Lake County’s Water Resources office received notice on Tuesday that the state had approved $189,000 from an invasive species program to aid in local quagga mussel prevention efforts.
The funds come from the California Parks and Recreation’s Division of Boating and Waterways and will allow water resources to employ up to 10 people to monitor high volume boat ramps around the lake for two years. Staffing at the ramps will be on a seasonal basis, operating in the summer.
“This is absolutely critical,” said water resources director Scott De Leon. “Everyone would agree that the current program we have is effective as a boater education program, but the fact is we don’t have physical or personal barriers at the ramps.”
The state Division of Boating and Waterways collected $2.5 million to distribute in grants after Senate Bill 2443 was passed in late 2012, which added $8 per year on freshwater boat registration fees for the purpose of preventing quagga infestations. Each individual grant was limited to $200,000. County officials from several departments submitted the application in November, with Carolyn Ruttan of Water Resources coordinating the work.
The county has relied on $90,000 from Watershed Protection District funds to operate a boat inspection program and was in the process of recruiting volunteer ramp monitors in case the grant application fell through.
“Volunteer programs are great and we’re able to do a lot of things as a result, but it’s difficult to make them sustainable,” De Leon observed.
The application outlined a $226,000 plan, with county funds making up the difference. Six percent of this is earmarked for an educational program involving public displays of a vessel covered in noxious mussels. The remained will go toward hiring and training ramp monitors.
Stationed at busy ramps in Lakeport, Clearlake Oaks, Clearlake and Kelseyville, the monitors will be responsible for ensuring boats passed the quagga screening process, passing out educational materials and conducting boater surveys.
De Leon and his staff are awaiting further details from the state regarding this year’s grant. He informed the county earlier that the state may be building up a reserve of the Quagga.
Eli Nymeyer contributed to this report
