ILLINOIS — Illinois is home to beautiful wild spaces, but invasive species are a growing threat in our forests, lakes, backyards, and agricultural fields. Invasive species pose a serious threat to native species and natural ecosystems and cost the country billions of dollars to combat.

Two criteria must be met for a species to be considered invasive: the species is not original to the ecosystem it is currently living, and the species is likely to cause economic and environmental harm or harm to human health if left unchecked.

Spend a day learning what is being done and how you can help address the serious issues of both land and water invasives at the Illinois Invasive Species Symposium on May 4 in Mahomet. The symposium is hosted by University of Illinois Extension and University of Illinois Extension Forestry.

The day-long event will feature nine sessions featuring industry experts who focus on advancing statewide invasive species research areas. A few session topics include:

• Managing invasive carp in Illinois rivers
• Illinois invasive species council update
• Spongy moth status and operations in Illinois
• Disentangling the impacts of species invasions on vector-borne pathogens
• Invasive plant and insect control efforts, impacts, and trends

For a full list of session topics or to register, visit go.illinois.edu/InvasiveSymposium. The cost to attend is $20 and includes all session presentations and lunch.

If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this program, contact Chris Evans at cwevans@illinois.edu. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet access needs.

Explore how to prevent the spread of invasive species with everyday activities and steps you can take to keep your land beautiful and healthy by controlling plant, insect, and aquatic infestations at extension.illinois.edu/invasives.