Contact:  

Mary Penney, NY Sea Grant, E: mp357@cornell.edu, P:315-312-3042

Oswego, NY, September 26, 2013 - The New York Sea Grant Launch Steward Program has posted a new blog to provide the public with information on how to look for, remove and properly dispose of aquatic species hitchhikers on motorized and non-motorized vessels. The goal of the New York Sea Grant Launch Steward blog is to encourage the boating public to help prevent the spread of unwanted aquatic invasive species by taking easy-to-implement steps to clean, drain and dry their vessels before moving to a new body of water.

The blog also shares photos and text on the activities of the crew of seven college stewards who have offered voluntary learn-how watercraft inspections to boaters at sites along the eastern shore of Lake Ontario from Sodus bay to Henderson, the Oswego River, Little Salmon River, Sandy Creek, Stony Creek and Oneida Lake.


The blog is found at nysglaunchsteward.blogspot.com.


New York Sea Grant manages the Launch Steward Program in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; New York State Parks; the Towns of Henderson, Scriba and Sodus; the City of Oswego, and Onondaga County. Funding is through a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative administered by the Finger Lakes-Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance.

For more information on the Steward Program and New York Sea Grant, contact New York Sea Grant Coastal Community Development Specialist Mary Penney at 315-312-3042.


More Info:

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NSGCP engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources. Through its statewide network of integrated services, NYSG has been promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources since 1971.

Currently, NYSG is funding 20 research and outreach projects focused on preserving New York State's aquatic natural resources. To see the current research NYSG is funding, visit www.nyseagrant.org/researchprojects.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG also offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/coastlines for NY Coastlines, its flagship publication, and Currents, its e-newsletter supplement, each distributed several times a year.