Best Practice

These guidelines support the bi-national Habitattitude education campaign, which promotes ethical and humane treatment of organisms and alternatives for preventing the release of organisms into the environment through reuse and resale of live organisms, and proper disposal. 

The guidelines are intended to provide water gardeners with consistent invasive-species-prevention recommendations. Accordingly, water gardeners, water gardening societies, retailers, and outreach professionals who work with water gardeners are encouraged to use this information to guide their own activities and when developing outreach tools. 

The purpose of these guidelines is to: provide a consistent, practical, and effective document to inform outreach efforts geared toward public recreationalists to prevent the spread of AIS; take into account the specific pathways, vectors, and life histories of all AIS, including fish, aquatic plants, invertebrates, and pathogens; and promote voluntary actions to support the national Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers!™ campaign, as well as statewide efforts such as Clean Boats, Clean Waters.