where does the invasive sticker go?

[harvey lee]

MnMike

When you stated that if people do not know about it now.

I have talked to numerous people who do not fish very much or follow a fishing HSOforum.

I have 3 neighbors who knew nothing about this AIS program so yes, there are people out there who have not heard of this at this point. I am sure that is why there will be no fines until August 1st of 2014. This gives people plenty of time to know what is going on.

I in no way believe this is the cure all for stopping the total spread of this but it will for sure slow it down to hopefully help save some lakes from all this garbage. maybe and maybe not but we cannot just sit by and do nothing.

What is the answer to these issues, I have no idea but I am more than willibng to try something to stop or slow it down until the answers can be found.

For many who only fish the river, this may be a bit of a pain but I have had zero issues with following the rules when I am on the river in regards to pulling the boat plug and removing my bait from the boat for transport. Really, it talkes a few extra minutes when I have to alreay strap the boat down in the back. 10 seconds to pull my plug and drain the livewell.

I sometimes wonder if all the boater would have pulled thier plugs in the last years if that would have helped slow the spread of this.

Last summer I was leaving Mille lacs and stopped at a station for ice for my fish in the cooler. I counted 10 boats on trailers at the station and 9 of them did not have thier plugs out. I am sure they did not drain thier livewells or check for weeds as 3 of the boats I could see weeds hanging on the boats fenders. Mille lacs has some issues with IS so how many lakes did these boats infect?

If we all would follow the suggestions of the DNR in regards to pullking the plug, maybe we would not be here today with even more restrictions since many could not take a few minutes to follow the first set of rules.

[snowfighter]

I just read thru this thread.

I really don't think people are against a sticker.

I think they are against the concept that our great DNR has come up with this idea that having a sticker hidden away on the inside of a door or under a seat will help resolve this problem.

And to further be fined in a couple of years if we don't have this hidden sticker.

Should we be required to have a sticker hidden on the bottom of our deer stands reminding us of hunting rules or stuck inside the barrel of our guns reminding us we can't use lead shot while duck hunting.

There is a cost to this program and those funds could be put to better use.

To that end, I will get my sticker and hide it somewhere in my boat and all will be well.

X2 Glad we don't have to put stickers all over our pickups for the laws of the road.

[CaptainMusky]

On a side note concerning bait buckets. Changing water in your bait bucket only applies to portable bait buckets. If you have a built in bait well your good to go.

And just exactly how would you be good to go with a "built in baitwell"? Clearly water from a "lake or river" comes in contact with them so those would absolutely not be considered "good to go" besides, you have to drain all water from your boat and open all drains.

[CaptainMusky]

Do you guys honestly think the DNR is dumb enough to believe a stupid sticker is going to do anything at all? All they want is proof that when you accidentally leave your boat plug in, they can write you a ticket, because they have proof that you knew the law, by that stupid sticker!

As I said earlier, this is the REAL reason for the sticker. Its obvious the "education" done to this point hasnt worked and enforcement is difficult because people can claim ignorance, now there will be no excuse.

Regardless of where the sticker is, hidden or prominently displayed. It's a requirement, if you fail an inspection, ticket is coming. Fail to produce the sticker, ticket is coming.

Pretty simple.

Put the sticker somewhere, follow the rules, nothing to worry about.

[dakor]

Hungonian1 you hit the nail right on the head. I can tell you it is not cheap to get any kind of sticker or business cards printed. I would suspect these so called free stickers are costing the DNR big bucks and nothing is free it is coming from somewhere. Even if they were paying 10 cents a sticker which I doubt it is probably higher than that how many boats and other watercraft are on Minnesota waters? That adds up real fast if you do the math. We do not even know how some of these weeds are being spread. When I used to hunt waterfowl I cleaned birds with plant material in their feathers all the time. So what stops a duck from going to Lake A and picking up some tiny piece of milfoil and flying over to Lake B and dropping it off? I think the DNR needs to come up with a way to take care of the problem when a lake gets infected I think they are trying to fight a battle they cannot win and are trying to prevent the inevitable. If they want to prevent boaters from spreading anything the DNR would be better off taking the sticker money and put staff at boat launches checking boats and writing tickets or warnings like they did last year. I think if a person was busted for not pulling their plug and were fined 100 dollars that would hit home more than a sticker I know it would with me. I also think they should be doing all they can about Asian carp I think that is a bigger threat than a Zebra Mussel.

