The Maine Warden Service will be actively patrolling waterways over the Fourth of July weekend to keep boaters safe and educate operators about invasive species in lakes, ponds and streams.
Wardens will be enforcing boating laws as part of Operation Dry Water, a national year-round campaign against boating under the influence, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
They will be looking for impaired operators, enforcing boat-speed laws, checking that everyone has a lifejacket and encouraging boaters to clean, drain and dry their watercrafts to avoid spreading invasive species, primarily plants such as milfoils.
Operating a boat with a blood alcohol level of .08 or higher is illegal in Maine, as it is with operating a motor vehicle.
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