MANDATORY BOAT INSPECTIONS ON HIGHWAYS!

[Superduty]

Here we go again. I don't encourage anybody to transport invasive species but this is ridiculous and likely unconstitutional. Are they going to lift my boat up off the trailer and check the bunks? Anybody that thinks we can clean a boat good enough to stop the spread of invasives is displaying their ignorance. This is going to cause INCREDIBLE backups on highways. What's next? Are we going to stop anybody that looks like they were near an ash tree and check for the emerald ash borer?

[Maximum12]

Stuffing our collective heads in the sands hasn't worked for many years; good to see the DNR is finally taking action, where so many others haven't. Plenty of discussion here.

Boat Inspections

[Gordie]

Superduty you are right... this is crazy. I can see it now the headlines will read "Boater killed on the highway due to inspection".. Are they really that ignorant and dont say it wont happen because sooner or later it will.

[mww24]

wow. maybe they should try on the water DWI checkpoints first. get that under control.

[thatoneguy]

if DWI checkpoints are legal (and they are) there is no chance this will be ruled unconstitutional. sure, it will be a hassle, but it's not that big a deal. clean your rig the way you are supposed to and it will be nothing more than a rare inconvenience if you happen to be stopped.

[Superduty]

I always clean my boat at the boat landing. I do this to prevent getting a citation if I were to get checked by law enforcement. I guarantee it doesn't make any difference though. Pulling off the visible weeds does nothing more than make the do-gooders feel good. Even if you spent an hour picking at your boat after pulling it out of the water, you will never get every last fragment of milfoil or zebra mussel veliger that is going to be present on the bunks. We have two choices in this AIS mess. Shut down public access to lakes or deal with the consequences of AIS in our lakes. Only a few lake shore owners would be happy with closing public access. Believe it or not, none of the AIS we have today have decimated a lake. How inconvenienced do you want to be by a nonviable prevention attempt? How much money do you want to spend to stop something that can't be stopped? There isn't a scientist at the DNR that will disagree with me. I'm sure you can find a politician who thinks it is his/her job to direct the DNR to publicly oppose my statement.

[Griggs]

if DWI checkpoints are legal (and they are) there is no chance this will be ruled unconstitutional. sure, it will be a hassle, but it's not that big a deal. clean your rig the way you are supposed to and it will be nothing more than a rare inconvenience if you happen to be stopped.

Actually DWI checkpoints are not legal in Minnesota... Just throwing that out there =)

[thatoneguy]

You're right, Griggs. I had to think on it awhile, and remembered it was in Fargo that I encountered one. Since ND is basically a suburb of MN, I thought the same rules applied

[Saint Paul Dan]

Pardon the stupid question here but what exactly does "mandatory boat inspection on highways" actually mean? Is there a new state law that requires troopers to pull over ALL vehicles towing a watercraft? I thought there was currently a law that gave law enforcement officials the authority to pull you over if they spot any weeds on boat/trailer... I hope I'm misinterpreting this because it seems a bit extreme. Why not go directly to the source and have an official at public boat launches to do inspections rather than on highways?

[RumRiverRat]

They are unconstitutional and I will not stop if I encounter one.

Making people towing watercraft stop at an inspection station is profiling.

Looks like we will need a Checkpoint Alert Thread this summer.

[Lakeside_Nelson]

I understand the need to reduce/prevent the spread of invasive species, but this is ridiculous. I cannot wait to have my transportation time quadrupled... Maybe focusing on the landings of the more popular fished infested lakes could be a better solution (as was the case for the last few years). With only 18% of boaters inspected last year that were in violation it seams extreme to go to these measures. That said, I second RumRat's idea for a checkpoint alert thread.

[Raider4ever]

*WHUMP-WHUMP-WHUMP-WHUMP* "This is Gordie Greathair in Boat Landing Chopper One. It looks like they are backed up 15-18 boats on the Minnetonka landing over by Wayzeta. Over to you Arnie." "Thanks Gordie. This is Arnie Armanisuit in Chopper Two up here at Mill Lacs. It looks like they are bumper to bumper from Wahkon to Isle waiting to get checked. OOOHHH somebody's getting tazed. I can see why. It looked like some water came out of his drain plug hole. Yes, yes there it is. You can clearly see it on the super slo-mo replay." Now back to Ima in the studio." "Thanks Arnie. Ima Ditz here in the studio. On a side-note, my girlfriends and I were not stopped at a recent inspection after jet-skiing up near St. Cloud last weekend. Of course we were all wearing thong bikinis and I am blond with, what deer-hunters call, a 'nice rack'. Now, back to "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives that used to be Pawn Shops and Storage Units.' "

Seriously this is going to hurt resorts on the bigger lakes and those that fish them because DNR can't be everywhere so they will go where the traffic is.

[reinhard1]

.LOL---funny now but it could very well be happening at times. good luck.

[RumRiverRat]

[Raider4ever]

RRR,

That must be a landing on the Mississippi in downtown Mpls or St. Paul. Woe be thee caught with excess water in ye bilge.

[ALL_IN]

WOW, people clacking like some old hens!

When you click on the link (posted higher in the thread), and read the article, they say that they will not focus on busy highways where traffic is a concern... They do mention that they are going to focus on the areas around the infested lakes...

