When you live in God’s country, like all of us fortunate enough to call Northeast Michigan home, some of the biggest threats to your way of life are invasive species.

That’s why we were glad to read on a recent Lifestyles page that the board at the Alpena Wildlife Sanctuary expect help again this year tackling invasive European frogbit — and another invasive species that aids and abets its spread — at the sanctuary.

A research team will arrive in late June to begin removing invasive narrow leaf cattails — different from the native broad leaf cattails — that help the frogbit grow. The research team has three years of work showing cattails cut well below the water line to cut out sunlight to the plants.

Not only do dense mats of frogbit destroy habitat for native fish, they impede kayaking and canoeing in many areas of the sanctuary, the board reported.

We’re grateful to the researchers for their help and to the sanctuary board for its efforts to fight invasive species.