MILC Session 1-3 -- Invasive Species and Recreation

• 00:00- Step aboard Michigan's Clean Boats, Clean Waters program and learn about current aquatic invasive species outreach and education efforts, Kelsey Bockelman and Paige Filice, Michigan State University Extension
• 30:21- Advancing the Understanding of the Recreational Boating Pathway and Aquatic Invasive Species in Michigan and Beyond, Kevin Walters, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy
  

Step aboard Michigan's Clean Boats, Clean Waters program and learn about current aquatic invasive species outreach and education efforts, Kelsey Bockelman and Paige Filice, Michigan State University Extension

Step aboard and learn about Michigan’s aquatic invasive species education program, Clean Boats, Clean Waters from Michigan State University (MSU) Extension Educators, Kelsey Bockelman and Paige Filice. Clean Boats, Clean Waters is on a mission to prevent aquatic invasive species introductions and their spread from boating and fishing activities. Clean Boats, Clean Waters fills an educational gap through unified and consistent messaging about boat cleaning practices and current regulations. The program stresses the “clean, drain, dry” message through the distribution of educational materials, hosting local boat cleaning events, a small grants program, and partnerships with conservation organizations. Clean Boats, Clean Waters is wrapping up its second year of providing grant funds to lake associations, non-profits, and other passionate organizations dedicated to protecting their local water bodies from aquatic invasive species. Past grant projects have included decontamination sign installations, outreach events, and infographics in magazines. Additionally, Clean Boats, Clean Waters now hosts the MSU Mobile Boat Wash program under its umbrella. The MSU Mobile Boat Wash program is entering its 8th season of providing hands-on outreach to boaters on best practices for aquatic invasive species decontamination. This program hosts free events across Michigan and provides access to crews who come with a heated high-pressure, trailer-mounted boat cleaning system as well as an extensive library of aquatic invasive materials. Currently, Clean Boats, Clean Waters is funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and is coordinated by MSU Extension and EGLE.

Advancing the Understanding of the Recreational Boating Pathway and Aquatic Invasive Species in Michigan and Beyond, Kevin Walters, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy

With more than 3,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, 11,000 inland lakes, over 1,300 boat launches, and over 1 million registered boats, the recreational boating pathway in Michigan presents serious risk and opportunity for aquatic invasive species (AIS) prevention and spread.  The development of a mobile application to collect data on recreational boater behaviors coupled with a recent boater survey and collaboration with regional partners is providing new resources to make data driven decisions on AIS risk and outreach methods and locations.  Kevin Walters, aquatic biologist with EGLE, will share details about what data is being collected, how it is being used, and how you can help contribute.  Preliminary results from the pilot season of the mobile boater application and survey will be shown.  Connections to other similar Great Lakes regional efforts will be noted and preliminary implications and evaluations of data sharing options for the recreational boating pathway will be discussed.

Learn more about Michigan Inland Lakes Convention sessions here.