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It was a large space filled with freezers, under lock and key, accessible only by a Fish and Wildlife Officer from the Office of Law Enforcement. Then it was a garage, filled with boats, various field supplies, and even a desk space. Now those things have been swapped out for ultra-cold freezers and compartmentalized cleanrooms full of state-of-the-art laboratory equipment.
It took a village, but we are happy to announce the completion of the Whitney Genetics Laboratory expansion in region 3. This increased capacity stemmed from the growing need to detect many potential aquatic invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.
Learn more about invasive species , not only Silver and Bighead Carp, in the Great Lakes basin. The method, called metabarcoding, allows water samples to be genetically analyzed for all potential fish species that have left their DNA behind and will be an important advancement for the Early Detection and Monitoring (EDM) program.
Increasing lab space, however, took over a year of planning, project scoping, working with GSA, and working with a general contractor before construction could begin. Many people from different areas of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) helped bring this project to completion, and we are grateful for everyone鈥檚 help in making this a relatively smooth process.
In October of 2024, the new space was ready to begin moving in our equipment and lab furniture. On November 14th, we held an open house and welcomed folks from the regional office, the Midwest Fisheries Center, and the USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Science Center to visit and hear about the new space. We also held a couple of friendly competitions, including a filter-folding contest and a pipette tip shooting contest! True to our midwestern roots, guests were treated with home-baked cookies and chicken wings from a family farm.
