HELP! INVASIVE SPECIES, ANS ARE HERE!

[JohnMickish]

OK, it's a little early in the year to be writting this but us fishermen (and women) and boaters need to group together on this. I will tell you that this is pobably our last year to make an impact before we get more rules and fees. We need to stop the spread the best we can, on our own.

Outdoor News just ran an article about some of the changes and fees that watershed districts and the DNR are thinking about. There is talk of majorly increasing the penalties as well. There is mention of a tag system, for those that don't know what a tag system is I'll explain it.

This past summer I got the oppertunity to fish with a guy from Colorado, they have tag system there and he explained it to me.

First you have to pay to get your boat inspected to make sure it's clean and they put a clean tag on it. If you launch at a clean lake, (There is a fee at all lakes to cover this) the worker removes the clean tag when you enter the lake. When you come off the water the worker puts on a new clean tag. You can go back in a clean lake with a clean tag.

If you put in on a dirty lake, the worker removes the clean tag and when you come off you get a dirty tag. You can put back in a dirty lake with a dirty tag but to go into a clean lake you have to get inspected again. If you come off the water after hours you get no tag and you start the process from the begining. These inspections, if I remember correctly where like $100 each time.

Now Colorado dosen't have the number of lakes we have but they are very protective of what they have. There is talk of this system coming here and guess who is going to pay for it.

A couple weeks ago I was at the NPAA conference and there where two US Fish and Wildlife biologist there explaining what we can do to help stop the spread. Are you willing to spend 5 minutes to do your part? It's remarkably easy.

First, don't transfer water. Duh, it was a law put in place last year. If you want to keep your minnows bring water from home.

Don't throw your excess bait in the lake. Dispose of it in the trash can at the landing.

Don't throw your crawlers/worms on the ground. The north forest have been forever changed from worms. When the ice age and glaciers came thru they killed all the worms but in the last 50 years they have been re-introduced changing the eco system forever. Throw them in the trash as well.

And lastly, wash you boat. A study was done to see the effectiveness of this and a two and a half minute pressure wash was responsible for removing 60% of visual ANS (Zebras, snails and such) and it would remove 90% of the microscopic organizms like milfoil seeds, spiney water flea, zebra spores)

As I said earlier, this is probably going to be our last year, the state is ready to move forward on this. People are not going to like the changes coming but it dosen't matter, it's going to be the law. The state and lake association groups want to protect their lakes. Invasive species, be it plant or fish are a very real issue that needs to be addressed. It is changing the landscape of the waters we use.

Don't be "that guy". Help educate your friends on what they can do and lets keep the spread down as much as we can.

[harvey lee]

Great post and I agree that if we ALL do not police ourselves better, we will ALL pay and it will be a royal pain if we ourselves do not address this.

I know when I go catfishing in the river that I have to deal with the bait and water but it is not that hard and only takes minutes.

Let's all get on board and do what we can to help stop the sprtead of these species.

[foulpole18]

I think we need to be proactive about invasive species but this sounds rediculous. How about we start by preventing the cargo ships that bring here, from bringing it here.

Who's going to inspect and give tags to birds and other wildlife that go from lake to lake?

The tags system sounds like a waste of time to me. So for about 18 hours a day at 10,000 lakes where going to have people there to dole out these tags? Nothing says shut down tourism in fishing communities like dealing with all that b.s. Seems to me to be a day late and a dollar short. Invasives have been around for how long and nobody has come up with a way to stop cargo ships from bringing more over. This won't work any better than if people were more diligent about cleaning there boats off.

[crappiegetter]

What is gonna be considered a clean lake because most that a person can go to has milfoil at least around the metro area?

[JohnMickish]

A clean lake will be one that does not have a invasive species currently in it. I think all lakes in the metro area have milfoil in them but only a few have Zebra muscles in them.

The DNR can't control what birds transfer from lake to lake, but they can control what people do.

