New York Sea Grant has redesigned, enhanced access, and added resources to the New York State Invasive Species Clearinghouse website at http://nyis.info to support NY’s watercraft inspection steward programs as well as water enthusiasts and recreational boaters. The site is also now a mobile-friendly gateway to science-based information, publications, news, events, and tools for those engaged in managing terrestrial and aquatic invasive species (AIS).

New additions to the New York State Invasive Species Clearinghouse include links to:

-the 81-page, illustrated New York State Watercraft Inspection Steward Program Handbook, developed by New York Sea Grant Extension for managing or starting a community- or agency-based program;

-a standardized steward training guide for program leaders;

–training templates & materials including checklists that can be used while conducting inspections, materials for hiring new stewards, data collection sheets, permission letters, an AIS identification PowerPoint, and a quality control plan;

-information on Clean, Drain, Dry practices for use with boats of all types and recreational equipment, such as fishing gear and swim fins, to limit the spread of AIS that can damage aquatic environments, limit recreational use, and impact local economies;

-four years’ worth of watercraft inspection informational webinars on such topics as climate change and AIS, using social psychology to increase program success, funding, and partnership building;

–three short instructional videos covering tips for initiating and exiting boater interviews, how to conduct a watercraft inspection; and dispelling common myths; and

-information on the Watercraft Inspection Steward Program App developed to coordinate real-time AIS data collection at motorized and non-motorized boat launches across New York State for tracking and managing AIS.

This aquatic invasive species-related New York Sea Grant educational outreach programming was supported in part by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funds through New York State and the Finger Lakes-Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance.

New York Sea Grant is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York. Learn more at www.nyseagrant.org.

More information: https://seagrant.sunysb.edu/articles/r/13134