The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is happy to announce the winners of the 2018 Wyoming Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Boater Appreciation Raffle. Boaters who had their watercraft inspected by Game and Fish and completed an online survey were entered into a raffle for a variety of prizes. Inspections are important to help protect Wyoming’s waters from new aquatic invasive species.
“Thank you to our sponsors for their support of this raffle and to boaters who stopped for watercraft inspections and completed surveys this year,” said Beth Bear, Game and Fish aquatic invasive species coordinator. “Thanks to boaters, no evidence of zebra or quagga mussel larvae or adults has been detected in any Wyoming water, and those who clean, drain, dry help keep it that way.”
Sara DiRienzo, WGFD Public Outreach Specialist , and Tim Francois, Sportsman's Warehouse Cheyenne Manager, with 2018 AIS Boater Appreciation Raffle Grand Prizes
The sponsors who helped protect Wyoming’s waters are Sportsman’s Warehouse (Casper, Cheyenne and Rock Springs), The Reef Fly Shop, Cottages and RV; Citimarine; Marine Products, and the West Laramie Fly Store.
“These businesses provided generous support for our AIS program created by the Legislature to benefit all water users in the state, including irrigators and municipalities,” said Bear.
Alan Nielson of Utah was the grand prize winner, taking home a kayak package with two Emotion Guster Kayaks, paddles, lifejackets, ratchet straps and a Yeti Tundra 65 Cooler.
Additional winners of the raffle and their prizes were:
Brannan Feldt of Utah - Guided Trout Fishing Trip
Karen Przybylski of Colorado- Liquid Force Harley Wakeboard
Robin Rhodes of Wyoming - Calcutta High Performance Cooler
Kelly Brunner of Nebraska- Dragonfly 4DVS - 4" Downvision Sonar Display All prizes are completely funded by raffle sponsors.
This was Wyoming’s ninth boating season following passage of AIS legislation in 2010. In 2018, over 46,000 watercraft inspections were conducted for invasive plants and animals, including zebra and quagga mussels. This included over 2,800 inspections on watercraft considered to be high risk for transporting AIS, and of those over 450 required decontamination to eliminate the potential for AIS transport.
Since watercraft inspections began in 2010, over 375,000 inspections have been conducted.
