Benzie Conservation District’s (BCD) Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) seasonal crewmembers Jamie Robinson, Emma Carley, and Aiyana Mennega (pictured above) will be at the Lake Leelanau Narrows boat launch tomorrow (Sept. 10) to give watercraft of all sizes a free wash and share simple actions on how boaters can give aquatic invasive species the boot before they spread.

Power washes are effective at getting rid of unwanted plants and animals hitching rides on boat trailers and propellers, or attached to hulls on boats, kayaks, paddle boards.

Vigilant boaters who adopt their own “Clean, Drain, Dry” technique can slow the transfer of aquatic invasive species in our local waters. Robinson also urges fishermen to never dump bait in the water, but rather to dispose of it on dry land.

BCD’s AIS crewmembers have identified invasive Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM) and zebra mussels on boats they’ve washed in Benzie, Grand Traverse, Manistee, and Leelanau counties this summer. They are also on the lookout for Didymo, or “rock snot,” the brownish alga that can form thick mats on river bottoms and shorelines. 

Didymo algal blooms were just found in the Boardman River.

Lake Leelanau is in an ongoing battle with the invasive plant (EWM) which forms thick mats, devastating recreational opportunities and choking out native vegetation.

Lake Leelanau has a total of 11 public boat launches, making the lake particularly vulnerable to the introduction of invasive species. Last summer the Lake Leelanau Lake Association (LLLA) and Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians (GTB) opened Lake Leelanau’s first permanent, solar-powered boat cleaning kiosk at the Bingham DNR launch. 

Nancy Popa of the LLLA says the Bingham launch — with the most parking spaces of any of the launches — is the most heavily trafficked on the lake.

Annalise Povolo, a Lake Leelanau native and new director of administration and programs for LLLA has been out deploying burlap barriers and monitoring for any new infestations of EWM on Lake Leelanau this summer. She says boat washing is “the number one way to prevent invasive species from spreading.” A new permanent boat washing kiosk is under construction — coming soon! — at The Narrows launch, jointly paid for by the GTB and the LLLA. “There are others in the works,” Povolo says. In the meantime, boaters can take advantage of the BCD's free traveling boat washing station at The Narrows this Saturday.