The state Department of Natural Resources has updated the state’s list of invasive species that people are prohibited from having, or that the agency wants to prevent from spreading.
During a Natural Resources Board meeting on Wednesday, staff member Dreux Watermolen said it’s possible to enforce the list.
“So when we work with the pet industry, for example, and our educators go out, they don’t go with the whole list and say ‘Here’s all the stuff you’ve got to avoid,’” said Watermolen. “They go and they say, ‘Here are the three species that are our concern off the plant list that you’re selling in your aquariums. Here’s the animals that you need to avoid.’”
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Watermolen said the DNR will also reach out to both vendors and wholesalers.
As part of the invasive species list change, the DNR has reduced the emerald ash borer from “prohibited” to “restricted,” acknowledging the beetle’s spread to 19 Wisconsin counties.
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