News & Events
2024 EFB Collaborative App Summary
January 7, 2025
The European Frog-bit (EFB) Collaborative hosts two Esri Field Maps apps that allow users to collect EFB monitoring and management information from a smartphone or tablet: the Delimitation App and Frog-BATT. For more information about how to use the apps or join the ArcGIS Online EFB group, check out our ArcGIS Hub site at hub.efbcollaborative.net. Let’s see what data we’ve collected so far!
What is the delimitation app?
2024 marked the fourth year of the EFB Collaborative’s effort to delimit the extent of EFB across the Great Lakes. App users track areas surveyed for EFB and note the density of EFB, which ranges from “absent” to “monoculture (nearly 100% of area).” Users can also note where EFB was found but removed. Surveys can be expressed as lines (to show a path traveled), polygons (to show the total area surveyed or to show the extent of a large patch of EFB), or points (to mark a small patch of EFB and/or to provide additional data not captured by the survey form of a nearby line or polygon). Find associated maps, an updated standard operating procedure (SOP), and a training video on the Hub site!
What did users accomplish in 2024?
Last year, app users and participants of the Phragmites Adaptive Management Framework collected 1,170 records from Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Ontario. That’s over 312 miles of line surveys and 1,593 acres of polygon surveys! The maps below show the number of survey points/lines/polygons per county and counties where EFB was found in 2024. With a whopping 198 records, the organization collecting the most data in 2024 was the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources – thank you for the work you do tracking the westward expansion of EFB!
What data have we collected so far?
Since data collection began in 2021, 9,646 records have been collected, including 2,590 miles of line surveys and 4,295.6 acres of polygon surveys. See the maps below for a summary of where surveys have occurred and where EFB has been found. Our data collection all-stars include Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Departments, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Saginaw Bay CISMA, and Friends of the Rouge, all with over 200 observations!
What’s next?
This December, all delimitation data underwent an extensive review process for the first time since data collection began that will now continue yearly. Once finalized, all EFB observation data will be shared with the Midwest Invasive Species Information Network (MISIN) for inclusion in their database. To help us keep up with data review, all observations must be finalized yearly by December 1!
In early 2025, we will provide a new layer for submitting this year’s data, share the quality-checked data with the ArcGIS user group, update the delimitation mapper with the quality-checked data, and we will also provide a way for users to quickly tabulate how many records they or their organizations have collected each year.
Reminder for users
As a quick reminder, a point should be placed at the end of a line/polygon survey or set of line/polygon surveys. The point survey form allows you to submit much more data about a site than the line or polygon surveys alone. See the SOP for more details!
What is Frog-BATT?
Frog-BATT, the European Frog-bit Before-and-After Treatment Tracker, is a new app launched as a beta version in 2024 designed to replace the STIMP or Standard Treatment Impact Monitoring Protocol. The Frog-BATT app allows users to monitor before and after managing EFB, and also submit treatment information. This data will be used to determine which techniques are working to reduce EFB infestations across the Great Lakes basin. The complete version of the app will be available for the 2025 field season, and the newly published SOP can be found here!
What have we collected so far?
In 2024, 11 organizations enrolled 84 Frog-BATT management zones in Michigan and Wisconsin (see map below for locations). Each management zone serves as a repository for yearly monitoring and management reports. Next year we will be able to compare pre- and post-treatment monitoring data to see which treatments were effective!
Thank you!
Major thanks to all the folks who helped develop and test the Frog-BATT app in 2024. We couldn’t have done it without you! Do you have feedback for the app? Let us know!