[BobT]

I put mine on the bottom of my boat. Certainly have no desire to degrade the value and appearance of a $30,000.00 boat with a bumper sticker.

[BobT]

Okay, I was being sarcastic. My boat isn't worth $30,000.00 but it could be and I didn't put the sticker on the bottom but I could have. So the DNR is crying for money. I see the postings all over their HSOforum, hear it on the news, and read about it in the newspaper.

In recent years what has happened?

* They eliminated a revenue source by dropping the need to license our boat trailers.

* They eliminated a revenue source by dropping the need to license portable shelters.

* They’ve spent huge amounts of money buying a handful of portable pressure washers to manage AIS on 10,000+ lakes. That’s like trying to drain Mille Lacs with a bucket. Anyone that thinks these pressure washers are a cost effective way of dealing with this problem must be smoking some pretty good stuff. Please share.

* They’ve spent a bunch of money on stickers that devalue our boats and without any requirement for compliance, education, or training do very little to even raise awareness.

* They’ve increased licenses and other fees to offset the revenue lost when they dropped other license requirements.

* We’ve added a sales tax to generate millions of dollars to be spent on the environment. Is any of this money being used to help research or resolve the situation?

* A couple years ago they had the brainy idea that closing the channels between the Alex area chain lakes to boater traffic would prevent the zebra mussels from spreading into the rest of the chain. I don’t have a degree in biology but my feeble education still allows me to understand that if mussels can attach to my boat while it is out in the middle of the lake, they will most certainly not pay attention to a ban on boat traffic through a channel between lakes. The rule was revoked the following year because the mussels were found in the neighboring lakes. Go figure.

Things that make you say, “Hmmm.” The efforts seem to be reactionary rather than proactive; focusing more on appearances than results. If they spent their efforts and money on treating the illness instead of the symptoms, maybe we’d be a little closer to a solution. I personally have tried to support what our DNR does but some of the antics of late have me questioning my position. How dissappointing.

[bluewater2]

The sticker does NOT have to be placed on your boat. But it mut be visible when your checked. I took the sticker and laminated it , it now will be on my dash. If you dont have a dash, punch a hole in the top and hang it.

The people we talked to at the sport show said it just has to be visible when your checked.

[reinhard1]

just a reminder for those who dont know. on page 15 of the 2012 regs it says you must display an aquatic invasive species rules decal, issued by DNR, on watercraft before launching, entering into, or operating on any waters of the state. so the sticker must be on this year. good luck.

[BobT]

I understood "on the watercraft" to mean it has to be affixed to the boat. Maybe you're right, bluewater, but I have yet to find any official documents to explain how or where the decal has to be applied.

[harvey lee]

Bob, the DNR on the phone explained to me it could be on the outside of the boat, on the inside anywhere or laminated and hung anywhere as long as you can show it to a CO if asked.

[Hookey]

The AIS laws are here to stay.

I was given a sticker by the DNR in 2007 and asked to put it on my trailer no problem I put it on and believe it or not it is a reminder and yes it works. That was 2007 and we still have people ignorant of the law or playing ignorant five years later. Gee to bad the DNR didn't give a sticker to everyone in 2007?

Without out mandatory stickers the law did not work, for whatever reason. With the sticker in place there is no excuse or 'what ever reason' , you have to be aware and you have to have a sticker. It is what it is.

Invasive education has been ignored for the most part. Everyone chose to skip class and not get the diploma or sticker. So guess what ? Under the States "no child left behind law" we all get the sticker.

