Water Guards’ efforts to help stop spread of invasive species well received

MADISON – Wisconsin’s Water Guards, nine new deputy wardens brought on board exclusively to help stop the spread of invasive species, are being well received, according to feedback received by state environmental and natural resource officials.

“It went even better than we expected,” said Chief Warden Randy Stark of the Department of Natural Resources. “We had a lot of positive support from the public for the Water Guards. They used a multifaceted approach to get the word out on invasives and it worked well.”

The wardens’ Water Guards program started in May 2008 to focus solely on educating and enforcing rules to prevent boaters and anglers from accidentally spreading invasive species and diseases. The Water Guards spent more than 1,100 hours at landings across the state, educating boaters and anglers about the rules and demonstrating to them how to clean their boats. Their work complemented the hundreds of paid and volunteer watercraft inspectors at landings across the state.

In addition, the Water Guards spoke to participants in fishing tournaments, sponsored exhibits and answered questions at dozens of county fairs and at the Wisconsin State Fair. They also teamed up with DNR’s fisheries and aquatic invasive species programs to conduct a mass media campaign to reach more boaters and anglers.

“I have nothing but positive feedback to share about the Water Guards and I’ve heard nothing but the same from the counties and lake associations and lake districts,” says Erin Henegar, a University of Wisconsin-Extension outreach specialist who coordinates the Clean Boats, Clean Waters (exit DNR) training program for watercraft inspectors.

For a look at Wisconsin’s Water Guards at work, to see and hear their public service announcements, and to view the prevention steps, view this audio slide show with Water Guard Coordinator Tom Wrasse.

Wisconsin Water Guards at Work [Length: 4:55 minutes]

Henegar said having the Water Guards in uniform at the landings has helped draw even more attention to the importance of boaters and anglers taking steps to prevent spreading aquatic invaders. As importantly, however, the nine deputy wardens were very creative in producing some new educational tools like interactive displays for kids and in reaching a lot of people in different settings.

“I also heard very positive feedback from aquatic invasive species coordinators at the county level,” Henegar says. “A lot of the lake groups shared similar information because the Water Guards spoke at a wide variety of community and lake events. Their enthusiasm and their commitment were very impressive.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Wrasse (715) 358-9203; Randy Stark (608) 266-1115