Boating is a fun, family-oriented sport that has become more popular than ever. This popularity has put pressure on many bodies of water with increased traffic. Whether you live on the water or trailer to it, we all share responsibility for treating our waters wisely. Here’s just a few tips to being a good boating citizen and keeping the waters open.
- Stay as far away from the shoreline as possible. Boat wakes and noise subsides with distance.
- Follow the rules. If you trailer, many inland lakes and rivers have rules for all to follow to increase enjoyment and minimize confusion.
- Keep well away from other boaters. Even though regulations may state 150 or more feet, giving as wide a berth as possible is the right thing to do.
- Play music at a reasonable level. With no buffers like trees, sound travels much further on the water, especially downwind. While your friends may be impressed, people fishing may not.
- Aquatic Invasive Species. AIS comes in many animal and plant forms and can quickly change the ecology of the body of water. We all must be diligent in our efforts to Clean, Drain and, Dry the boat and trailer every time it is removed from the water.
