NEW YORK STATE — Public comment is being sought until Saturday, April 2 on changes to a state-level management plan that affect campgrounds and day-use area generic units.

The amendments would support ongoing efforts to prevent the spread of harmful aquatic invasive species (AIS), New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) commissioner Basil Seggos said. Storage facilities for decontamination equipment would be constructed; the equipment is used to remove AIS from watercraft at DEC sites.

The DEC manages campgrounds at the Beaverkill and Mongaup Pond in Sullivan County. They also manage Little Pond and Bear Spring Mountain in Delaware County.

Examples of the invaders are plants like didymo (aka rock snot), hydrilla, the starry stonewort and the water chestnut. Invasive aquatic animals include the Chinese mitten crab, the Northern snakehead, the sea lamprey and the spiny waterflea.

Invasive species, according to the DEC website, “threaten nearly every aspect of our world and are one of the greatest threats to New York’s biodiversity.”  

Aquatic invasives cause or contribute to habitat loss or degradation and the loss of native fish. Invasives can threaten human health too. They have been found in many New York lakes, ponds and rivers, according to the DEC.

Making matters worse, “recreational watercraft are a common pathway for harmful aquatic invasive plant and animal species to enter and spread in New York waters,” Seggos said.

Recreational watercraft are a major vector for the transport and introduction of AIS, according to the Aquatic Bioinvasion Research and Policy Institute.

The sea lamprey, an aquatic invasive species that's been around for 340 million years, attaches itself to other fish and feeds on blood and fluids. …

Boats get trailered from one place to another, and if they aren’t cleaned properly in between, they carry all sorts of wildlife from one body of water to another. Rothlisberger, et al. studied trailered boats and “collected numerous aquatic and terrestrial organisms, including some species that are morphologically similar to known aquatic invasive species,” according to an abstract of their 2010 study.

To stop the spread, inspections are conducted. Stewards decontaminate boats; the units use high pressure and hot water to dislodge and remove AIS from the watercraft and trailers.

Currently, decontamination units are housed in sheds that are placed seasonally. Moving the temporary sheds at the end of each season is challenging, the DEC spokesman said, and can damage the equipment. The proposed amendment would advance DEC efforts to construct storage facilities at campgrounds and day-use areas in the Adirondack and Catskill parks to store decontamination equipment.

You can do your part too. Remember to clean, drain and dry watercraft and equipment. Take proactive steps, such as cleaning off fishing tackle, removing aquatic vegetation from rudders, disinfecting boat hulls and water compartments, and properly disposing of bait, to significantly reduce the risk of spreading invasives.

The draft amendment is posted on the DEC website at https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/camping.html. Copies of the draft amendment are available; call 518/457-2500. Public comments on the draft amendment are accepted through April 2, and can be submitted by mail or email to Josh Houghton, NYS DEC Bureau of Recreation, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-5253. Send an email to campinfo@dec.ny.gov.

For more information, go to https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/48221.html.

Sure is spiny, and it eats a lot too: The spiny waterflea lives in open water and is planktivorous, gobbling up to 20 zooplankton per flea per day, …