NEENAH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — During the state’s busiest boating time, there’s an extra push to encourage the thousands who are expected to take to the water this Fourth of July to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.
At the Rec Park Boat Launch in Neenah on Friday, Scott Smith is wrapped up his outing on Lake Winnebago.
“Fishing was pretty good this morning,” said Smith. “It was trolling with artificial baits out in the mud, out towards the middle of the lake.”
But after pulling out his boat and trailer, he says he knows he’s not done.
“You want to get all the weeds off your boat, especially if you’re planning on fishing another body of water,” said Smith.
The routine is not only part of the Aquatic Invasive Species Law but also the focus of a holiday push called the Great Lakes Landing Blitz. People are asked to inspect their boats, remove any plants or animals and drain the live wells every time they boat.
“A lot of our invasive species are microscopic. So, these species can be transferred from one place to another in water, and we don’t even know about it,” said Chris Acy, Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator.
Acy says there are about 180 aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes and about a dozen in the Lake Winnebago System, including a very familiar one.
“It’s called curly-leaf pondweed,” he said. “It’s easy to get caught on folks’ trailers, on their wheels, on the axles. Even if it’s just a piece of the plant like this, this can grow into a new plant in a different lake. Maybe it’s your favorite lake up north. Maybe it’s Lake Michigan. Who knows? It depends on where you’re going. So, we’re really trying to work out here with boaters to make sure that we’re not accidentally having any new invasive species into our system or vice versa.”
Smith says the routine is worth the work.
“If people are transporting weeds to another lake that hasn’t had an invasive species before, it could be detrimental to the lake, obviously,” he said.
The Great Lakes Landing Blitz runs from June 30 through July 9.
According to the Department of Natural Resources, citations for violating the Aquatic Invasive Species Law range from about $230 to $300.
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