Their are rules in place that are supposed to prevent ships from transfering things in their ballast water but who can police what happens in international waters, and when you get a captian that breaks the rules he ruins it for all of us. Think Gobies, Lampreys, Spiney Water Fleas, Zebra Muscles, some new snail they found and a bunch of other things because people didn't think that what they did or didn't do would matter.

I'm not saying that the tag system is going to be implemented, it's just one option but I am just trying to put the message out there, that either we can stop it or we will be told how to stop it, the choice is ours.

[live4chrome]

I cant see this whole tag thing working.

over 10,000 lakes in mn. Many with multiple launches. Where is the DNR going to find hte money to hire an additional 30,000 workers to monitor all of the launches. Its agood concept, and I am very strongly in support of stopping invasives. I just dont see the state finding the money to do this in the current economical situation. Heck, aren't they talking about cutting stocking of loopers on the north shore for lack of money and shutting down the french hatchery.

The money could be better spent on regulating SHIPPING in and out of L.S. and in school education programs and MinAqua.

just my .02$

[foulpole18]

I understand your trying to get the word out. This is Minnesota and our gov't always think they can make it better. Regardless of what it costs or if it's even feasible, they'll do so it looks like their doing something.

I always clean my boat, and trailer and try to be mindful of where I fished last. If I fish a lake which has invasive I try to wash and let my boat dry for 5 days before I go to a lake that doesn't have invasives. I hope that by taking these precautions, I'm not the guy that introduces them to a lake.

[harvey lee]

I guess it comes down to trying to help the situation or just throwing caution to the wind and then let the DNR do what they believe is correct to help our lakes be cleaner.

I am not saying this will save the day so to speak but I will sure do all I can to help or we can let the chips fall where they may.

It sure cannot hurt the way I look at it.

[JohnMickish]

That's the point I'm trying to get across. The Feds and the state have taken a "wait and see" attitude long enough and are ready to impose new regulations.

In the Outdoor News article there was also talk of a $50 per year boat fee to pay for the policing of the new rules. This would hit all boaters, not just those that fish.

I'm just saying to do your part, clean your boat and don't transfer water out of the lake. If you have a buddy that dosen't want to listen (I have one of those friends) ride him like he was a petty zoo pony at a 6 year olds birthday party until he gets the picture.

[waterwolff]

So I went to the Colorado boaters HSOforum and as mnfishinguy has stated

the tag system if implemented in Minnesota would seriously impede fishing or boating as we know it. Managed and reduced access times,restricted and reduced times spent on the water,additional boating fees, ect,ect,ect. So long story short pull your plugs, wash it down, flood your livewell's with fresh water clearing not only your intake but also your discharge tubes and make sure there are no weeds or weed seeds.

MR

[harvey lee]

Trouble is, there will be some that will be stubborn and not do this as they believe it will not help.

Then we can all pay and have a big hassle on our hands when this might come down on us all.

I would propose to the DNR to hit the ones that will not follow the plug and livewell rules HARD. LIke $500.00 each time they violate the plug and livewell rules. They would soon abide by the rules then.

For those who follow the rules, no fines. Seems pretty simple to me.

[Raider4ever]

This could of all been taken care of if the government, at all levels, would of made the ocean going shipping transports dump their ballast before entering North American waterways instead of accepting their "Political Action Money" (i.e. bribe) to not have to do so. If you live along the great lakes or Ol' Man RIver, blame your mayor, port authority director, governor, congressmen, and president. Not livewell guy. And if you don't, now you know why your lake has what it has in it.

P.S. Keep following the rules/suggestions regarding slowing the spread. It is only through people things will get done. Yes, there will always be boneheads that won't. Hopefully they will become fewer and fewer. Your elected officials are pretty much useless when it comes to deciding between common sense or their personal wallet.

