LAKEPORT — Effective since Jan. 1, all boats launched in any waters of Lake County will require a 2011 quagga mussel sticker.
According to Carolyn Ruttan of the county”s Water Resources Department, the resident stickers are purple on gold with a blue annual 2011 sticker.
Visitor stickers are blue on white with a purple monthly sticker.
Ruttan said each boat will be issued three stickers, two for the boat (one on each side near the CF number) and one for the rear of the trailer. Instructions on how to attach them will be provided by the sticker agent. The price for the sticker is $10.
A number of Lake County residents are asking why they need to renew the stickers. Ruttan said the county needs to remind residents that we have a mussel prevention program in Lake County because the introduction of quagga or zebra mussels to Lake County must be prevented. She said that it is a real and very serious threat, as more lakes become infested, the infestation risk increases and residents need to bear some of the responsibility for making the county program successful.
“Those boaters who use their vessels in other lakes must be re-screened on re-entering Lake County so that they remain aware of which counties are infested and the need to travel with a clean, drained and dry boat. They should also be aware that if their vessel needs decontamination after visiting an infested county, the procedure is a free service provided by the Department of Water Resources,” Ruttan said.
She went on to say that residents need to be reminded to educate their friends, family members and visitors about the mussel threat and the relative ease with which mussels can be transported from one water body to another. They need to be reminded of the size of this critter ? microscopic in the larval (veliger) form.
According to Ruttan, residents do not need to take their vessel to a participating business to buy a set of 2011 stickers. They need their DMV vessel registration (which needs to show the vessel registered in Lake County) and the copy of the mussel prevention program application form that they were given when first signing up for the program. They will fill out a new form ? legibly, and be asked whether they keep their boat clean, drained and dry. They will be reminded to have their boat re-screened whenever they return with boat from out of county.
Ruttan said that non-resident boaters are also being issued new stickers because the visitor bands were difficult, if not impossible, to see from a distance. The stickers will be easier for law enforcement personnel to see. The non-resident sticker will be valid only for the month that it is issued.
Those with comments or questions should e-mail or call Ruttan at carolynr@co.lake.ca.us, 295-0333.
