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Saturday, July 10, 2010
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Invasive species New law targeting invasives an education for area boaters Outdoors Editor More than anything, the Fourth of July weekend was an educational experience for Minnesota boaters.
As in drain your live well and remove your drain plug.
And, of course, don't forget to replace your drain plug.
In conjunction with a new law that took effect July 1 requiring boaters to drain all water before leaving any lake or river in the state (previously, boaters were only required to drain their boats after being on infested waters), the DNR ramped up invasive species enforcement with Pick It or Ticket Weekend over the Fourth of July weekend.
Phil Meier, southern regional manager of enforcement for the DNR and the point man for the Pick it or Ticket project, said most of the boaters checked over the weekend were in compliance and didn't need to be reminded to pull the plug.
Now it's just the matter of remembering to replace it.
In his report after the holiday weekend, DNR conservation officer Chad Sherack of Pequot Lakes said he "inquired and found many boaters are forgetting to replace the plug after removing it when going lake to lake. One angler returned to the dock after parking his truck and trailer only to find his boat nearly filled with water. The boater said, 'It just isn't part of my routine and it will take some getting used to.'"
The DNR is aware of that.
"There's going to be a learning curve," Meier said. "Initially our response is to educate the public. We're not out there to write tickets."
According to Meier, unofficially, with 700 DNR contacts at checkpoints throughout the state, there were five criminal citations, four civil citations, 40-plus written warnings and about the same number of verbal warnings issued over the weekend. But most, Meier said, were likely for transporting invasive species, which has been illegal for some time, Meier said. Eurasian milfoil and zebra mussels are the main culprits in the state.
"If they (boaters) are forgetting one thing it's to empty the live well. Not taking time to make sure all the water is drained from the boat," Meier said. "Other concerns we've had are that the big recreational boats - water ski boats - never quite drain. For some it's almost impossible to completely drain. So we're having some issues. But we didn't have anyone upset about it. They understand that it's an issue. The thing we like to tell people is we can only do so much. We depend on the boating public to do their part to make sure they're not transporting invasive species."
The new law kept area conservation officers even busier during the hectic Fourth of July weekend, as was evident in their reports following the weekend:
Randy Posner (Brainerd): "Worked on invasive species violations along the Crow Wing and Mississippi rivers. Some of the violations observed include failure to remove boat drain plug after leaving an infested river and empty all water from boat."
Jim Tischler (Water Resources, Brainerd): "Concentrated efforts on invasive species enforcement on Lake Mille Lacs and the Brainerd lakes area over the holiday weekend for the "Pick It or Ticket event. He also worked an invasive species detail on Lake Superior."
Brent Speldrich (McGregor): "Focused his work efforts on invasive species inspections and detections. Many contacts were made on local McGregor lakes for new laws regarding drain plugs and aquatic vegetation."
Mike Lee (Isle): "Worked invasive species enforcement and found that compliance with pulling boat plugs, draining all water and removing vegetation is getting better."
Greg Verkuilen (Garrison): "The new invasives law regarding mandatory boat plug removal on all lakes was enforced. Many people were already familiar with the July 1 law and complied without notice from the officer. A few appeared to have a deep-seated resentment about having a dry boat. Written therapy was administered."
Said Meier: "In the near future the job will be to tell them (boaters) what's expected of them. The time is here where our job is to educate - on the new law ... on existing laws, hauling invasive species. When you look at the numbers, most of the people were complying (with the new law) and knew about it.
"It (invasive species) is a topic where people out there are enjoying the lakes and are concerned about it - that it (the spread of invasive species) can happen and how easy it is to spread."
BRIAN S. PETERSON may be reached at brian.peterson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5864. To follow him on Twitter, go to www.twitter.com/brian_speterson.
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