Wetland Coffee Break
The Wetland Coffee Break series helps keep our community of wetland lovers connected and learning about wetlands throughout the year, from anywhere! Bring your coffee and learn about wetlands, the plants and animals that call them home, and the many natural benefits they provide to our communities. Sessions are held on Zoom and feature time for audience Q&A.
See below for a list of upcoming presentations and to register. Once you register, you’ll receive an automatic email including the URL link and password you’ll need to access the meeting. We record and post each presentation so you can watch any that you missed live. You’ll find links to these recordings below, and you can also find them on our Facebook page.
We are grateful to all of the presenters for sharing their knowledge and expertise and to everyone interested in learning more about wetlands! If you are interested in giving a Wetland Coffee Break presentation, or if you have a wetland topic you’d like to see covered, please contact Katie.Beilfuss@wisconsinwetlands.org.
Beginning November 1st, 2024, certification of attendance to Wetland Coffee Break presentations will be available to people seeking continuing education credits. Learn more about how to receive a certification of attendance here.
Register for a Wetland Coffee Break
Reed canarygrass: A comprehensive literature review for wetland managers
Craig Annen, Integrated Restorations, LLC
Friday, November 15, 2024
10:30 am CT
Description
Reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea) is widely considered to be one of the most problematic invasive species of North American wetlands, and reversing a reed canarygrass invasion is generally considered an unrealistic management goal, even on a local scale. In point of fact, sufficient data have been published to understand how and why reed canarygrass invasions occur and also to design and implement effective management strategies for wetlands under threat from this species. However, this information is fragmentary and scattered throughout the relevant scientific literature (more than 1,000 studies from over 300 journals in ten different languages). To address this issue, beginning in 2002, restoration practitioner Craig Annen set out collecting and examining the extensive body of reed canarygrass literature in detail. In this presentation, Craig will summarize this literature review project and introduce an indexed literature compendium that will be made available to the wetland conservation community.
Craig Annen is Operations Manager and Research Director with the firm Integrated Restorations, LLC. Craig is passionate about wetland management and conservation. He is also a gourmet chef and enjoys baseball and waterfowl hunting.
Aerial herbicide application on invasive wetland plants: Planning, process and lessons learned
Jason Fleener, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Friday, December 6, 2024
10:30 am CT
Description
Wisconsin DNR has contracted aerial herbicide application services for several years to combat invasive phragmites, cattail, and other wetland invasive plant species. Jason Fleener, wetland habitat specialist with WDNR, will outline the various steps to plan out and implement a successful spraying project, discuss how to choose the best method for application (helicopter or drone), and how to choose the right chemicals for a project. He will also share the results of treatments and lessons learned.
Jason Fleener is the statewide Wetland Habitat Specialist in Wisconsin DNR’s Bureau of Wildlife Management. He has 13 years of experience in this program overseeing wetland habitat program delivery on DNR managed lands, including hydrologic restorations, wetland infrastructure management, habitat prioritization, wild rice conservation, and wetland grant program support.
Purple loosestrife biocontrol model in Wisconsin
Friday, December 13, 2024
10:30 am CT
Description
The fur trade and the north woods environment
Hayden L. Nelson, University of Kansas
Friday, March 14, 2025
10:30 am CT
Description
Histories of the fur trade typically focus on the economic rise and fall of the European fur market, intercultural connections forged between Indigenous people and Euro-Americans, or the wars between Native Nations due to economic participation and alliances. However, an important yet understudied aspect underlying all of those is the fur trade environment. Between 1630 and 1830, fur hunters exterminated more than 95 percent of the region’s beaver population. In this talk, Hayden Nelson will share how the historical overhunting of beavers substantially altered the forested wetlands around Lake Superior. He’ll also discuss the interconnected ways in which other animals responded to the decline of beaver.
Hayden L. Nelson is a PhD Candidate in History at the University of Kansas, where he specializes in environmental and Indigenous history in the North American West. His dissertation, “The North Woods: An Environmental History from the Pleistocene to the Pyrocene,” investigates how both human and non-human actors interacted with and transformed the transnational forested region of the western Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi watersheds from the end of the Wisconsin glaciation to the beginnings of industrial logging. His work has been supported by the American Society for Environmental History, the Newberry Library, the United States Forest Service, and more.
Watch previous presentations
Click “Older Entries” below to see more past presentations, or view our Google Sheet index of past presentations here.
Wetland Coffee Break: Blanding’s turtle: A true wetland denizens
Join Rebecca Christoffel to learn more of the fascinating life history of Blanding’s turtles as well as some current conservation efforts underway to help their populations.
Wetland Coffee Break: Wetlands in Wisconsin’s mega moraines
One of the largest concentrations of wetlands in our state is found in a unique area of large hummocky moraines that spans across north-central Wisconsin.
Wetland Coffee Break: On, in, and underwater: Life cycles and life history of wetland invertebrates
Join Dr. Jessica Orlofske of UW-Parkside to learn about Wisconsin’s wetland invertebrates that skate on the surface, swim in the water column, or crawl along the substrate.
Wetland Coffee Break: Wetlands and Phragmites: Management at a landscape scale
Presenter Matt Puz discusses wetland dynamics as well as Phragmites biology and ecology, and how understanding these two concepts can lead to more effective management.
Wetland Coffee Break: Restoring wetlands in the Mukwonago River watershed
Hear about the the experience of project planning, restoration, and maintenance of the Mukwonago Davis Restoration Project, and the trials and tribulations of implementing a large wetland restoration project through key partnerships.
Wetland Coffee Break: Let’s talk turtles!
Ever wonder what kind of turtle you just found crossing the road, or how to tell one kind of turtle from another, or where to look to find them?