Seneca Fall, NY, August 25, 2011 - With the potential to reach a large number of people, New York Sea Grant Recreation and Tourism Specialist Dave White (at left, pictured below) and Aquatic Invasive Species Resource Educator Greg Chapman (at right, pictured below) brought the 2011 Discover Clean & Safe Boating exhibit to Seneca Falls for this year's Empire Farm Days, held August 9-11 at Rodman Lott & Son Farms (photo by Katherine Bunting-Howarth, NYSG). The 2011 show – the largest outdoor agricultural show in the Northeast – draws more than 600 exhibitors and 60,000 to 70,000 visitors on this 300-acre site with demonstrations, activities and exhibits on the latest innovations in agriculture as well as tried and true farming methods.


"Proportionally, more people seemed to own boats at Empire Farm Days than at some other shows that the boating campaign has participated in," said Chapman. "It may be that those attending Empire Farm Days are generally from more rural areas, where recreation such as fishing and hunting are traditional and accessible activities. Many people who we spoke with were certainly avid fishermen. In addition, although the show certainly draws people from far beyond the Finger Lakes region, attendees from the local area - in the heart of the Finger Lakes region - have numerous lakes to choose from for boating. Owning a boat in that area really gives you access to a variety of fishing and recreation opportunities without having to drive great distances." 

Late last month, the 2011 Discover Clean & Safe Boating exhibit also made a stop at the Skaneateles Antique and Classic Boat Show. Among the visitors were Randy Knapick, of Portland Oregon, pictured below lifting up his three year old niece Alice Knapick, of Manlius, NY, so they could look at NYSG's Clean and Safe boat display (photo courtesy of Skaneateles Journal). Each summer during the last weekend in July, the Finger Lakes Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society invites wooden boaters from across the U.S. and Canada to gather at the north end of Skaneateles Lake (one of NY's eastern most Finger Lakes) for this boat show.


“Due to the popularity of this campaign, the 2011 exhibit includes both a recreational fishing boat and a canoe to provide both motorized and non-motorized boaters the opportunity to learn about clean and safe boating,” said campaign developer New York Sea Grant Coastal Recreation and Tourism Specialist Dave White, who received a BoatUS Foundation award for this effort earlier this year.

Helping those who enjoy the water learn how to slow the spread of aquatic invasive species is an added focus of the 2011 Discover Clean & Safe Boating campaign. National Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers information is available at the exhibit along with a prize wheel and the opportunity to sign a Clean and Safe Boating Pledge.

Along with its partners the Boating Industries Association of Upstate NY, and Marathon Boat Group, New York Sea Grant announced last fall that more than 1,400 New York residents from Clayton and Oswego to Skaneateles, Seneca Falls and Syracuse took the Clean and Safe Boating Pledge in 2010, and thousands more were exposed to good boating practices by the 2500-plus mile February-September campaign. People of all ages signed their promise to safely operate their boats, minimize wake, prevent fuel and oil spills, practice good cleaning and maintenance, use pumpouts and dump stations, keep waters free of litter and waste, and control the spread of aquatic nuisance species.

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a statewide network of integrated research, education, and extension services promoting the coastal economic vitality, environmental sustainability and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources, is currently in its 40th year of “Bringing Science to the Shore.” NYSG, one of 32 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is a cooperative program of the State University of New York and Cornell University. The National Sea Grant College Program 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.