Albany

Memo to boaters: Before you enter the water this weekend, make sure your craft is free of "visible plant or animal matter," that could spread invasive species such as the Asian water milfoil, spiny waterflea or the dreaded, havoc-wreaking zebra mussel.

That's because a new set of environmental regulations aimed at keeping invasive species out of the state's waterways are now in effect.

The best way to think of it is make sure your boat is "cleaned, drained and dry," said Eric Siy, executive director of the Fund for Lake George, which is one of the pioneers in efforts to beat back invasives. The group instituted a program three years ago that has since become permanent.

The statewide invasives initiative doesn't include the mandatory inspections found at Lake George, but Siy cheered the new rules. "It's a step in not just the right direction but a necessary direction,'' he said.

Invasive species have been entering New York waterways since at least the 19th century when sea lampreys, a variety of eel, were found in Lake Ontario.

Invasives hitch rides on vessels coming from overseas, but once they gain a foothold here can be transported from one lake or river to another if they are attached to boats or in the ballast water, if it isn't drained.

The non-native plants and animals out-compete their peers and can take over entire swaths of lakes or rivers.

The Eurasian milfoil plant for example can quickly choke out competing plants and make areas of a lake difficult to swim or boat in.

It has been a problem in Lake George and nearby Lake Champlain.

And zebra mussels, first spotted in Lake George in 1999, can clog water intake pipes as well as boat engines and dock pilings.

Spiny waterfleas, which are tiny crustaceans, first turned up in Great Sacandaga Lake in 2008 and have already damaged the ecosystem in the Great Lakes where they've crowded out alewife herring, which is a food source for popular game fish like salmon and trout.

The regulations require that boat owners, as well as owners of floating docks, take reasonable measures to make sure invasives are not in or on their craft. That involves visual inspections and, when invasives are found, measures like washing with hot water to get rid of the hitchhikers.

While the statewide regulations, which apply to motorized and non-motorized craft, don't require a visit to an inspection station like they have at Lake George, there are fines of up to $1,000 for repeat offenders.

Siy noted that boaters in Lake George haven't complained about mandatory inspections, and when needed, washings, since they realize it's part of an effort to keep invasives away.

"Based on the experience at Lake George, there is incredible support for stopping invasives from the waters that people love,'' he said.

They are planning to further publicize the effort, with a Northway billboard promoting a website, adkcleanboats.com, to inform people about the issue.

New York, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, has 7,600 freshwater lakes, ponds and reservoirs and 70,000 miles of rivers, brooks and streams, making the battle against invasives extra-important.

rkarlin@timesunion.com • 518-454-5758 • @RickKarlinTU