The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is happy to announce the winners of the 2019 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 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 assessment crew supervisor. “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.”
The sponsors who helped protect Wyoming’s waters are Sportsman’s Warehouse (Casper, Cheyenne, Gillette, Rock Springs and Sheridan); 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.
Scott Stoltenberg of Nebraska was the grand prize winner, taking home a Firman P03611 4550/3650 Watt portable generator, Yeti Tundra 65 cooler, Coleman Sportster propane grill and Sportsman's Warehouse deluxe hard armchairs.
Additional winners of the raffle and their prizes were:
- William Bertagnole, Utah - Guided trout fishing trip for two
- John Pochynok, Utah- Dragonfly 4Pro Finder
- Ramiro Candelaria, Wyoming - Liquid Force SC Vortex wakeboard
- Brian O’Leary, Utah - Coleman dual-fuel two-burner camp stove
This was Wyoming’s tenth boating season following passage of AIS legislation in 2010. In 2019, 51,513 watercraft inspections were conducted for invasive plants and animals, including zebra and quagga mussels. This included 4,197 inspections on watercraft considered to be high risk for transporting AIS, and of those 539 required decontamination to eliminate the potential for AIS transport.
Since watercraft inspections began in 2010, over 426,500 inspections have been conducted.
