By Jim Steele
Invasive species is an unintended product of globalization and will require some adjustment in order to control. Just as increased travel opportunities and speeds have created the prospect of disease epidemics, the increase in world trade has introduced invasive species and the need for vector controls. For quagga and zebra mussels, the main vectors are boats. The mussels can hitch a ride as adults on the hull, in bilges and even anchor lockers. The larvae are invisible to the naked eye and can be in any wet space. The best control method is to have a clean, drained, dry boat.
For some lakes looking to lower their contamination risk a control point is set up and each boat is inspected for a clean hull, drained hoses and engines, and a dry bilge and anchor locker. This single control point approach was considered for Lake County but was deemed too expensive and could harm the very economy to be protected. There is also some concern that this method is not as protective as it needs to be. So the County formed an invasive species council that developed the program that we have now. After a couple of seasons tinkering with the program a major upgrade is being considered. The basic tenet of the program is to rely on boater responsibility and for the most part that theory works. The problem comes from boaters that are unknowledgeable, boats that are difficult or impossible to keep mussel free and that rare scofflaw. The high consequence of having a contaminated boat sneak through requires a rethink.
The first change is to identify the small percentage of very high risk boats ahead of time and send them directly through a quarantine time-out or decontamination. After looking at boat construction for some time, it became apparent that flooded keel ballast boats such as some sail boats were impossible to inspect or decontaminate and should only be quarantined. Other quarantine-only boats would be large house boats or other normally moored boats that are just too unwieldy to inspect or decontaminate. Even ballast boats designed to create large wakes do not dry completely and should go through a quarantine or decontamination before entering the lake. Some faster decontamination methods are available to make ballast bags safe and could be used. When these high risk boats are removed from the equation, the present screening process has a better chance to work with a couple more tweaks. The biggest change is to increase the training of the screeners and always require a visual inspection of the boat for the clean, drain, dry requirement. This won”t be possible without an increase in the share of the fee to the screener to offset the time or put on more help. The natural incentive of screeners is to keep the lake free from the quality-of-life changing mussels but they must be able to afford the process. That new fee schedule is presently being considered. A new cadre of special Inspectors is being considered that would answer to the County rather than a business and go through a high level of training. They would make the call on suspect boats and also do the decontamination procedure.
The out-of-town boats that travel from contaminated counties or out of state are at the center of the risk and of course having them identified ahead of time with a decal would be great. But, if they want to travel here and process right into the lake without decontamination costs and begin their vacation, a boat cabled-to-trailer quarantine is presently being proposed to the Department of Fish and Game. The boater could take their clean, drained, dry boat to their local Fish and Game office and have the boat cabled to the trailer and after a computer tracked length of time, they would arrive at the lake to be de-cabled and launched. Even a boat that is screened here and wants to leave and return without a re-look can do so if their boat is cabled to the trailer.
Of course the boater that has the most to lose but the most launching privileges is the resident. Their property and everyone”s would lose value if they should contaminate the lake from a quick trip out of county and return. Even if they wanted to do the right thing, they might not know what to do. A new requirement to know study information and take a test is being considered. Sample information is available at the website http://hostwel.com/quagga and a sample test. Give it a try and see how well you do. As a sneak preview, to be mussel free if you leave the county and return, keep your boat on the trailer for one week after it”s drained and dry before launch.
Finally, the County ordinance and program dealing with fines, residence testing, signage, monitoring and other important items will be coming to the County Board of Supervisors this fall, watch for that and be there with your input. It”s all about protecting our quality of life in Lake County. To comment on any of this, give the County Invasive Species Coordinator Carolyn Ruttan a call at 295-0333.
Jim Steele is a retired Cal Fish and Game scientist, registered professional forester, part-time consultant and a full-time Lake County resident-volunteer.