[Black_Bay]

Well the other thing is that the feds need to put a total stop to all imports of live animals and plants. Snake heads basically came here via UPS or FedEx when someone ordered them online, Eurasian Water Milfoil was brought here as an aquarium plant, purple loosestrife was braught as an ornimental and the list goes on and on.

As far as having "dirty" and "clean" lakes I say what a farce. Most lakes that have invasives only have one or two. If I'm at a lake that is designated dirty because it has EWM is it ok for me to go to a lake that has zebra mussels? Obviously a boater would still have to do the same things as we do now, drain the boat, take off all veggies. I'd bet that once a person got their "Dirty" sticker they would just bop from dirty lake to dirty lake without doing a thing. Afterall they already have a dirty lake boat and have a sticker to prove it.

[harvey lee]

I will continue to do my part to help not spread it anymore.

We can complain about who and how but no need to make it any worse.

[mainbutter]

I would propose to the DNR to hit the ones that will not follow the plug and livewell rules HARD. LIke $500.00 each time they violate the plug and livewell rules. They would soon abide by the rules then.

As much as excessive fines may discourage behavior, we have this pesky "unusual punishment" phrase in this thing called the "Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution".

This covers excessive fines. A fine must fit the crime.

Rarely enforcing a law because of a lack of funds, but with excessive punishment when it is enforced, is unconstitutional.

That said, I don't think that $500 is excessive for the damage that introducing particular invasive species has on lakes.

I wish we had a way to prevent the spread of or fight damaging invasive species better, but the BEST thing we can do is simply educate outdoorsmen!

[Shawn Kellett]

Trouble is, there will be some that will be stubborn and not do this as they believe it will not help.

Then we can all pay and have a big hassle on our hands when this might come down on us all.

I would propose to the DNR to hit the ones that will not follow the plug and livewell rules HARD. LIke $500.00 each time they violate the plug and livewell rules. They would soon abide by the rules then.

For those who follow the rules, no fines. Seems pretty simple to me.

It's sad when some people don't want to do the bare minimum to keep our lakes clean. Let's face it if the shipping industry did the bare minimum we probably wouldn't have any of these issues.

Here's the thread from earlier this year on the pull your plug law:

http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2299865/1

[JohnMickish]

Everybody is right, IF the shipping captians would have done what they where supposed to do we wouldn't have this problem, but they didn't. All we can do is do our part.

I'm not trying to preach some doom and gloom but I can tell you that there are going to be major changes coming down the pipe regarding invasive species, at both the state and federal level. For those of us that fish more than one lake and more than one state this could turn into a major pain in the butt.

Lets just do our part and get your friends to do theirs too.

[Superduty]

OK, I applaud everybody that is doing their part to keep our lakes free from exotic species. It shows you care for the resource.

That being said, Does anybody honestly think that anything short of closing down the public access to lakes will stop the spread of exotics? Honestly, I can pick weeds for a half hour from my boat and trailer, only to dump it in a lake tomorrow and the weeds that are between the bunks and the boat will still get transported. The carpet will also stay wet, the YOY zebra mussels(too small to even see) could live in the wet carpet for who knows how long. I could go on and on...

There really isn't an easy cost effective way to prevent the spread of exotics. It's impossible. We can blame all kinds of user groups: tournament fishermen, recreation boats, jet skiers, even waterfowl. Don't let lakeshore owners and watershed groups use exotics as a way to keep everybody out of "their" lakes. Are the negatives associated to exotic species really all that bad? I could list some exotics that have been beneficial too. As far as I can tell, exotic species havn't led to the demise of lake life/use as we know it. I think a select few are crying "the sky is falling" with intentions that may not be pure.

[DTro]

Couldn't agree more Superduty

[DeeJ]

You only have to convince the sheep to get it as law though... The lawmakers won't let the fact that it doesn't work stop them from "Creating jobs". Yuck.

[rng]

OK, I applaud everybody that is doing their part to keep our lakes free from exotic species. It shows you care for the resource.

