A La Crosse Boat, Travel and Sport Show visitor pauses to select her favorite Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge image from among many entries in the annual refuge friends-group photography contest. Photo credit: USFWS.

The La Crosse National Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (La Crosse District and Headquarters Offices), the Genoa National Fish Hatchery, and the La Crosse Fish Health Center hosted about 1,500 winter-weary visitors who toured a Service display booth at the 31st annual La Crosse Boat, Travel, and Sports Show, held February 7-10 at the La Crosse (WI) Exhibition Center. 

Staff from these offices, as well as members of their Friends organizations (Friends of the Upper Mississippi Fishery Services, Mississippi Wild), were on hand during the four-day event to greet attendees and report on a variety of local Service programs and activities.  With additional exhibit space graciously provided by the National Weather Service from its adjoining booth, an inviting array of diverse educational brochures, posters, maps, photographs, taxidermy mounts, live fish, and animal pelts were prominently displayed near a main entrance to the exhibition hall.  Fishery topics of frequent interest this year included invasive species, freshwater mussels, fish disease pathogens, and lake sturgeon. 

The opportunity to personally exchange natural resource information with the large, diverse audience that attends this annual mid-winter event makes Service participation here a valuable outreach tool for all La Crosse area offices.