YES, I agree the stops would be a drag but I would much rather have the AIS under control verses having a huge spread that could hurt the lakes that I fish in.

Having to re-tie my line every 10 flips in to the reeds on Mille Lacs I think is a bigger drag... even when I am using 65 pound braid. The AIS are a pain on Mille Lacs!

They also, said that if you fail to stop at the check points you will get fined and will have to go to a wash down area, so by being plain ignorant and driving by, will cost you more time in the long run and will cost you money as well.

Looking in to the future and predicting how bad it is going to be, it might not be that bad who knows. I find it hard to think that they are going to cause a 5 hour back up on HWY 169 heading to Mille Lacs.

IMO, SETTLE DOWN, you’re wasting to much energy complaining on an internet board. If you are that bent out of shape over this, then DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!! Contact the DNR, and express your concerns... if you are not doing to do that, and just complain about it on the internet... its only lip service, try and be Spartacus and blow by the check point... see where that gets you.

My two cents!

ALL-IN

[Getanet]

They are unconstitutional and I will not stop if I encounter one.

I'm picturing helicopter coverage similar to the OJ Simpson chase. RRR, what type of car do you drive and what color is your boat? I want to be sure it's you on the TV this summer.

[reinhard1]

when i read the article in the trib that was posted in the other tread on this subject i also became sceptical and wondered about these road stops. anyway i called this morning at 8am and was fortunate enough to talk to the head of this operation in the DNR. the article was poorly written and did not give details, so the result was speculation and opinions including mine.

98% of the inspections will take place at the boat landings of affected lakes with zebras and other exotic species. i have always been in favor of this and stated so in the other thread. just makes sense. 2% will be random stops near infected waters that will take only 5 to 7 minutes of your time should you be stopped. no massive road stops as the article made it sound.

just be aware of existing laws and you wont have a problem. they have 23 washing units not the 15 stated in the article. they are self contained units that get filled at DNR sites. no need for a water source other than that because the mashine recycles its water, filters it, and re-uses it.

just make sure that the drain plug is out, tilt your motor if needed to get the water out of the prop area and then tilt it back, empty your live well, follow the bait bucket rule, and have vegetation off the boat and trailer. they realize you cant get every drop of water out of the boat and system. take reasonable care, follow the law and no problems.

i wish they had 100% inspections only at the boat landings affected but i'll take the 98%. doing nothing is not the answere. will this eliminate the critters and weeds? i dont think so, but it will help reduce, contain, and control these species. good luck.

[TruthWalleyes]

*WHUMP-WHUMP-WHUMP-WHUMP* "This is Gordie Greathair in Boat Landing Chopper One. It looks like they are backed up 15-18 boats on the Minnetonka landing over by Wayzeta. Over to you Arnie." "Thanks Gordie. This is Arnie Armanisuit in Chopper Two up here at Mill Lacs. It looks like they are bumper to bumper from Wahkon to Isle waiting to get checked. OOOHHH somebody's getting tazed. I can see why. It looked like some water came out of his drain plug hole. Yes, yes there it is. You can clearly see it on the super slo-mo replay." Now back to Ima in the studio." "Thanks Arnie. Ima Ditz here in the studio. On a side-note, my girlfriends and I were not stopped at a recent inspection after jet-skiing up near St. Cloud last weekend. Of course we were all wearing thong bikinis and I am blond with, what deer-hunters call, a 'nice rack'. Now, back to "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives that used to be Pawn Shops and Storage Units.' "

Seriously this is going to hurt resorts on the bigger lakes and those that fish them because DNR can't be everywhere so they will go where the traffic is.

Too Funny! Thanks for the laugh!

[scott b]

Thank you Reinhard1! As always.... classy and of sound mind.

I agree 100% to launch stops. Not traveling.

[guideman]

I agree with rienhard1 on this completly,

If you care at all about protecting our lakes and rivers this shouldn't be a problem for you. If you don't think it's that important, just take a boat ride on the Illinois river and make sure you wear a helmet. This should have been put into effect years ago.

"Ace"

[TR21HP]

Last year there was an inspector on a number of lakes I fished on and his sole purpose was to make sure there were no weeds on the boat or trailer, made sure the plug was pulled and if your livewells were drained. Little or no convenience at all.

[Superduty]

I think people are missing the point. Regardless of how good our intentions are, we can't stop the spread of AIS. Every dollar spent trying to stop it is a waste of taxpayer money. We need to spend our money on learning how to coexist with the AIS and finding out what might control their populations once established in a body of water. If you can't accept the fact that AIS can't be stopped, you don't fully understand how they are spread.

[cjac]

Agreed with the above post from Superduty.... The herd has already escaped the pasture unfortunately.

It's like an email virus...CRL-ALT-DELETE won't make it go away.

[Prairiefire]

I agree with Superduty as well. None of want to see our waters infested, but road side checks are a feel good reaction to the problem, not a solution. I did hear that they are finally going to start forcing the shipping industry to treat their ballast water before they dump it into the great lakes. Treating Ballast Water Article. If every dollar that was wasted by the DNR on their current invasive program was donated to the shipping industry to stop the real source of the problem they might actually prevent the next invasive from hitting our lakes.