Photo Cops at the Ramp?

  • jon_jordan
    St. Paul, Mn
    Posts: 10908
    #1250049

    So many thing wrong with this story…..where do I start to melt down?

    Hey photo cop…..any millfoil here?

    Cameras May Start Looking For Milfoil On Boats

    Mary Tan
    Reporting

    (WCCO) Thousands of Minnesotans are making plans to hit the water for boating and fishing the summer but on Lake Minnetonka, extra eyes may be watching your actions.

    The Lake Minnetonka Conservation District wants to install cameras around the lake to help look for milfoil. The weed gets into the lake when people do not clean off their boats. When it gets into the lake, it grows fast and destroys plants.

    Kevin Murphy enjoys the pleasant waters of Lake Minnetonka and he always makes sure his canoe is clean because he worries about weeds choking out native plants.

    “Look at the lake when it gets full of the milfoil,” Murphy said. “It is just a terrible place to boat and it is dangerous to swim.”

    Every year, boaters less concerned about the environment show up and the conservation district wants to do something about it. Next week, the group will consider a plan to install cameras at a boat launch.

    Eric Lindberg’s company, Environmental Sentry Protection, invented the cameras.

    “We’re using this as an experimental project, to take a look at how we can influence boater behaviors, in terms of practicing clean boat behaviors,” Lindberg said.

    Lindberg said sensors in a device detect when a boater pulls up and triggers the camera to turn on. The cameras not only catch whether or not a person cleans their boat, but it also spots milfoil and records license plates.

    The cameras would be placed around Gray’s Bay and would be the first time they are field-tested.

    Murphy thinks Minnesota’s waters need to be protected, but wonders if cameras will ruin the appeal of a weekend on the lake.

    “It’s just too intrusive,” he said. “You have got to have a little bit of privacy out on the lake. It’s where you go to have some fun and relax and get away from it all.”

    The Department of Natural Resources could monitor the video via the Internet. The cameras could also eventually spot other problems, including drunken boaters.

    If the conservation district approves the measure next Wednesday, the cameras could be running next month.

    (© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

    gary_wellman
    South Metro
    Posts: 6057
    #443774

    Quote:


    The weed gets into the lake when people do not clean off their boats. When it gets into the lake, it grows fast and destroys plants.


    So, I have a really silly question……..If it is “boaters” that spread this weed and it is the “boaters” fault for the spread of Milfoil………….

    Then why do all these little local metro ponds, that have no feeder creeks and do not have any boats allowed, have mil foil infestation?

    Just a silly question that I wish someone could answer…….

    Brian Klawitter
    Keymaster
    Minnesota/Wisconsin Mississippi River
    Posts: 59992
    #443778

    That’s easy Gary. The bass guys love fishing in milfoil as the bass are normally larger there.

    The bass guys are planting it in every lake that has small populations of bass, in hopes of catching a state record five years from now.

    Although the above was in jest…it makes as much sense as installing cameras at a boat launch.

    john23
    St. Paul, MN
    Posts: 2578
    #443781

    Soon we’re going to have robot cops chasing us down for going 1mph over the speed limit. Good Lord.

    lenny_jamison
    Bay City , WI
    Posts: 4001
    #443791

    What about the guy that pull their boats away from the ramp before snugging everything down. I suppose now everyone will have to take up more ramp time just to avoid getting a ticket.

    kooty
    Keymaster
    1 hour 15 mins to the Pond
    Posts: 18101
    #443798

    Only in Mn. OK, so I’m a little harsh on the fools making the laws here at times. It’s situations just like this one that reinforce my opinion on the laws of this state.

    Brian Klawitter
    Keymaster
    Minnesota/Wisconsin Mississippi River
    Posts: 59992
    #443799

    The govenor of SD is making more sense all the time….

    hanson
    Posts: 728
    #443924

    Wait a minute here…

    The “Lake Minnetonka Conservation District” is on the lookout for Eurasion Water Milfoil??? Why??? The lake is full of it!!

    Why are they interested in stopping the spread of Milfoil from out of Lake Minnetonka. I bet they think it is getting spread “into” the lake. Lets stop them before we spend thousands on chemicals and harvesting to save our swimming beaches!!

    There are hundreds of other lakes it could come out of as well. Doesn’t make sense to me.

    mikem
    SE Minnesota
    Posts: 200
    #443987

    With Tonka I’ve always felt that they are willing to spend $ to harass people and keep them off the lake.They can use any excuse,but I believe that it’s their ultimate goal.

    DeeZee
    Champlin, Mn
    Posts: 2128
    #444006

    Makes me wonder how much of an investment it would be to install washdown hoses at the ramps at Lake Minnetonka when you pull out, just like alot of the ramps leading into salt water environments.

    gobig-or-gohome
    Lake Minnetonka area
    Posts: 233
    #444069

    Doesn’t Grey’s bay have a wash down area?

    2Fishy4U
    Posts: 973
    #444101

    Good point. I always clean my boat when I get home.

    shayla
    Posts: 1399
    #444142

    Sounds to me this system will go the way of the cameras that catch people running red lights. Every one of those people in Hennepin Cty. that got a ticket are getting their money back due to a class-action lawsuit that said the cameras only take a picture of the vehicle….they don’t know if it was the actual owner of the vehicle doing the driving, thus making it unenforceable.

    shayla
    Posts: 1399
    #444144

    Quote:


    Makes me wonder how much of an investment it would be to install washdown hoses at the ramps at Lake Minnetonka when you pull out, just like alot of the ramps leading into salt water environments.


    You make a good point, Steve. On top of this, in this day and age where there seems to be a thief behind every tree, how long do you think those hoses would last??? And if they didn’t steal them, mud-trucks would just use them to wash down for free….then we’d have a whole new problem on our hands. This whole idea is silly, which is why the tax-payers of Minnesota will probably have to pay millions to incorporate it. (maybe not as silly as posting twice in a row on the same topic. )

    jigginjim
    Buffalo, MN. USA
    Posts: 75
    #444147

    Steve gray’s bay on tonka does have a wash area. Thats the ramp I’ll use to fish tonka. I can wash off the boat and trailer, plus rinse out the live wells and bait well. Trying to do my part.

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