I read Mr. Steele”s dissertation on the quagga mussel problem and I”m pleased to see his concern. Mr. Steele”s points that a fee-based system is counterproductive, the fines need to be increased and the enforcement system must be watertight (pun intended) are accurate. We should acknowledge the efforts to date of those working on the problem, including the chamber of commerce and the quagga rangers. I have recently heard there is a county office responsible for the program.
I hasten to add that I do not have that solution given the politics and budgets we live under. The requirements are obvious ? we need 24/7 control and inspection of boats entering Lake County (let alone California).
Some possibilities and anomalies come to mind:
a. Even the state border agricultural inspection stations are often closed with traffic whizzing by. I know of people who circumvent the ag inspection stations by taking backroads. What do we think is being accomplished by those facilities and their attendant costs? There is something to be learned here.
b. Given the road and highway access to this area, might it be possible to partner with Mendocino and other counties in a control program?
c. Would the sheriff and highway patrol participate in a “stop the un-stickered boat” program on the roads into the county?
d. Might we combine efforts of the sheriff, the city police, the highway patrol, the vector control office, the quagga rangers, the animal control agencies, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and the California Fish and Game agency?
e. Where is the vector control office on this problem? Didn”t we just vote a tax increase or surcharge which is supposed to be funding that agency? (Is the quagga a vector?)
As Mr. Steele, and others, have said, it”s a tough problem that needs real solutions.
Daniel W. Christensen
Lakeport
