Welcome to the Spring Thaw Throwdown!

Welcome and thanks for joining us for the Spring Thaw Throwdown where, over the next few weeks, 16 species will be competing for the title of “Least Wanted Aquatic Invasive Species in Wisconsin”–a notorious title indeed! We’ll be your hosts–Sara Fox and Tim Campbell–and we’ll navigate you through these next few weeks of AIS excitement.

How the tournament works

The tournament will be single elimination and will consist of 3 rounds. Instead of competing on a court, which would be difficult for a bunch of plants, animals and viruses, the winners will be determined by survey results from water lovers all over the state.

Each species in the tournament was selected because of its current presence in Wisconsin or its ability to spread to Wisconsin. Each week, you’ll find a new post here with stats for each team including how to identify them, their impacts, their current range, and actions you can take to prevent their spread.

Do a little research, or guess on a whim. But whatever you do, don’t forget to let us know what your least wanted invasive species are!

Jump ahead to the sections for:

In anticipation of the tournament, you can find a complete bracket here. Once you’ve filled out your bracket, send it to Sara Fox at the email address listed on the bracket.

If you submit a perfect bracket, you’ll be eligible for some Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers gear!