Clean Boats – Clean Waters
OVER ONE HUNDRED MILES OF SHORELINE MONITORED BY VOLUNTEERS SEARCHING FOR AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES
Here’s how the program works:
The mission is to educate every boater about the dangers of invasive species and to assist with the removal of all vegetation from their watercraft. While interviewing the boaters and anglers at the landing, inspectors also collect data and enter it into the DNR database SWIMS (Surface Water Integrated Monitoring System). For information about volunteering contact Bob Agen at [email protected].
a bright idea emerges
The Clean Boats Clean Waters program was an independent study idea of three students attending Lakeland Union High School, Minocqua, WI in 2004. Yes students, you can make a difference. The TLWA program started in 2005 and after eight seasons of volunteer staffing, a Grant program initiated in 2013 helped finance paid inspectors.
Boat Landings
- Big Fork Lake – off Fourmile Creek Road
- Big Lake – Near CW Smith Road on N. Big Lake Loop Road
- Big Lake – Schultz Landing off N. Big Lake Loop Road
- Big Lake – Thoroughfare by the bridge on E. Big Lake Loop Road
- Big Stone Lake – Anchor Marine
- Big Stone Lake – Chicken in The Woods Road
- Burnt Rollways Lift and Dam
- Crystal Lake- near Highway 45 and N. Big Lake Loop Road
- Laurel Lake Campground
- Long Lake – Van Bussum Road
- Medicine Lake – Highway X
- Range Line – Halverson Road
- Townline – Maple Lake Dam Road I-LIDS
- Whitefish – Highway 32
(Active Clean Boats – Clean Waters Sites)
OPEN YOUR I-LIDS
TLWA invested in remote assistance to monitor boat landings in 2020 by purchasing two cameras known as I-LIDS. The I-LIDS (Internet Landing Installed Device Sensor) camera system is a self-contained, solar powered system installed at boat launches to deter the introduction of Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS). Remote inspection of boats/trailers technology uses a motion sensor to trigger video capture that uploads through a 3G/4G modem to a remote server. The video clip is date/time stamped for authorized users to view. A concurrent audio message reminds boaters to inspect for AIS prior to launch and after pull-out. I-Lids camera installations are at the Townline Lake and Big Lake landings.
See “I-LIDS – What it Involves” (Spring Newsletter 2020 on page 7).
LOOK AT ALL THOSE BOATS! During the 2023 season, there were 3433 boats inspected with four landings: Townline (1099), Burnt Rollways (1030), Big Stone/Anchor Marine (718) and Big Lake (501) near CW Smith Road on N. Big Lake Loop Road doing the heavy lifting. The remainder of the inspections took place at Medicine Lake off Highway X, Big Fork off Four Mile Creek Road and the landing at the Laurel Lake Campground.
