Michigan law requires boaters to remove aquatic plants and debris before leaving a water access site and to pull drain plugs and drain all water from bilges, ballast tanks and live wells.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is also offering a mobile boat wash program with free, fast boat rinse downs to prevent the spread of invasive species.
Plant fragments attached to boats or trailers can move invasive species to a new body of water, choking out native species.
The DNR’s two-person boat wash crew is spending its last weekend in the program in northern Michigan.
They’ll be washing boats and educating boaters Friday at Black Lake, Saturday at Mullett Lake and Sunday at Burt Lake.
Already this summer, the crew visited public access sites in 19 counties, met with more than 800 people and washed more than 300 boats.
