The most recent Lake Tides publication, from the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership, reports great progress across the state in the last five years, as greater efforts have been made to educate the public about aquatic invasives and how to prevent their spread.
In 2009 for example, the statistics show that 52,00 boats were inspected by volunteers and paid inspectors, in 32,000 hours of work. Of the boats inspected, 16% had plant matter attached and 78% of the boat owners removed those plant materials as requested. (I wonder who those other 22% were, and what possible reasons they would have for not complying!)
One interesting chart compares the last five years: in 2005, 44% of boaters had put their boat into a different body of water within five days, with that percentage decreasing steadily, till in 2009, only 25% of boat owners had used a different body of water within five days. Thus, owners are realizing that frequent movement of boats from lake to lake speeds the spread of invasives, and are curtailing their movements.
When 91% of boaters inspected said they were aware of AIS boat launch policies, it certainly shows the success of Clean Boat/Clean Waters education.
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