BOULDER JUNCTION, Wis.—After a decadelong battle, ecologists here are about ready to declare victory over an enemy invasion of a vital nearby habitat.
But as the war is winding down, so too is a unique ritual among the researchers: feasting on the meat of the vanquished enemy. Crayfish make great étouffée.
A tradition of Cajun cooking has emerged deep in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, spurred by the battle against the rusty crayfish. For years, students from the state university working with the department of natural resources have been hauling countless buckets of rusties from the waters of Sparkling Lake, five hours north of Milwaukee.
About 100,000 of the invaders were removed in the effort to reclaim the 127-acre lake from the four-inch crustaceans, which disrupt the natural ecology of the waters by evicting native crayfish, mowing down plants and eating fish eggs.
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