By Staff
The topic isn't in the headlines each week, nor even in conversations with friends.
This week though, Gov. Jennifer Granholm would like to raise public awareness about a problem which could destroy our beautiful Michigan shorelines.
Aquatic Invasive Awareness Week will hopefully encourage those who enjoy Michigan waters to take preventative measures and demonstrate caution to allow future generations to also appreciate our recreational assets.
To protect our waters from invasive species, watercrafts and other recreational equipment should be inspected before leaving a lake.
Any vegetation should be removed, all live wells drained and any areas which may contain water cleaned.
Also, unused bait should be disposed of in the trash.
An aquatic invasive species is defined by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) as "a waterborne, non-native organism that threatens the diversity of abundance of native species, the ecological stability of impacted waters or threatens a commercial, agricultural, or recreational activity."
These invasive species not only threaten our recreational use of Michigan waters, they also have negative impacts on sport and commercial fishing and various industries, along with our native fish and wildlife.
If you are interested in learning more ways of protecting our waters, visit www.protectyourwaters.net, or call the Office of the Great Lakes at 517/335-4056.