How Can Boaters Help Stop the Spread of Invasive Plants and Zebra Mussels?

I am sure most of you have either read or heard about milfoil, zebra mussels, Asian carp and other exotic species that have invaded many of the waters in the midwest region. There will be a much closer look at the spreading of these unwanted plants, fish,  and invertebrates.

The Minnesota DNR talks of boat inspections at launching ramps, wash down stations, and really who knows what else. One way to make sure your time on the water is not shortened is to make sure your boats, motors and live wells are cleaned and free of weeds, mollusks (snails) and minnows. I believe it will save everybody time to clean boats before you go. If the boating public becomes proactive by taking the threats seriously, and clean boats before we launch on different lakes, we will be doing our part to slow the spread of the dreaded critters.

While there may be inspections at public launching sites it is unlikely that will be at private ramps at resorts, houseboat companies and other facilities. We can only ask that you make sure boats are clean before you travel with them.

By planning ahead you will save yourselves valuable vacation time and help keep our precious lakes and rivers as  as free as possible from contamination by invasive species. We may not be able to do anything about migrating birds, but we can still do our part in trying to protect our environment.