PREVENT INVASIVE AQUATIC HITCH HIKERS

Boaters launching their craft into Massachusetts waterways should check to be sure they aren't giving a free ride to invasive aquatic plants or animals. Aquatic invasives can easily be transported between water bodies by boats, motors, trailers, fishing equipment, anchors, bait buckets, live wells, diving gear, and other aquatic equipment. These hitchhikers can wreak havoc in lakes and ponds by choking waterways through explosive growth, fouling intake and discharge structures, lowering lakefront property values, decreasing recreational and aesthetic values, and reducing biodiversity by crowding out native fish, plants and insects. Once established in a water body, it is nearly impossible to eradicate invasive organisms.

Boaters and other water users can help prevent the spread of exotic weeds and other pests by 1) hand-removing all materials (plant or animal) from equipment and disposing of it far away from the water. Special attention should be paid to the bunks or rollers where the boat is seated on the trailer as well as the trailer hitch. 2) Wash and dry all equipment before reuse. Hose off the boat, diving gear and trailer. 3) Drain and flush the engine cooling system and live wells, bait buckets and the buoyancy control device from diving equipment that has been in contact with a water body. 4) Join the Weed Watchers! The Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) Lakes and Ponds program is looking for anglers, lake and pond association members and other water users to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasives. Receive hands-on-training in plant identification, a Guide to Aquatic Invasive Species and other helpful publications.

When visiting a public boat ramp this summer you may meet a person acting as a Boat Ramp Monitor. In response to the increasing spread of non-native aquatic species throughout our water bodies, the Department of Conservation and Recreation's Lakes and Ponds Program developed the Boat Ramp Monitoring Program with the goals of preventing pristine water bodies from becoming infested; reducing further spread of exotic plants from infested areas and educating boaters about non-native species and steps boaters can take to protect lakes and ponds. The Boat Ramp Monitors perform voluntary inspections on boats and remove any plant fragments from boats entering or leaving the waterbody. Boaters are given educational materials and complete a brief survey to assess their knowledge of invasive species. For information on Weed Watchers Program, fact sheets, posters or a sign suitable for posting at boat ramps call DCR’s Lakes and Ponds Program at 617/626-1382 or visit the DCR website at www.mass.gov/lakesandponds.