Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers and Free Ice Packs! Drain Campaign this weekend, June 1-3, 2018

Drain Campaign 2018

The statewide Drain Campaign, led by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and its partners, is this coming weekend, June 1-3, 2018! This event helps promote the message of draining all water from boats (including bait buckets and live wells) before leaving boat launches. Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance (FWWA) staff, interns, and volunteers will be at several boat launches around the Winnebago System to hand out free ice packs to the first 35 anglers/boaters so that they can “ice their catch” instead of transporting their fish in water! This weekend is also a free fishing weekend so its a great time to head out to the water!

Fish on Ice

“Ice is a great alternative to keep your fish fresh on the ride home,” says Bob Wakeman, the statewide Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, adding that ice is already preferred by many anglers, since it stops bacterial growth and helps to protect the flavor of your catch.

“Anglers are really passionate about protecting their lakes and often lead by example in Wisconsin’s Drain Campaign,” says Chris Acy, the Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator for Fond du Lac, Calumet, and Winnebago Counties.  “They help teach everyone to remove all plants and animals and drain water from their boats. That includes draining water from livewells and buckets which helps keep microscopic invasive species and diseases from moving between lakes and rivers.”

FWWA’s staff and volunteers will be at Jefferson Park in Neenah on Friday from 10am-6pm, at Grundman Park in Oshkosh from 9am-4pm on Saturday, and at Riverside (Neenah Rec) Park in Neenah from 8am-3pm on Sunday. Come by and say hello!

You can catch the Calumet County Clean Boats and Clean Waters intern, Grace, at the Calumet County Park and Stockbridge boat landings at various times throughout the weekend as well. She will also be giving away free ice packs!

The UW-Oshkosh Clean Boats, Clean Waters interns will also be around the system as well handing out free ice packs!! Check out the full schedule below!

Want to help spread the word about the Drain Campaign? Use the hashtag #JustDrainIt when posting messages and photos online!

Drain Campaign Schedule: