Wildlife Forever, in coordination with state, federal, and corporate partners, continue efforts to improve public access throughout the country. Distributing over 1,700 AIS prevention tools and 24 watercraft cleaning stations this summer, the Initiative continues to provide much needed resources for boaters and anglers. Clean Drain Dry tools and infrastructure at the access are proving critical to slowing the spread of AIS and protecting America’s natural resources.
This year, eleven states and two Canadian provinces have implemented the Clean Drain Dry watercraft cleaning stations. Hundreds of newly designed educational signs will soon be utilized, including within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, one of the most visited wildernesses in the United States. To compliment on the ground efforts, the Clean Drain Dry Initiative coordinates social media campaigns, print publications, and advertisements in outdoor media venues to provide consistent messaging reminding millions of outdoor users to Clean Drain and Dry.
“Most people have good intentions but that’s only as good as the infrastructure allows – it’s time to provide real, tangible tools to empower behavior beyond just a pledge,” said Elliott Engen, public service coordinator for Wildlife Forever.
Wildlife Forever’s access-based Infrastructure Enhancement Protocol (IEP) also provides site-specific recommendations on cleaning equipment, user led instructions, and cohesive signage to guide even the novice boater through the Clean Drain Dry prevention steps. Through access evaluation and demographic analysis, messages and prevention tools are designed to help resource managers implement tools and best practices that helps users clean and maintain their own gear.
To learn more about access-based tools and prevention resources and programs including the CD2 Infrastructure Enhancement Protocol, visit www.CleanDrainDry.org.
The Clean Drain Dry Initiative is the national campaign to educate outdoor recreational users on how to prevent the spread of invasive species. Coordinated invasive species messaging focuses on strategic content, marketing communications, and outreach tools on how to prevent. To learn how you can get involved or sponsor, contact: Elliott Engen: EEngen@WildlifeForever.org.
A humble homesteader based in an undisclosed location, Lars Drecker splits his time between tending his little slice of self-sustaining heaven, and bothering his neighbors to do his work for him. This is mainly the fault of a debilitating predilection for fishing, hunting, camping and all other things outdoors. When not engaged in any of the above activities, you can normally find him broken down on the side of the road, in some piece of junk he just “fixed-up.”
