If you’ve visited a boat launch this summer, you may have met some of our friendly watercraft inspection stewards who monitor incoming and outgoing boats for signs of hitchhiking invasive species. Stewards educate over 500,000 water recreationists every year on “Clean, Drain, Dry” practices. This year, Stewards have intercepted more than 6,611 invasive species from leaving or entering NYS waterbodies!
Watercraft inspection stewards also collect data about potential travel vectors for aquatic invasive species (AIS). This data helps our AIS team determine which waterbodies are the most vulnerable so they can increase surveying and outreach efforts.
Check out our interactive map to find a watercraft inspection steward located near you.
Boating in the Adirondacks? Please see our watercraft inspection steward webpage to learn about the new law requiring ADK boaters to self-certify that their watercraft has been cleaned, drained, and dried.
This is a potentially effective program but confidence in its utility would be improved if the DEC would estimate the fraction of the boats that are launched into Blue Line waters each year that are in fact subjected to such inspections and certifications.