ORAL PRESENTATION CO-AUTHORS: Ben Yahr (Resolution Studios LLC); Ben Lee (Fish Creek Restoration LLC); Alice Thompson (Thompson and Associates); Mike Healy (Adaptive Restoration LLC); Tom Bernthal (Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy) TITLE: Tackling aquatic invasive species with surveys, drones, and soil cores in the Pheasant Branch Conservancy ABSTRACT: Our ability to control Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) is improved when we have multiple types of data, both current and historical. In this talk, we’ll discuss some of the types of data used to develop an AIS plan for Pheasant Branch Conservancy. The Conservancy comprises more than 600 acres of remnant and restored habitat managed by the City of Middleton, Dane County, and the Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy (FOPBC). In 2025, FOPBC received a grant from the Wisconsin DNR to write a plan for invasive species management on more than 275 acres in the southern portion of the Conservancy. Our team of five professionals from four companies gathered data using vegetation surveys, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, “drone”) high-definition and IR imagery, and soil cores and compared these data to historic surveys and imagery. The northern portion of the project area contains high-density invasive cattail stands mixed with higher-quality Sparganium and tussock sedge communities. The southern portion is dominated by reed canary grass. Common buckthorn and sandbar willow are common throughout. The current vegetation is particularly influenced by human-made structures such as a levy that channels nutrients and sediments into the southern portion of the Conservancy. Using these different data sources, we then created an AIS management plan that prioritized high-quality areas and provided short- and long-term management recommendations for the three stakeholders. BIO: Evelyn has been a restoration ecologist with Adaptive Restoration since 2021 and works with diverse private, municipal, and not-for-profit landowners to restore health, robust native ecosystems. She earned her PhD from UW-Madison in botany and worked for many years at the Chicago Botanic Garden on projects in conservation genetics and prairie diversity impacts on restoration success.