Neighbor News
UCS grad helps protect the Great Lakes
2011 Ford grad charts spread of European frog-bit
A Henry Ford II graduate has joined a team of biologists hoping to stop the spread of an invasive water plant in the Upper Peninsula.
Alexis Schefka, a 2011 graduate of Utica Community Schools, is helping Lake Superior State University research team charting the spread of European frog-bit into River Bay in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Schefka, pictured in the center of the above photo, is studying marine and freshwater science at Lake Superior State University.
The plant turned up during an ongoing wetlands-monitoring project this past summer.
Boaters can limit frog-bit’s spread by merely pulling any weeds off of boat propellers.
The plant, which has made limited appearances downstate, has also been spotted in the St. Mary’s river Munuscong Bay, just north of Raber.
Biologists hope public education, some strategic pulling, and a yet-to-be-determined herbicide might curb the plant’s impact on the Great Lake region.
