Stewarding north country waterways: Seasonal invasive species management underway at boat launches

But a statewide network of stewards helps keep that potential transmission in check.

“Clean, drain, dry: that’s the motto,” said Alaina Young, education and outreach coordinator for the Thousand Islands Land Trust.

The motto, printed on blue shirts and vests worn by every steward, is shorthand for a five-step, state Department of Environmental Conservation process — check, clean, drain, dry and disinfect — and each step is critical for maximum invasive species risk management.

At the Massena Intake Boat Launch on the St. Lawrence River early Saturday afternoon, first-year steward Gabe Murphy ensured those steps were executed by half a dozen recreationists. By day’s end, at the close of his 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. shift, he had checked an additional dozen watercraft for invasive “hitchhikers.”

The “check, clean, drain, dry, disinfect” procedure asks recreationists to check for and clean any visible mud, plants, fish or animals before transporting equipment to and from a launch. The DEC recommends fish and animals be returned to the body of water in which they were found and a regional DEC office or conservation organization be notified; transporting invasive aquatic species to another body of water is prohibited in New York. In fact, state law prohibits the launching of watercraft with any visible invasive species on or in the craft, unless a boater has been issued a special permit.

For mud and plants, the DEC recommends materials be discarded in an upland area near the launch or in an invasive species disposal station. Some north country launches have such stations, and others even have decontamination stations boaters can use to wash their crafts. North country launches with decontamination stations are set up in Colton, Star Lake, Indian Lake and Long Lake.

Draining requires all water-holding compartments to be emptied, including ballast tanks and bilge areas, as well as live wells when possible. After drying boats, trailers and all equipment before use in another body of water, boaters are encouraged to disinfect any equipment — ropes and nets, for example — that cannot be fully dried before reuse.

Stewards who engage boaters and encourage “clean, drain, dry” practices, Ms. Young said, are often the “first line of defense” against invasive species spread.

“Prevention is actually the cheapest form of invasive species management,” she said.

The New York State Watercraft Inspection Steward Program was developed by the DEC in 2008 and is facilitated by regional and local conservation organizations, schools and municipalities. Over the last 12 years, the DEC reports the program has grown steadily, with 211 active boat steward locations across the state this year.

Stationed at launches to help boaters, anglers and other recreationists learn how to check watercraft for invasive plants and animals, boat stewards typically work from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekend, engaging thousands of New Yorkers each year. In 2019, boat stewards interacted with a total of more than 495,000 water recreationists and inspected more than 275,000 watercraft, including fishing boats, pontoon boats, kayaks, canoes and water skis, according to the DEC.

In the north country, the stewards program is now co-managed by the Thousand Islands Land Trust, or TILT, and the St. Lawrence Eastern Lake Ontario Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management, or SLELO PRISM.

For the last few years, SLELO PRISM has coordinated the program in the region with three or four stewards, alternating between several launches. In an effort to expand the program, SLELO PRISM partnered with TILT this year to hire 10 boat launch stewards, who take turns monitoring more than 30 launches in St. Lawrence, Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego and Oneida counties.

Stewards primarily serve as educators, inspecting watercraft when recreationists enter and exit launches and collecting data to contribute to statewide data sets, Ms. Young said.

A 2020 Madrid-Waddington High School graduate, Mr. Murphy alternates between the Massena Intake Boat Launch and the Heuvelton Boat Launch on the Oswegatchie River, every other day Wednesdays through Sundays, though schedules can adjust based on a launch’s level of use.

While checking Louisville resident Johnny Matthews’ fishing boat Saturday, Mr. Murphy facilitated a verbal survey, asking Mr. Matthews, who serves as vice president for the St. Lawrence River Walleye Association, about his time on the water and whether his boat has been in other bodies of water in the last two weeks.

Mr. Murphy, like the hundreds of stewards in New York, uses a tablet to take down responses, the number of watercraft being launched or exiting, whether someone is fishing, researching or paddling, and whether any organisms were observed on the watercraft.

Participation in the stewards’ surveys is voluntary, and responses help inform TILT, SLELO PRISM and the entire network of participating organizations. Since Memorial Day, Ms. Young said, the 10 stewards in the region have collected more than 1,200 surveys.

After completing a three-day online training involving species identification and instructional lessons, stewards have been active since the May holiday weekend, and over his three weeks as a steward, Mr. Murphy said he hasn’t seen many invasive species, though he looks for several commonly found in north country waterways. Water chestnut, curly-leaf pondweed, Eurasian watermilfoil and hydrilla, all plants, as well as zebra muscles and round goby have been identified in the region.

More information about the north country steward program is available on the SLELO PRISM and TILT websites. To view a full map of New York state boat launches with stewards or contamination stations, visit the DEC’s Aquatic Invasive Species Boat Stewards webpage.