Let's keep those Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Plants and Animals out of our Waters!

In  2012:

• Training and certification for Lake Service Providers (dock installers and other waterfront workers) became required by law in 2012.  People working on your waterfront now have been provided the knowledge necessary to avoid carrying invasive species to your waterfront.  WAPOA, BLAISTF, and other stakeholders worked to get their legislators to get this accomplished.

• WAPOA paid for 1650 hours of boat inspections at accesses by DNR inspectors. It took a combination of three different grants.

• In a cooperative program WAPOA arranged for the DNR to train 72 volunteer inspectors for the summer of 2012.

• WAPOA co-ordinated the summer schedule of the volunteer boat inspectors at 7 accesses.

• WAPOA continued distributing 10,000 packets of invasive species information to boaters using area accesses.

• WAPOA informed its membership about invasive species.

• WAPOA ran informational notices in area newspapers about invasive species.

• WAPOA co-sponsored a visit and talk by Dr. Dan Molloy, developer of an experimental method to kill zebra mussels.

WAPOA volunteers checked boats at accesses for invasive species

WAPOA volunteers, partnering with the DNR, completed their sixth season spending countless hours educating and helping boaters check their boats & trailers at the public accesses.

Eurasian watermilfoil can hitchhike on the boat and trailer, and the destructive zebra mussel can be carried in the boat, motor, bilge, live wells, and bait containers.

Help us by volunteering, and by letting your friends and neighbors know the importance of being vigilant about the prevention and spread of AIS.

• WAPOA hired professional plant experts to search for early invaders

WAPOA uses a portion of your membership dollars to hire professional plant experts.

We contract PLM Professional Lake & Land Management to do regular inspections on the one-acre of lake water immediately surrounding the boat access ramps, resorts and marinas — the high-risk areas.

We have them do this on nearly 30 locations both on and off the Chain twice each year.  If we can catch it soon enough, there may be hope of treatment and containment.

Again, neither Eurasian watermilfoil nor zebra mussels has been found as of July 2012.

• WAPOA distributes thousands of packets of invasive species information directly to boaters

WAPOA partnered with Crow Wing County Lakes And Rivers Alliance to obtain a nearly $11,000 grant to enhance public awareness of the dangers of AIS to Whitefish Area lakes.

  Volunteers assembled 10,000 bags of AIS educational and informative materials and handed out half of them to boaters in 2011, placing these bags on boat trailers found in the public access parking lots.

This project will start up again in 2012 to finish handing out the remaining bags shortly after the ice goes to ensure covering the Minnesota Fishing Opener and Memorial & Fourth of July weekends.