Detecting an invasive species early provides the most realistic chance for management activities to successfully eradicate the population. However, aquatic invasive plants are often cryptic and difficult to locate before widespread population growth. Detecting a species requires thorough surveillance of all preferred habitat for a given species. Documentation of surveillance efforts provides critical information on where the target species is found and where it is not.
European frog-bit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae; EFB) has continued to spread across the Great Lakes, including inland expansion in Michigan since 2016 and the initial discovery in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 2021. Efforts are being made by various conservation groups and agencies to better understand EFB distribution. This document is intended to provide a standardized process for detecting EFB and, if found, how to delimit the population.