Invader Crusader Awards Ceremony

press release: The 12th annual Invader Crusader Award ceremony will take place June 9, 1 p.m. at Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center in Horicon. The public is invited to attend.

The Invader Crusader awards are presented annually by the Wisconsin Invasive Species Council to honor Wisconsin citizens and organizations--both volunteer and professional--for their significant contributions to the prevention, management, education, or research of invasive species that harm Wisconsin's land and waters. For 2016, a total of eleven awards will be presented to individuals and groups from around the state.

The Invader Crusader Awards ceremony kicks off Invasive Species Awareness Month, which runs through June. Invasive Species Awareness Month aims to raise awareness on the impacts of invasive species which threaten Wisconsin's water and land by displacing native plants and animals and by disrupting natural habitat systems. Invasives also threaten the productivity and economic viability of Wisconsin's agricultural and forest lands by creating overwhelming competition with crops and harming trees.

The Wisconsin Legislature created the Wisconsin Invasive Species Council in 2001. The Council is charged with providing recommendations to the Wisconsin DNR on invasive species classification and allocation of funds of invasive species control and conducting studies of issues related to controlling invasive species.