That being said, Does anybody honestly think that anything short of closing down the public access to lakes will stop the spread of exotics? Honestly, I can pick weeds for a half hour from my boat and trailer, only to dump it in a lake tomorrow and the weeds that are between the bunks and the boat will still get transported. The carpet will also stay wet, the YOY zebra mussels(too small to even see) could live in the wet carpet for who knows how long. I could go on and on...

There really isn't an easy cost effective way to prevent the spread of exotics. It's impossible. We can blame all kinds of user groups: tournament fishermen, recreation boats, jet skiers, even waterfowl. Don't let lakeshore owners and watershed groups use exotics as a way to keep everybody out of "their" lakes. Are the negatives associated to exotic species really all that bad? I could list some exotics that have been beneficial too. As far as I can tell, exotic species havn't led to the demise of lake life/use as we know it. I think a select few are crying "the sky is falling" with intentions that may not be pure.

+1 couldn't of said it better myself.

[jentz]

Just like the asian carp,,,,,They will wait till they have to be controled!!!! When they can be stopped before they get to the great lakes.At a cost YES, but whats the cost after they are in the lakes.

No way Mn will do the clean,dirty lakes!! How and who SPEC-U-LATION.

FEAR MONGERING here we go again.

[flyfisher03]

There really isn't an easy cost effective way to prevent the spread of exotics. It's impossible. We can blame all kinds of user groups: tournament fishermen, recreation boats, jet skiers, even waterfowl. Don't let lakeshore owners and watershed groups use exotics as a way to keep everybody out of "their" lakes. Are the negatives associated to exotic species really all that bad? I could list some exotics that have been beneficial too. As far as I can tell, exotic species havn't led to the demise of lake life/use as we know it. I think a select few are crying "the sky is falling" with intentions that may not be pure.

Link from the DNR HSOforum on invasives. Read the information presented and look a the pictures especially the aquatic diseases and tell me if that isn't bad if it spreads in Minnesota.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/index.html

[mainbutter]

O\Are the negatives associated to exotic species really all that bad? I could list some exotics that have been beneficial too. As far as I can tell, exotic species havn't led to the demise of lake life/use as we know it. I think a select few are crying "the sky is falling" with intentions that may not be pure.

Agreed!

I sure like brown trout.. but I don't think you see a single outdoorsman complaining about brown trout.

Snakeheads are the most exaggerated invasive species ever.. next to burmese pythons. They're easy targets by the media simply because they're a bit alien looking to the average American.

Heck, milfoil sure has its own pros when it comes to fishing at certain times of year (though I'm of the opinion that the cons outweigh the pros). Just because something is non-native doesn't mean that it isn't 'beneficial' to recreation.

Zebra mussels and asian carp though, that's very worth of ever bit of our attention. I've seen firsthand the effect that zebra mussels have on a lake, from first introduction to a couple decades later. I don't even think I have to mention less-visible invasives such as VHS.

One thing we need to think about is the phrase "detrimental to the environment". As a society, we have this idea that the environment needs to remain exactly the same for decades on end, otherwise it's deteriorating. This is just not true. Wildlife and ecosystems are constantly in a fluid system of change.

[BriGuy88]

This is an interesting topic with good points from both sides. I live on a lake in the NW Metro and am on the lake association board. We discovered milfoil last year on our lake but it has been in the watershed for years. How it finally made it to our lake is anybody's guess, but now it is here.

A few years ago we were dealing with curly leaf pondweed and have knocked that back with the support of property owners. It looks like milfoil will be our next test. It will be interesting to see how the lake evolves in terms of water clarity, weed growth (both native and invasive), and fish populations.

Sure, I wish the milfoil hadn't made it here, but just because it has, I'm not in favor of shutting down the lake to outside boat traffic. The lakes in MN are a wonderful resource that we should all enjoy and help protect. Forcing everyone to get boats inspected and stickered to move from lake to lake isn't going to solve the problem IMO.