I just passed a State of California (L.E.D) sign (on the I-5 near Castaic) that was flashing that "All Boats Will be Insptected in Redding". Does anyone know what this is about? Are we, the RVers, next? Coach JT
from an article in the Redding Record Searchlight:
Flexing its law-enforcement muscle in an effort to keep invasive mussels out of north state waters, the state Department of Fish and Game on Thursday stopped vehicles hauling boats north on Interstate 5.
At the checkpoint, set up at the California Highway Patrol's Cottonwood Inspection Facility just south of the Shasta-Tehama county line, DFG wardens, biologists and dogs inspected boats to ensure they were free of quagga and zebra mussels.
"We are just trying to protect Lake Shasta," said Jordan Traverso, DFG spokeswoman.
The checkpoint also will be in effect today from 2 to 8 p.m. The mussels, likely stowaways in the ballast tanks of freighters from Eastern Europe, were first found in the Great Lakes in the late 1980s. Since then, they've spread to western U.S. waters, with the quagga mussel found early last year in Lake Havasu along the Colorado River.
DFG officials have increased inspections, education and other efforts to stop the mussels’ spread.
Boat owners coming from north of Sacramento, where waters are not known to have the mussels, were able to continue on after a quick talk with a warden who handed the driver a bag full of information on the mussels and boating. If the boats were coming from south of Sacramento, where mussels have been found in lakes and reservoirs, they went through a preliminary inspection.
None of the invasive mussels was found during the checkpoint. In all, 103 boats were checked Thursday and 37 got a closer look because they were from south of Sacramento. Seven boats ended up being examined by dogs.
Like dogs sniffing out drugs at the airport, the canines are trained to find quagga and zebra mussels. When they spot them, they sit and stare to show they’ve found the jackpot.
“We’ve trained them on live quagga,” said Lt. Christy Wurster, a DFG warden.
She said her dog, Wrigley, found dead quagga mussels on a boat that had been in a lake in Arizona.
Once Wrigley sniffed her way around three personal watercraft pulled behind Dennis Erman’s sports utility vehicle, the equipment was declared to be mussel free, and the San Jose man and his friends were clear to continue their trek to Lake Shasta for a weekend of water play.
“Sweet,” Erman said.
If mussels had been found aboard, he’d likely be in a different mood.
Wardens would give contaminated boat owners a paper that said their boats were quarantined, and officials were prepared to wrap a cable around the boat and through part of the trailer to keep it from being launched, said DeWayne Little, a DFG warden.
He said contaminated boats need to be brought out of the water and allowed to dry out for several days. The vessels have to pass a follow-up inspection before the cable is removed and the boats are free to float in any of the state’s waters.
“If there is water inside the boat, the mussels can live,” he said.
coachjt wrote: I just passed a State of California (L.E.D) sign (on the I-5 near Castaic) that was flashing that "All Boats Will be Insptected in Redding". Does anyone know what this is about? Are we, the RVers, next? Coach JT
Midwest has restrictions on bringing in firewood from out of the area, so I'd say it's not beyond the realm of possibilities....
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