Invasive finals will be held at the boat launch. This will be a open book test so you are free to refer to your sticker if you have it handy. If you lose your reference materials and fail the money will be spent to buy more stickers.

Is that funny or what ! Sorry just trying to lighten things up a bit. Agree or not get a sticker this is not worth blowing a gasket over. Now excuse me while find my helmet..

[reinhard1]

Hookey, i got you beat--i got one of those stickers [still on my trailer] from 2002 and one from 2006 . good luck.

[harvey lee]

I have had them for years also.

[LMITOUT]

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW DECAL:

CLICK HERE: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/aquatic_qa.html

[BobT]

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW DECAL:

CLICK HERE: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/aquatic_qa.html

Thanks. I can't help but wonder why they made it so difficult to find this information when they expect us to follow the rules. Hey, to any DNR members here that are reading, I've got a brain storming idea. How about printing this in the....BOATING GUIDE!

[Jim Almquist]

And would it hurt to print it in the fishing regulations as well!!!

[toughguy]

Or right on the front of their web page.

[IcePro]

To recap for my exam.

The larger portion of the label needs to be placed in the water craft, does not matter where or how as long it can be shown to the authorities if asked.

The smaller decal needs to be placed by the winch on the trailer as a reminder.

Now a new question.

If I transport my water craft on the roof of my car or in the bed of my trunk "WHERE DOES THE SMALL DECAL GO". I do understand that the larger decal must be in the watercraft.

[reinhard1]

buy a winch and stick on there and put in your boat . on my 12 footer i just left the whole sticker the way it is and put it inside the boat by the seat, same with the canoe. good luck.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I understood "on the watercraft" to mean it has to be affixed to the boat. Maybe you're right, bluewater, but I have yet to find any official documents to explain how or where the decal has to be applied.

There is a flyer available where ever you pick up the decals that explains every one of the questions being asked on this thread.

Cliff

[BobT]

There is a flyer available where ever you pick up the decals that explains every one of the questions being asked on this thread.

Cliff

I disagree. Come to Alex and stop in at the courthouse where we renew our license plates and you'll find a stack of these decals with no explanation. Oh, except when you ask the clerk will hand you the 2012 boating guide, which says virtually nothing about the dang thing except that it is required.

The officials totally failed to think this one through. Like I said, this is a knee-jerk attempt to give appearances of doing something and nothing more.

[BobT]

This fiasco with the decals has been poorly handled from the start. In 2012, we’re required to place a couple decals on our boat and trailer to raise awareness about AIS but there’s virtually zero information being published on any media format to educate the citizens that are required to abide by this ruling.

It’s a no-brainer that the most obvious place to put this information would be the boating guide and if the guide was released before this decision went into effect the next obvious place to put the news of the change would be on the DNR HSOforum in plain view.

It seems the only people that I talk to that are even aware of this new rule are those that I know visit websites like MinnesotaFishing.com. Anyone else that I have talked to haven’t a clue. That’s very poor execution by the DNR in my book. No wonder they need to wait four years before they can issue citations. About the only good thing about it is that it gets us riled up enough to talk about it so at least those of us that visit these types of websites are aware.

[toughguy]

Q. Do they need to be on watercraft, even if the watercraft does not need a license?

A. Yes, all watercraft including seaplanes and duck boats are included under the law.

Does the sticker need to be attached to remote control boats? Do they make a to scale version?

Also what about inflatable swimming toys and intertubes?

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Q. Do they need to be on watercraft, even if the watercraft does not need a license?

A. Yes, all watercraft including seaplanes and duck boats are included under the law.

Does the sticker need to be attached to remote control boats? Do they make a to scale version?

Also what about inflatable swimming toys and intertubes?

Good questions!

From the information that I have gotten,you may not be to far off the mark about the swim toys and inner tubes! I was told the stickers were needed on almost anything that floats!

As mentioned by many others this has been poorly handled and is leaving a lot of people scratching their heads or worse yet, not even aware of what is happening!

Cliff