All Boats Must Stop!

Wandering Sagebrush

Wandering Sagebrush

Free Range Human
I forgot to post this yesterday. I went to Ridgefield NWR for some wildlife photography, and the reader boards along the freeway had all boats stopping at the truck weigh stations for an invasive species inspection. My cousin who lives in Vancouver had to pull in on his way up to Lake Merwin. It sounds like it was not well organized from a traffic control perspective, but they meant business with three or four state patrol cars there to enforce the stop.
 
I took off yesterday to road test my trailer, decided to just run up to the ridgefield exit and back. On the way south I noticed a Ranger tug pulled over north of the truck stop, I thought they may have been broken down. I just barely noticed the sign as I got back on the freeway northbound and pulled in. The officer said that we should get used to inspections as they'll become much more common in the invasive species fight....he also said he and his wife where craving getting rid of their open aluminum boat and getting a C-Dory.

I must be nuts, I just got home a few days ago and have spent those days fixing and cleaning the boat so we can go on a boating adventure next week
 
B~C":9qx2inmd said:
I must be nuts, I just got home a few days ago and have spent those days fixing and cleaning the boat so we can go on a boating adventure next week
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Help is available, all you have to do is ask. :roll:
 
B~C":2e23tsv4 said:
...

I must be nuts, I just got home a few days ago and have spent those days fixing and cleaning the boat so we can go on a boating adventure next week
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Seems pretty normal to me. We're about to finish up our summer gig in a couple weeks and can't wait to get home and head out on Wild Blue. :wink: Driving someone else's boat (even for pay) isn't the same as driving your own, huh? 8)

BTW, the Rangers here are stopping boats as they are trailered into the park to check for any invasive species. There is an invasive species sticker that has to be purchased before putting your boat in the water here. We hear a lot of "Well, we didn't have to do that last year..." comments. Times change.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Jim - I hope the weather was better this summer in the Tetons than in Yellowstone. We only had a few days in the 70s and much wind and rain. Am jerking out the Far West II this weekend, Which brings me to the topic of this thread: invasive species stops.

I'm struggling against my tendency to be cynical about any government program, state or federal, which is going to control the introduction of invasive species at traffic stops. Consider my limited experience so far.

I joined Bill & El at Yellowstone Lake and then took our boats to tour Big Horn Lake in Wyoming and Montana for a delightful few days of sunshine and adventure. (Edna joined us at Big Horn Lake) Arrivng in early evening after a shopping stop at Cody, we crossed the Wyoming line into Montana where we launch at Barry's Landing. There was an unmanned stop with literature near the border in Wyoming. We had heard that Wyoming was charging every boater $30 to udergo an inspection and receive a sticker - if one were boating in wyomng waters.

Upon returning to Yellowstone with the boat - Bill and El stayed on the water for a few more days - Edna went back home and I started trailering back to Yellowstone Lake. The stop at the Wyomng/ Montana border was now manned. We stopped to go through inspection, answered some questions and asked some. We didn't have to purchase the $30 dollar sticker because we weren't boating in Wyoming.

Then, 60 miles later at the west end of Cody, I ran into another stop for invasive species. Two in one day! At Yellowstone Lake this summer, a volunteer checks boats out before they are launched. Of course he works an 8 hour shift, so anyone launching before or after will miss the inspection.

Montana doesn't stop boats for inspection. Now some opinions. Educating the boating public is necessary. How to do it is the problem.
Anyone wishing to avoid an inspection just has to wait until the inspection station is closed and then drive by. With the mobility of our boating public, stopping an invasive species from hitching a ride on a boat, motor, or trailer seems impossible.

We who live and boat in western waters where our boats are stored in below zero weather will not transmit invasive species. The research shows the microscopic critters can't survive that degree of cold.

Then there is the issue of states where the species live and states where they don't live. I can envision special dipping pools of critter killing solutions at state borders where the boat and trailer are driven through, engine run for a while, etc.

Is this going to become a revenue enhancement process where thousands of new government jobs are going to be created? Is this a problem without a solution? I certainly don't have any answers to the invasive species problem. Just plenty of questions. John
 
Jim,

The Rangers at GTNP probably need to take a lesson from what the NPS is doing at Glen Canyon NRA (Lake Powell).

Each of the Park's have entrance stations; use them. At the entrance station, visitor's with a boat (very high percentage at GCNRA...) are given a form to display on the the dash of their tow vehicle. One form is a personal statement that the vessel is mussel-free (ie. hasn't been in any fresh waterbody for a minium of 30 days). The other form directs the vessel to a (free) inspection station for examination and/or decontamination.

It seems to be working, and relieves Ranger's of having to intercept every vessel at the ramp prior to launching.

Happily GCNRA has recently announced that Powell is mussel-free; now the question will be how long can they maintain that record?

Best,
Casey
 
Hi Casey and John,

We had to sign that form a couple years ago at Powell. The invasive species sticker in Wyoming is $30... and will be funding the inspection process. At this point, it is definitely a "hit or miss" proposition for the inspections. I have no doubt that it will become better enforced as the program is better funded.

