Look Out Aquatic Invasive Species!

With field season ramping up by the day, River Alliance of Wisconsin welcomes Ava Pfeffer as our 2017 La Crosse Area Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Intern. Ava graduated from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with a Biology degree this past spring and will team up with Scott Caven (our La Crosse Area AIS Coordinator) this summer to tackle AIS issues on the Mississippi River and major tributaries in La Crosse, Trempealeau and Buffalo counties.

The focus of Ava’s position will include conducting Clean Boats Clean Waters watercraft inspections at high-traffic boat landings, participating in statewide AIS prevention activities including the Landing Blitz, Drain Campaign, Bait Dealer Initiative, Project Riverine Early Detectors (RED) and the 2017 AIS Snapshot Day, and assisting at trainings, workshops, educational outreach events, AIS monitoring and control efforts, and educating tournament anglers on AIS at major fishing tournaments on the Upper Mississippi River, including Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) and Bass Fishing League (BFL).

Ava is excited to be joining the River Alliance team and looks forward to doing her part to keep Wisconsin’s waters free of aquaitic invasive species. Ava shared, “I am thrilled to help the La Crosse area fight those pesky invasive species this summer. Thank you to the River Alliance for choosing me to be a part of this team. I can’t wait to get out there to educate the community about AIS!”