June 28, 2021

SVSU geography professor to study invasive species treatment

Bay Area Community Foundation grant will support SVSU faculty/student research

An SVSU geography professor is conducting a study on the effectiveness of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s treatment of invasive species at the Frankenlust Township Nature Park in Bay City with support of a grant from the Environmental Endowment Fund of the Bay Area Community Foundation. Rhett Mohler, associate professor of geography, successfully petitioned for the $6,599 grant from the Environmental Endowment Fund of the Bay Area Community Foundation for his “Monitoring Invasive Species” project. The project period is May 11, 2021 through August 31, 2023. 

The goal of the project is to monitor the effectiveness of the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s treatment of invasive species at the Frankenlust Township Nature Park and inventory desirable species.

“This type of research has the dual benefit of serving the community while also allowing our students to gain experience in their fields of study,” Mohler said. “Additionally, invasive species continue to be a large problem, so this type of work is very timely and needed.”

Mohler will hire one student employee to assist with research.

Mohler has identified four community-minded goals for the project: 

1. Inventory the desirable species at Frankenlust Township Nature Park: This helps satisfy the identifying “different plants and trees at the Nature Park” action item in the 2019 Bay County Area Recreation Plan.   
2. Monitor the park after the invasive species have been treated and removed as completely as possible: The findings can be applied to other public resources such as the Frankenlust Township Park and Great Lakes Bay Trail.  
3. Create both short- and long-term stewardship plans for the park: This will ensure that the work performed in meeting the two goals above is sustainable.   
4. Student involvement: Long-term benefits to the community will be realized when the students become community members and community leaders themselves. 

Mohler joined the SVSU faculty in 2012. He has been active in research throughout his career at SVSU. In 2018, he received the Ruth and Ted Braun Fellowship to expand his efforts to map two invasive plants in the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, south of Saginaw. In 2014, he investigated the environmental history of a stretch of the Kawkawlin River as part of the Saginaw Bay Environmental Science Institute.