Volunteers Urge Boaters, Beachgoers to "Stash Your Trash"

Signs urging boaters and beachgoers to "stash your trash" and improve water quality are popping up across Manatee County, thanks to volunteers from Wildlife Rescue Service and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 85. The 500 aqua-colored signs were funded through a $3500 grant to Keep Manatee Beautiful (KMB) from the Manasota Basin Board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Volunteers are placing the signs on trash receptacles at the beach accesses on Anna Maria Island, county public boat ramps and river parks, and waterfront parks in the cities of Bradenton and Palmetto. In addition, Florida Sea Grant staffers have been distributing the signs to private marinas, boatyards and bait shops in Manatee County.

KMB also is using a $3,600 grant from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program to update bulletin boards on Boaters' and Anglers' Environmental Service Centers installed at five popular boat ramps on waterways that connect to Tampa Bay. The bulletin boards provide up-to-date information on marine pollution, manatee and seagrass protection and artificial reef locations, as well as the Boaters' and Anglers' Pledge to keep Florida waters clean. KMB, working with Manatee County Parks staff, clean the bulletin boards and restock trash bags at each service center quarterly.

For more information about the Boaters and Anglers Campaign, call Keep Manatee Beautiful at 941-795-8272.