Older Teens Take Charge in Combating Lake Pests in Minnesota

The U.S. is in the midst of another slow summer job scene for teens. For Minnesota youth, leaders in charge of combating invasive species in lakes said the work can be a career training game changer.

Minnesota provides aid to local jurisdictions to hire seasonal boat inspectors at lake access points. The Department of Natural Resources helps with oversight as the staffers perform visual checks and educate boaters about preventing the spread of aquatic hitchhikers disrupting lake ecosystems.

Nick Phelps, director of the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center at the University of Minnesota, performed the work as a college intern.

“I made some bigger college and career decisions after that experience,” Phelps recounted. “It’s not just sitting in a lawn chair at a boat ramp but it’s interacting with the public. It’s a lot of experiences that are hard to replicate.”

The group Minnesota Lakes and Rivers said county and tribal governments lean on state funding to send out more than 800 boat inspectors each summer, including older teens. Through separate funding, the DNR hires 46 summer interns for the job. The money flowing to local agencies faces a 50% cut next year amid belt tightening at the state Capitol. Advocates hope the move is reversed next session.

Phelps noted the choice was easier because of a deep appreciation for Minnesota’s natural resources but added the recruitment, even if it does not lead to a career for all young boat inspectors, could expand a more diligent mindset to protect lakes from outside threats.

“Think of any big campaign where we want behavior to change. It’s almost always been targeted at kids. That’s the next generation. That’s the folks who are going to go home and tell their parents to do something different,” Phelps emphasized.

Tina Fitzgerald, watercraft inspection program coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, said a young adult can quickly gain confidence because of how the job is structured.

“A lot of the times they’re out there maybe alone or just with one other person. It’s a very independent job and so this really teaches you how to talk about aquatic invasive species, about our natural resources in a positive way,” Fitzgerald observed.

Jessamyn Foley, regional watercraft inspection program supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, recalled a positive experience for one of the agency’s recent interns who balanced the opportunity with a career pathway in water conservation.

“She was studying to be a hydrologist. She came back to the program. She worked as a level two watercraft inspector and then while she was working as a permanent inspector, she did find work as a full-time hydrologist,” Foley explained.