join us in Leelanau County on Wednesday, September 2nd, or you can watch our recorded workshop from 2020 on our YouTube page (link below). Some of the information is out of date, including FAP Forester Josh Shields' ready-to-use herbicide study, and current EQIP rates for woody invasive management. If you'd like that information, feel free to email Audrey at [email protected].
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We'll be hosting this workshop again next year, but in the meantime you can always reach out to ISN to ask any questions you might have about your specific project. Apologies for the cancellation!
Link to ISN's YouTube: www.youtube.com/

08/14/2026

Don't forget! Our first workshop will be taking place *next week* in Manistee County! Reserve your space today - not only can you learn how to protect your hemlocks, but you might be able to get some free tree tubes! Register on our website at www.HabitatMatters.org/Events.
See you there!

08/05/2026

🎉New workshop opportunity alert 🎉
ISN is teaming up with our FAP Foresters to help educate landowners about how to identify and manage hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) and how to consider the long-term effects of hemlock woolly adelgid on your forests. Additionally, landowners can sign up to receive a free property survey from your local FAP Forester, and qualifying landowners could receive up to 60 free tree tubes to help protect forest regeneration!
Registration is required for these events. You can register on our website at www.HabitatMatters.org/Events. Many thanks to Manistee Conservation District and Leelanau Conservation District for joining us for these events!

07/31/2026

*edit* It's been brought to our attention that our graphic has the wrong day of the week for our Manistee workshop! Our Manistee workshop will be happening on THURSDAY, August 27th. Apologies about that!*
Do you have an autumn olive problem? Want to learn what to do about it? Boy howdy, do we have an event for you! ISN is getting ready to host their yearly Autumn Olive Workshops, where you can learn why autumn olive is such a problem, how you can manage it, and more information about cost-share programs that can help you possibly cover some of the costs! Join us for one of our two workshops this year by registering on our website at www.HabitatMatters.org/Events
We're excited to once again partner with the Manistee Conservation District for our Manistee event, where you can connect with Manistee and Benzie County's NRCS office and Manistee County's FAP Forester, Josh Shields. Come to our Leelanau event to connect with Leelanau and Grand Traverse County's NRCS office and Benzie, Leelanau, and Grand Traverse County's FAP Forester, Jake Bournay, located at the Leelanau Conservation District. There will be lots of information available so make sure you bring your questions!

07/28/2026

It's been just over a month since our Beats at the Barn fundraiser, and we wanted to send a HUGE thanks to all our attendees and supporters! With your help, we raised just over $12,000, which helps ISN buy things that our grants can't cover, including vehicle repairs so our crews can safely navigate our four-county service area.
Thanks as well to our friends at Stormcloud Brewing Company for some great beer and to Taqueria Mosqueda & more for showing up to provide everyone with some great food! We tested out a new raffle this year, and had some great donors (🎉thanks to our donors as well! 🎉) who provided amazing prizes that attendees could purchase tickets to try and win them. This helped us raise almost $400!
If you couldn't attend, but still want to support ISN, please consider donating. While our grants support our active work, they are limited in their ability to support all our behind the scenes work - utilities, rent, and, of course, vehicle expenses! You can donate on our website here: www.HabitatMatters.org/Donation-To-ISN.

07/17/2026

We have one last baby's breath workbee this year! Come join ISN and the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy out on Elberta Beach to help manage this invasive species. Great views of Lake Michigan and the surrounding dunes guaranteed! 🌊
Registration is appreciated to make sure we have enough shovels. You can register on our website here: www.HabitatMatters.org/Events.

07/15/2026

ISN is partnering with Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore to host a workshop to talk about identification and management of common invasive species, including autumn olive, baby's breath, and slender false brome. Learn about chemical, physical, and cultural management techniques, and try a few physical management techniques for yourself! Registration isn't required, but is appreciated - register here: www.HabitatMatters.org/Events.
Can't make it to this event? Don't forget that we host workshops dedicated to autumn olive management every year! You can find our two workshops (one in Manistee County, one in Leelanau County this year) on our Events page as well.