Contacts:

Mary Austerman, Coastal Community Development Specialist, NY Sea Grant, E: mp357@cornell.edu, P: 315-312-3042

Publicist Kara Lynn Dunn, E: karalynn@gisco.net, P: 315-465-7578



Hamilton, NY, April 2, 2015 - New York Sea Grant and New York State Parks are sponsoring a day-long workshop for those interested in starting a new watercraft inspection program or in standardizing an existing water-based steward program that includes watercraft inspection. The Watercraft Inspection Steward Program Leaders Workshop will be held on Friday, May 1 from 10am to 4pm as part of the 32nd Annual Conference Celebrating Citizen Science in Hamilton, NY.

The workshop agenda includes presentations on legislation related to watercraft inspection, how to start a watercraft inspection program, current program models, what anglers and boaters know about aquatic invasive species and what messages they still need to hear, standardized data collection, exploring an online database storage option, and learning to identify some aquatic invasive species that are in New York waters, their impacts, and prevention and control methods.

The Watercraft Inspection Steward Program Leaders Workshop presentations are appropriate for programs with paid and/or volunteer stewards.

New York Sea Grant and the Cornell University Cooperative Extension Invasive Species Program developed and published an 81-page, illustrated New York State Watercraft Inspection Steward Program Handbook in the fall of 2014. The handbook is the standardized model for starting new watercraft inspection programs and includes a Watercraft Inspection Steward Training and Field Guide section.

Those attending the May 1 workshop will receive a copy of the New York State Watercraft Inspection Steward Program Handbook.

Planning partners for the workshop include Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, the Finger Lakes Institute, the Lake Champlain Basin Program, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program, Finger Lakes Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management, Catskills Regional Invasive Species Partnership, St. Lawrence Eastern Lake Ontario Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management, the Western New York Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management, and Paul Smith’s College.

The New York State Federation of Lake Associations, Inc. is hosting the Celebrating Citizen Science conference at the White Eagle Banquet and Conference Center in Hamilton, NY. The Watercraft Inspection Steward Program Leaders Workshop will be in the Lawrence A. Appley Center at the conference center. Pre-registration is required at www.nysfola.org. For more information on the workshop, contact New York Sea Grant Coastal Community Development Specialist Mary Austerman at 315-312, 3042, mp357@cornell.edu.

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.

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 its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published several times a year.