2022 Manitowoc County Clean Boats Clean Waters Program Report Prepared by Jake Divine 10/13/2022

2022 Manitowoc County Clean Boats Clean Waters Program Report

Prepared by Jake Divine 10/13/2022

Background: Glacierland RC&D implemented a Clean Boats Clean Waters program in Manitowoc County between May and September of 2022. Through the Clean Boats, Clean Waters program, inspectors are trained to organize and conduct a boater education program in their community. Inspectors educate boaters on how and where invasive species are most likely to hitch a ride into waterbodies. Inspectors perform boat and trailer checks for invasive species, distribute informational brochures and collect and report any new water body infestations. The messaging inspectors deliver to boaters focuses on the following prevention steps.

• Inspect your boat, trailer and equipment
• Remove all attached plants or animals
• Drain all water from boats, motors, live wells and other equipment
• Never move live fish away from a waterbody
• Dispose of unwanted bait in the trash
• Buy minnows from a Wisconsin bait dealer and use leftover minnows only if you will be using them on that same waterbody or if no lake or river water or other fish were added to the container.

Implementation: A primary inspector was hired, who conducted the majority of inspections. Other inspectors were trained and conducted inspections as they were able throughout the project period. As part of this program, inspectors participated in two state-wide initiatives, the Drain Campaign and Landing Blitz. The Drain Campaign is a set of education materials, outreach events and media designed to help anglers remember to drain their live wells and buckets before leaving the landing and took place June 3^rd – 5^th, 2022. The Landing Blitz is a statewide effort to remind boaters and other water lovers to take action to stop the spread of aquatic invasive species, which pose great risks to the health of our lakes and fisheries. Inspectors are stationed at boat landings around the state to give demonstrations of the prevention steps that boaters must take before they leave the water. The Landing Blitz took place on July 1^st – 5^th, 2022.

Site Locations: Boat landings were selected for inspections based on boater traffic, popular fishing locations, and input from our sponsors in the Manitowoc County Lakes Association and Manitowoc Fish & Game Association. The Manitowoc Marina was prioritized as boaters traveling between Lake Michigan and inland water bodies is a major pathway for the spread of invasive species in Wisconsin.

Funding: Funding for this program was provided by the Great Lakes Commission through an AIS Landing Blitz Grant, the Wisconsin DNR through the Lake Monitoring and Protection Network grant, and donations from the Manitowoc County Lakes Association and Manitowoc Fish & Game Association.

Inspector Data:

In addition to tracking boater traffic, inspectors asked boaters if they had been contacted previously this season by a Clean Boats Clean Waters inspector and if they used their boat on a different waterbody in the past five days and recorded the date and location of that water body.

Boater Travel

Below you can find the water bodies that boaters visited before speaking with an inspector at an inspection site. This data is important for tracking potential spread of invasive species between different water bodies.

Recommendations:

Continuing the Clean Boats Clean Waters program in Manitowoc County is essential to ensure that boaters continue to use the prevention steps to stop the spread of invasive species between water bodies. Clean Boats Clean Waters has been an effective education campaign because its messaging has been consistent and prevalent across the state. The prevention steps are engrained into boaters’ minds, as they hear the messaging a second, third, or fourth time. Repetition is an important part of teaching habits and changing behaviors. Glacierland will apply for a Clean Boat Clean Waters grant in Manitowoc County for 2023 and seek other sources of funding. We will continue to work with county staff and local conservation groups to maximize the effectiveness of the program.