February 9^th, students and professionals gathered at Lime Creek Nature Center near Mason City, Iowa for its 19^th Annual Iowa Women in Natural Resources Conference.  

In attendance were the director and assistant director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, both making encouraging remarks about the accomplishments of IWINR.  

Presentations were held in the morning and early afternoon of this one day conference.  Louise Mauldin, Fishery Biologist for the LaCrosse FRO, gave a presentation on aquatic nuisance species.  She talked about several species introduced to the Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi River ecosystems that have caused serious ecological and economic impacts. 

She also talked about potential threats of the round goby and Asian carp to the two ecosystems and the early detection and monitoring efforts currently underway in the Illinois waterway by the USFWS, other federal, state, and local agencies and many other partners.  Louise discussed some of the tools available that could potentially be used to prevent, slow down, and stop the spread of Asian Carp and other invasive species.

She concluded the presentation by showing an Asian Carp video to reinforce the seriousness of these potential thr

Photo by USGS

eats to conference attendees.

The Iowa Women in Natural Resources (IWINR) is a nonprofit organization, established in 1998. 

IWINR promotes communication among all persons in natural resource fields and provides professional and environmental education opportunities.