Phillips Says Education Key to Combat Aquatic Invasive Species

Spring and summer in Minnesota means boating, and lots of it. And with boating comes talk about aquatic invasive species contaminating our lakes.

“Everything from mussels to every kind of weed that you can think of is fouling our lakes,” says Three Rivers Park District’s John Gunyou. “It’s something that we have to be concerned about.”

That’s why U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Third District, hosted a roundtable discussion on Monday. He talked with experts about what the problem is and what to do about it. One takeaway for Phillips? Education.

“When I learned that only young boaters under the age of 17 are getting the education about this issue, of course my first reaction is why not everybody?” said Phillips. “Because if the common response when people are not passing inspections is ‘I had no idea,’ that says everything we need to know. Education costs so much less than the devastation that results from a lack of it.”

Phillips plans to take what he learned about aquatic invaders back to Washington. There, he’ll work on helping the state fight invasive species.