John, we have had a GLORIOUS season in the Tetons. Not trying to rub it in, but I wore shorts from late June up until a couple days ago. Being 1,000+ feet lower makes a real difference. On weather radar, I watched numerous storms miss us and head north your way. Regularly. Having spent plenty of time in both locations, I have to say that GTNP is more to my liking for the climate. I rode my motorcycle through Yellowstone a couple times this summer... and it was always colder there. I'm not saying one is better than the other, just expressing my opinion on weather preference. :wink:

Back to the invasive species situation: this is the state of Wyoming's first year with the fee. If someone is just passing through and is only planning to plunk their boat in for a day or two, it will cost them $55 for the invasive species sticker and the National Park sticker... and they have to go to two different places to purchase the stickers. Even applies to kayaks and canoes. Unfortunately, the Blonde has had to deal with a LOT of people who complain about those stickers... one mandated by the state, the other by the NPS. Don't shoot the messenger/collector. :roll: She has done plenty of educating regarding the invasive species sticker, since we sell the sticker (for the state of Wyoming) in the marina store.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
This looks to me as just another Tax. The Wyoming sticker only applied to out of state boats. When we recently went into Califorina, we were inspected at the Yermo fruit inspection station, for invasive mussels. No cost and friendly staff. I had an Email dialog with Wyoming about the inspection sticker tax on out of state boaters, and decided to skip Wyoming this year.
 
Discovery":46dzfjfu said:
This looks to me as just another Tax. The Wyoming sticker only applied to out of state boats. When we recently went into Califorina, we were inspected at the Yermo fruit inspection station, for invasive mussels. No cost and friendly staff. I had an Email dialog with Wyoming about the inspection sticker tax on out of state boaters, and decided to skip Wyoming this year.
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Hi Brent,

It's a Wyoming thing, and every boat has to have a sticker, both in-state and out-of-state. Joan deals with this everyday at work. The in-state fee is lower, but that is set by the State of Wyoming. Call it a tax or a user fee, but everyone has to pay it. Just like out-of-state fishing licenses are more expensive than resident licenses in most states.

Sorry if you got bad info from someone in WY. This is their first year with this invasive species sticker and it has been a learning experience for everyone involved. With the number of stickers that Joan sells each day, I have no doubt that she is more experienced with how it really works than someone at the State Capitol. :wink: The only thing exempt is an inflatable, non-motorized, less than 10'.

For the price of the sticker, you get some pretty amazing boating. No charge to use the ramp, no charge to park your truck/trailer for a few days. Slips are pretty tough to come by, since there are only 6 transient slips to be had. There is a 15 to 18 year waiting list for seasonal slip rentals.

Shucks, if I had known that the invasive species sticker was keeping you away, I would have paid for it for you.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Think this will likely become more than just a Wyoming thing. Its a money generator and I think many more states will get into the action. Even though they charge $15 per boat here for a resident with the two Mokai's it still adds up to $45 for us on top of our state registration fee.

On our resent trip north more attention was payed on the border crossings back into the US from Canada to the boat and whether or not it was contaminated to any other thing. Same with entering Calif. I think many states will eventually charge a fee to residents and non residents with the non resident paying more to boat in their waters. For those like El and Bill and others this could really add up.

Jay
 
<<Can one "pass" such a check if the boat has been washed and waxed and is perfectly clean?>>

No, one cannot, you fool. :wink After all, it might be "annoying but a small price to pay to keep our waters from becoming infested". Of course, it doesn't matter that birds and fish are the biggest transporters of these infestations, but they can't be taxed. Don't despair, however, one might be able to get Jim to pay the fee instead. :|
 
I do not think my boat could pass. I took the online training at 100th Meridian Initiative and do not see where I could find 130 degree water to flush out the raw water in the 21EC. Plus everything has to be dry. That could be possible but would be very hard to prove you had it dry on a rainy day. As states are hurting for funds I expect all will have state operated check sites with fines. And state run training operations for boat operators.
The 100th Meridian Initiative training is online and has good information on this subject. Bob Heselberg
 
the other day when I went through the check station I had just spent several days cleaning on a boat that was fairly clean to start with. Upon pulling to a stop, two officers pounced on me & I told them to hold on as I was road testing my trailer and wanted to feel how warm my hubs where before they cooled. The one officer felt the hubs also and then we proceded to talk about trailer maintenance for a spell as the other officer looked the boat over. As the discussion turned from trailer maintenance to how handy C-Dorys are, the other officer kept jamming brocures about mussels, milfoil and other invasive critters in my hands.

It was a painless, quick, no cost experience that will have a direct impact on the spread of invasive species by getting the folks with the rolling gardens to clean up. I will gladly submit to the ocasional inspection if it helps keep this problem at bay, I feel this is a much better approach than just buying a durn sticker, I don't see how having a sticker on boat will help a whole lot...I don't think zebra mussels can even see the sticker
 
B~C":3k8rml70 said:
I don't see how having a sticker on boat will help a whole lot...I don't think zebra mussels can even see the sticker
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:lol: :lol: :lol: Thanks Ken, that and a cup of coffee is a great way to start my day. Only defence I can come up with for the sticker is it shows you have payed your money to provide the funds to pay those nice and some not so nice folk who make the inspections. My sticker sure didn't slow them down for inspection of boat.

Jay
 
I don't mean "pass" by a check stop without stopping or not pay the fee if required.

I mean "pass" the inspection?

In other words, what is there to "inspect" if the boat is clean?
 
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