The Minnesota DNR and the Wisconsin DNR are teaming up to stop the spread of Invasive Fish Species such as Silver and Bighead Carp in the upper Mississippi River basin, including the St. Croix River. Come and see the Minnesota DNR’s Electrofishing Boat demonstration (water conditions permitting).

There will also be display booths at the Beach House Pavilion. You will have the opportunity to meet the Aquatics and Fisheries Biologists who are working hard to stop these large and voracious fish from out competing our native fish. These agencies will also have display booths with with an aquarium setup to view the fish, technology demonstrations and printed materials. Information on controlling other aquatic and terrestrial invasive species will be available.

Watch a video of the 2024 Hudson St. Croix RiverFest Invasive Species Control on the St. Croix. Thank you to River Channel for sharing this video.

The mission of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is to work with Minnesotans to conserve and manage the state’s natural resources, to provide outdoor recreation opportunities, and to provide for commercial uses of natural resources in a way that creates a sustainable quality of life.

Minnesota DNR’s invasive carp program takes an integrated approach to invasive carp prevention and management, focusing on actions that the DNR and partners can take to slow the spread of invasive carp, minimize their impact, and reduce the chance of invasive carp reproducing in Minnesota waters. Those actions include monitoring invasive carp in ways that enable us to respond, prevention and deterrence, response preparation, management and control, and communication, outreach, and coordination. Among other activities, our program tags and tracks invasive carp to learn about their movement patterns, monitors for evidence of reproduction, contracts commercial fishers to capture invasive carp, and works with partners to develop better ways to target invasive carp in Minnesota waters. More info on our invasive carp program is available online at: mndnr.gov/invasivecarp.