The Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges is accepting applications for the 2020 Finger Lakes Watercraft Steward Program. Under the supervision of Finger Lakes Institute staff, Watercraft Stewards will offer watercraft inspections to boaters at public launches and provide boaters with information about aquatic invasive species. Inspections involve a visual scan of…
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Boating in Cayuga County – High-priority Locations for Invasive Species Management
By: Sam Beck-Andersen, AIS Project Manager, Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges Aquatic invasive species (AIS) pose significant threats to waterbodies in the Finger Lakes Region. To mitigate these, the Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges (FLI) and the Finger Lakes Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM) host…
Reaching Out: Diversifying Steward Experiences and Reaching New Audiences Away from the Boat Launch
By: Nicole Smeenk, Watercraft Steward Program Coordinator, Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges Throughout the summer, our stewards are able to participate in community outreach and education throughout the region. These opportunities allow the Watercraft Steward Program to have further reach in their messaging about aquatic invasive species. This year, eight of…
Keeping our Stewards Sharp: Meetings, Quizzes, and More
By: Sam Beck-Andersen, Watercraft Steward Program Manager Over the course of a Watercraft Steward’s summer position with the Finger Lakes Institute, they are exposed to several aspects of invasive species management. Of course, the budding professionals that make up our seasonal staff of stewards are on the front lines of AIS management at boat launches…
Take a Minute. Save a Million.
By: Josh Neff – Eastern Regional Coordinator, FLI Watercraft Steward Program As the temperature rises heading into the “dog days” of summer, so is the activity at boat launches across the Finger Lakes region. Boat launches are a known hot spot for introductions of invasive species due to the overland dispersal of “hitchhikers” or fragments…
Utilizing Local Support to Yield a Valuable Program: Watercraft Stewards on Canandaigua Lake
By: Sam Beck-Andersen, Watercraft Steward Program Manager Since the inception of the Finger Lakes Institute’s (FLI) Watercraft Steward Program (WSP) in 2012, Canandaigua Lake has been one of our strongest partners. Besides being a close neighbor to Geneva and Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Canandaigua Lake groups including the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association (CLWA) and…
Watercraft Stewards on Honeoye Lake, 2018
By: Sam Beck-Andersen, Watercraft Steward Program Manager With a constant stream of boaters coming to the Honeoye Lake State Marine Park, the Finger Lake Institute’s (FLI) Watercraft Steward Program, along with other regional steward efforts remains an important mainstay in managing the spread of invasive species in Honeoye and other regional waterbodies. During the summer…
It’s Got to Go Somewhere – AIS Disposal Stations in the Finger Lakes Region
By: Sam Beck-Andersen – Watercraft Steward Program Manager Invasive Species Disposal Stations serve a number of purposes in the fight against the spread of aquatic invasive species. By utilizing strategic placement at high-priority boat launches, as well as strategic placement within those boat launches, Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Disposal Stations can increase involvement of launch-users…
Of Cheeseburgers and Protecting Finger Lakes Waters: A Superhero’s Reflections Midway Through Watercraft Stewardship
By: Nick Aiezza, Watercraft Steward Long Point State Park. Aurora, New York. And the breeze makes the mornings pleasantly cool. I know what to expect on any given day of work: sweatshirt in the morning, tee-shirt in the afternoon, and between that time an osprey fishing in the launch area. People will fish there, too….
Education is Key
Education is Key: The Start of a New Watercraft Steward Season By: Shanty Hawke, Watercraft Steward Program Coordinator What is a watercraft steward? For those who don’t know, watercraft stewards are stationed at boat launches throughout the region to provide education on preventing the spread or introduction of aquatic invasive species (AIS). The main goal…
