Laurel Wilson, the Cook County Invasives Team coordinator has been very busy. Homeowners concerned about possible invasive species can contact her for advice.
Since coming to the North Shore this spring, Laurel Wilson has been busy with her duties and events as the Cook County Invasives Team (CCIT) coordinator. She hit the ground running with events in conjunction with Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Play- Clean-Go programs and hasn’t stopped, leading wildflower hikes at least once a month and more.
Wilson, who is originally from St. Paul, came to Cook County after earning her degree in conservation biology at the University of Wisconsin and completing graduate school at South Illinois University in Carbondale.
While in college and after, Wilson enjoyed working in a variety of positions—in restoration and management with the Department of Transportation in Illinois and at the Chicago Botanical Gardens.
“My interest has always been in the natural area,” Wilson told the Cook County News-Herald, “and I’ve been looking for ways to get back to Minnesota.”
She had enjoyed many visits to the North Shore so she was delighted to come on board with the CCIT.
The CCIT was formed in 2011 and its members include representation from the Cook County Soil & Water Conservation District, the county highway department, the U.S. Forest Service, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, The Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the Grand Portage National Monument, Sugarloaf Cove Nature Center, Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center and the 1854 Treaty Authority.
CCIT and Wilson’s position are funded through a federal grant through the U.S. Forest Service. Her time is divided 75 percent in Cook County and 25 percent in Lake County.
Wilson has been following up on projects initiated by her predecessors such as the removal of Siberian pea shrub at Sawtooth Elementary School and an area that had been treated for spotted knapweed.
She works with the CCIT entities and local property owners concerned about the spread of non-native species— aquatic and terrestrial.
“We have a lot of resources for homeowners,” she said, encouraging people to contact her with questions about invasive species and types of treatment.
For more about the Cook County Invasives Team, visit the website at www.arrowheadinvasives.org.
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