Courses in Michigan

Are you a fisheries biologist, botanist, environmental consultant, biological technician, aquatic biologist, extension agent, college student, etc. who would like to improve your knowledge of aquatic plant identification? If so, be sure to sign up for the Gratiot Lake Conservancy-sponsored AQUATIC PLANT WORKSHOP in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula this summer! This class will also be useful to volunteer monitors or lake association members interested in learning how to identify aquatic plants and invasive species in order to protect healthy ecosystems in inland lakes.

WHERE: near Eagle Harbor (Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula)
WHEN: August 20 (Sat.) and August 21 (Sun.) 2011
9:00 AM to 4:00 PM each day
INSTRUCTOR: botanist Janet Marr
SPONSOR: Gratiot Lake Conservancy http://www.mlswa.org/Gratiot-Lake-1508/
FEE: Space is limited and advance enrollment is required. The fee for this 2-day
workshop is $70 ($55 for Gratiot Lake Conservancy members). An enrollment form is
part of the pdf attachment to this email or downloadable at
http://www.mlswa.org/Gratiot-Lake-1508/AquaticPlantWrkshp2011.htm

SCHOLARSHIP: There will be a Janet Avery Scholarship available. Interested
applicants should either email Bonnie Hay at belh@verizon.net
or write to Gratiot Lake Conservancy, PO Box 310, Mohawk MI 49950. Please indicate
your affiliation, why you would like to attend the workshop, and how you intend to use what you learn in your work, studies, or teaching.

WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES: Workshop activities will take place both inside the
classroom and in the field at several Keweenaw lakes and channels/coves connected to
Lake Superior. Submersed and floating-leaved aquatic plants will be identified with a
focus on identification of pondweeds (Potamogeton and Stuckenia species) and rosetteformers including the Michigan endangered awlwort (Subularia aquatica). Techniques for collecting and herbarium specimen/label preparation will be demonstrated.

Differences between aquatic invasive species such as Eurasian water-milfoil
(Myriophyllum spicatum) and curly-leaf pondweed (Potamogeton crispus) and their
native relatives will be discussed.

GUIDE TO AQUATIC PLANTS: An aquatic plant handbook (Guide to Aquatic Plants
of Gratiot Lake and other Keweenaw County Lakes) and accompanying CD will be given
to each participant free of charge and will be used during the workshop.

TWO OTHER GRATIOT LAKE-SPONSORED 2011 WORKSHOPS:
Beginners Workshop on Dragonflies and Damselflies, August 13, 10am - 4pm
Info at: http://www.mlswa.org/Gratiot-Lake-1508/DragonflyWrkshp2011.htm
Sketching Nature in Watercolor at Gratiot Lake, July 16 & 17, 10am - 4pm
Info at: http://www.mlswa.org/gratiot-lake-1508/BrandenburgWkshop2011.htm

TWO ISLE ROYALE WORKSHOPS STILL HAVE A FEW SPACES LEFT!
Isle Royale Botany Workshop, June 13-18, 2011
Isle Royale Nature Photography Workshop, June 17-22, 2011
Both workshops are sponsored by the Isle Royale & Keweenaw Parks Association.
Info for both workshops at http://irkpa.org/ Click on “upcoming.”