Launch a boat in Green Lake, Wisconsin, and you may run into Tracy Nowacki, a friendly woman with a clip board. We met Nowacki on duty at the Horner’s Landing ramp, dressed in her bright blue “Clean Boats/Clean Waters” shirt and standing next to a compost pile of weeds she’d removed from boat trailers. Her mission is education and data collection. Funded by a grant from the Wisconsin DNR, the Green Lake Association stations Nowacki and other watercraft inspectors at six launch ramps on the 7,300-acre lake primarily to gather data for the DNR and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point College of Natural Resources, which is studying how invasive species such as zebra mussels and spiny water fleas spread. The information is entered into an online DNR database called SWIMS, which stands for Surface Water Integrated Monitoring System. In 2024 the program inspected 144,691 boats across the state.
How often are you out at the launch ramp?
This is my third season, and I work a four-hour shift three days a week. They usually have some college kids doing this, but I’m semi-retired and like to be outdoors. It gives me something to do while my husband is fishing.
What kind of questions do you ask boaters?
When they pull in to launch, I ask if the boat has been used in another body of water in the past five days. If the answer is yes, I ask where the boat has been. The idea is to help researchers track patterns that could transport invasive species.
Looks like you are collecting weeds too.
When a boat is retrieved, I help remove any weeds from the trailer and remind the owner that by law they need to drain their boat and discard any live bait. I try to keep it friendly. I’m not enforcing the law. Many people are still unaware about the spread of invasives, especially younger people. I also point out the wash stations we have at two of our ramps.
Read Next: How Boaters Can Stop the Spread of Invasive Species
How many boaters do you encounter a day?
Usually 30 to 40 boats launch in my shift, more if there’s a tournament on the lake.
Does anyone give you a hard time?
Most everyone is cooperative, and many people actually thank me for being out here to protect the lake. I’ve only had one a$$hole this year.
