‘Starry Trek’ Volunteers Wanted to Help Search MN Lakes for AIS

Lake-loving volunteers are needed across the state of Minnesota on Saturday, August 19 to participate in a search for starry stonewort – an aggressive, aquatic invasive algae that can spread easily and grows into dense mats at and below the lake’s surface.

Starry Trek is an annual event where members of the public first gather at training sites to learn how to identify starry stonewort and other aquatic invasive species. The newly trained participants then branch out to local water accesses to search for signs of AIS.

Starry stonewort was first found in Minnesota in 2015 and has since spread to 19 Minnesota lakes, including recently Blackduck Lake in Beltrami County.

Training sites for Starry Trek are located throughout Minnesota, including these in the Lakeland viewing area:

• Zippel Bay State Park in Lake of the Woods County
• Big Turtle Lake boat launch near Bemidji
• Lake George Community Park
• Hackensack Park Pavilion in Hackensack
• Itasca Soil and Water Conservation District in Grand Rapids
• Marcell Family Center

The event will be held on Saturday, August 19 and runs from 8:30 in the morning until 1:30 in the afternoon. More information on the event and how to register can be found on the Starry Trek website.