All Water Users Encouraged to Keep Taking Prevention Steps Throughout the Year

With falling leaves and dropping temperatures, we move into the Autumn season in Wisconsin. Many boaters and anglers will be winterizing their boats until the spring. For those that continue to enjoy the last lingering moments of summer, folks at local boat launches will notice a lack of  Clean Boats, Clean Waters (CBCW) Program educators. The Fox-Wolf CBCW Program has officially wrapped up for the season. Our CBCW Educators provided aquatic invasive species (AIS) prevention at boat launches for over 1,600 hours at boat launches, made over 11,100 contacts, and inspected more than 5,900 boats around the Winnebago System during 2021. While the Program has finished for the year, preventing the spread of AIS is still important to protect our favorite lakes and rivers. Every time you’re out on the water, make sure you take the following steps to prevent the spread of AIS;

* Inspect boats, trailers, push poles, anchors, and other equipment for attached aquatic plants or animals.

* Remove all attached plants or animals

* Drain all water from boats, motors, livewells and other equipment

* Never move live fish away from a waterbody

* Never release aquarium plants or animals into your local waterways

Thank you for helping prevent the spread of invasive species during your favorite activities including hunting, ice angling, and more!

Questions? Comments? Contact Chris Acy, the Fox Wolf’s AIS Coordinator covering Brown, Outagamie, Fond du Lac, Calumet, and Winnebago Counties at (920) 460-3674 or chris@fwwa.org!

Follow the Fox Wolf Watershed Alliance’s Winnebago Waterways Program on our Winnebago Waterways Facebook page or @WinnWaterways on Twitter! You can also sign-up for email updates at WinnebagoWaterways.org.

Check out the Keepers of the Fox Program at https://fwwa.org/watershed-recovery/lower-fox-recovery/

Winnebago Waterways and the Keepers of the Fox are Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance programs. The Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance is an independent nonprofit organization that identifies and advocates effective policies and actions that protect, restore, and sustain water resources in the Fox-Wolf River Basin.