On February 26, 2008 Alpena NFWCO biologist Jim McFee took part in the Mason Elementary School science night.  The school is located in Grosse Point Woods, Mich., on the shores of Lake St. Clair.  Science night consisted of several rooms that more than 100 students and parents could visit.  Most rooms had displays and information dealing with physics related topics.  The Fish and Wildlife Service room dealt with educating the students and parents about invasive species and control measures.

The night was filled with questions and answers about aquatic nuisance species.  A display board filled with information on nuisance species triggered the questions in addition to a DVD on Asian carp.  The display board contained information on round goby, Eurasian ruffe, sea lamprey, zebra mussels and Asian carp.  The students also had a chance to look at specimens of the invasive species preserved in plastic.  These items gave the students a chance to see some of the species first hand, to help them identify them on their next fishing or lake trip.  Plenty of literature was also available to take home.  The big message of the night was to help stop the spread of these unwanted species by cleaning boats and not dumping bait.  This event once again shows how education is one of the strongest tools natural resource professionals can use in dealing with invasive species.