Adirondack Watershed Institute

Michale Glennon, Dan Kelting

Boat steward programs, or watercraft inspection programs, have emerged as the strategy of choice over the past decade to decrease the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) in New York State via the vector of overland transport of recreational watercraft. Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) implemented the first AIS spread prevention program on various Adirondack regional waterways in 2000 and since then its Aquatic Invasive Species Spread Prevention Program has expanded to more than 60 locations and interacted with nearly a million boaters. The 2015 New York State AIS Management Plan highlighted education and outreach as components of effective prevention strategies and called for the “immediate action” of expanding boat launch steward programs. In 2008, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation established eight Partnerships for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM) units, and in 2018 began funding pilot boat steward programs in each of the PRISMs across New York State.

Boat stewards perform inspections, boat decontaminations, and educate visitors about AIS threats and proper Clean, Drain, Dry behaviors, playing front line offense and defense against AIS. Their education function is presumed to increase visitor compliance with CDD behaviors; however, research on visitor engagement as part of aquatic invasive species management is somewhat new, and identifying ways to engage effectively is a challenge. In addition to investing in boat steward programs, in 2016 New York State passed 6 CRR-NY § 576.3, establishing a statewide AIS transport ban on recreational watercraft, trailers and tow vehicles, known as the NYS AIS Transport Law. As with boat stewards, it is also important to assess the efficacy of the AIS transport ban to determine if its passage has resulted in greater visitor compliance with CDD behaviors.