Stony Brook, NY, April 19, 2012 - With Earth Day serving as a reminder this Sunday, prepping your boat this spring can be less costly to the environment than ever before. New eco-friendly ideas and products have entered the market, joining those we should more heartily embrace to keep the Earth cleaner.

Boating Times Long Island recently compiled a reference guide (via Web; via pdf) for ways to shed winter’s dust and dirt (and shrink wrap) while protecting our environment and ourselves. One of the "green-up" resources they cite is New York's Marina Environmental Best Management Practices (BMP) Web Site, which provides marina owners with practical information techniques, products and practices they can use to improve environmental practices and minimize potential sources of pollution at their facilities. The site is a partnership of New York Sea Grant (via the program's Coastal Processes & Facilities Specialist Jay Tanski), The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, The Association of Marine Industries, The New York Marine Trades Association, and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.

Clean boating is a topic of considerable interest for New York Sea Grant. In addition to partnering on the BMP Web site, NYSG's Coastal Recreation and Tourism Specialist Dave White was awarded a commendation last year from the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water for the Discover Clean & Safe Boating campaign. The campaign is collaboration by NYSG, the Boating Industries Association of Upstate New York, and other marine trade organizations, marine manufacturers, event organizers, and media.

In New York's Great Lakes region alone, more than 1,400 boaters pledged to be environmentally-sound after visiting the 2010 Discover Clean and Safe Boating exhibit at events throughout the freshwater shoreline region. The 2011 edition of the campaign includes a fishing boat, a canoe, and national Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers information on how boaters can reduce the spread of unwanted invasive species.

In 2012, aquatic invasives remains a hot topic, along with life-saving in-water demonstrations. The campaign's educational vessel is a 17-foot Com-Pac Sun Cat sailboat built by Hutchins Company of Clearwater, Florida, and provided by The Sailboat Shop in Skaneateles, NY.

For more on the clean and safe boating, see the "Topics" page on NYSG's Great Lakes Boating and Marine Trades Web site.