Michigan environmental advocates say to be on lookout for invasive red swamp crawfish, stiltgrass

Environmental advocates are asking everyone to be on the lookout for a couple of invasive species that are making Michigan their home and causing some damage. 

"Red swamp crawfish, or crayfish, or crawdad ... are, actually, the Louisiana crawfish, so they're native to the southeastern United States, they're your typical crawfish boil crawfish," said Molly Wozniak, an invasive species coordinator with the Genesee, Lapeer, Livingston and Shiawassee Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area. 

Wozniak said these kinds of crawfish are popular as bait and in aquariums, but when they're released into the wild in Michigan, they become a problem because they can damage the wider habitat, degrade water quality and lack natural predators to keep their numbers down. 

"We haven't seen them in a lot of large lakes, but that's not to say that they can't live there, but they do like the swampy areas, so we tend to find them in slow-moving sort of mucky water," said Wozniak. 

She said that if anyone encounters the crawfish found on the Howell High School campus, they can remove them themselves, but they should check the markings. The half moons on the crawfish's back and their spotty claws identify the red swamp crawfish. There are native crawfish that wouldn't like being removed from their home. 

"If you find a crayfish that you think is a little bit suspicious definitely take a picture and send it to us, you can collect it to you know prevent it from going back into the environment but there are eight native species of crayfish in Michigan," said Wozniak. 

Wozniak said that anyone on the lookout for invasive species should also keep an eye out for grasses like stiltgrass. It's also not native and can really overpopulate if it's not managed. 

"We see it oftentimes in kind of edge habitats, so like it's kind of on the edge of forests and roadsides, ditches and parking lots. It's not one that you would see, like in the middle of your yard," she said. 

Wozniak said it's an easy grass to pull and toss out with your yard waste, and that'll help slow the stiltgrass's growth.