ORAL PRESENTER CO-AUTHOR: Matthew Puz, WDNR TITLE: Expansion of the European Frog-bit Collaborative: Applications in Wisconsin waterbodies ABSTRACT: European frog-bit (Hydrocharis morsus- ranae L.; EFB) is an invasive free-floating aquatic plant of concern to resource managers, waterfront property owners, and recreational users due to its potential negative effects on coastal wetlands and inland waters. The EFB Collaborative was established in 2018 to improve coordination and collaboration among stakeholders and build consensus on next steps for EFB management and research in Michigan. However, subsequent EFB detections in Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario resulted in interest to grow the Collaborative. In October 2022, the Great Lakes Commission received funding through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to provide backbone support and expand the EFB Collaborative’s reach across the Great Lakes region. The EFB Collaborative created and maintains GIS-based tools for prioritizing locations for EFB monitoring and field data collection, which have been implemented in multiple states, including Wisconsin. In 2021, the first population of EFB in Wisconsin was documented in several nearshore coastal areas of Green Bay. In response to this discovery, a response team formed and is working to control existing populations, detect new populations early in the invasion, prevent the spread through outreach, and expand the knowledge base of this species by supporting research opportunities. These efforts have revealed a larger species distribution and density than originally known. The response team is now shifting its goals of regional control to regional containment and control at high-priority sites while continuing to strengthen regional partnerships and leverage the experiences of other jurisdictions through involvement with the EFB Collaborative. BIO: Taaja Tucker-Silva is a senior data analyst supporting a variety of invasive species and water resources projects at the Great Lakes Commission in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She has a bachelor’s degree in fisheries and wildlife from Michigan State University (2008) and a master’s degree in conservation biology from Central Michigan University (2011).