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http://www.chanvillager.com/news/carver_county/updated-zebra-mussels-found-on-boat-leaving-minnewashta/article_f8b24a45-9bb7-50a4-b535-5f4852f17287.html#facebook-comments
Zebra mussels found on boat leaving Minnewashta
A boat with two zebra mussels was in Lake Minnewashta July 16, according to information from Carver County.
According to the county Parks Department, two zebra mussels were found on a boat leaving the lake through a public access operated by the county. This is the first time, according to county officials, that zebra mussels have been identified on a boat leaving a lake through a county-operated public access site.
The afternoon of July 16 a boat had been in Lake Minnewashta and was leaving the lake when an inspector found the zebra mussels, according to information provided by Sam Pertz of the Carver County Parks Department. The boat had been in Lake Minnetonka that same date. The boater indicated to county inspectors that the boat was fully decontaminated by a Department of Natural Resources unit located at Lake Minnetonka prior to coming to Lake Minnewashta.
Recent incidents
The county reported two other recent incidents in which zebra mussels were found on watercraft attempting to enter county lakes.
During the afternoon shift on July 13 at the Lake Waconia public access site, zebra mussel(s) were found on a boat attempting to launch on the lake. The boater told inspectors that the boat was last in Lake Waconia five days earlier. The boat was denied access to the lake and decontamination was recommended.
During the morning of July 27, an inspector “found multiple confirmed samples of zebra mussels” on an inbound watercraft at Lake Minnewashta. The boat had been in Lake Minnetonka the prior day, according to a county report.
The zebra mussels were found on the decking portion of the boat, near the stern and tiller area.
The boater was denied access to lake and decontamination of the boat was recommended.
Chanhassen incident
In June at a city of Chanhassen public access at Lotus Lake, inspectors identified a zebra mussel on a watercraft attempting to enter the lake.
At 8:23 a.m. June 8, a single adult zebra mussel was found on a watercraft that had been out of the water for less than 24 hours and had last been operated in Prior Lake, which is infested with zebra mussels.
This was the second reported and first confirmed zebra mussel being transported to a Chanhassen-owned public access site. The city of Chanhassen coordinates inspection programs at Lotus Lake, Lake Ann and Lake Susan.
A conservation officer report was initiated, the zebra mussel was removed by hand and the watercraft went through a decontamination procedure, according to the city.
This seems to go with the DNR News Release of a higher (26%) Violation Rate for AIS Laws. When they have had this many people pulling trailers around with Zebra Mussels trying to access lakes, it shows an utter disregard for our Natural Resources and the Laws in-place to prevent further lakes from being infested.
Now, however will the Minnesota DNR say Lake Minnewashta is infested?
What will happen with Inspectors & the Inspection program?
Can the DNR just Quarantine any watercraft that has sat in an Zebra Mussel Infested Lake for say overnight or more than two days?
Is this not where the problems are coming from, the boats that have been moored in the Infested Lakes?
It is not the boats that move from lake to lake, although they may carry Veligers in water remaining in the boat, but the adult Zebra Mussels are not found on boats that move from lake to lake and are never moored in a lake. Adult Zebra Mussels do not move from an object on their own, they don’t just jump or swim from one boat to another. The Veligers are microscopic organisms the float with the current through the water column and then attach to objects such as boats, docks, lifts, rocks, piling, clam & other mussels and on plants. Then the grow into Adult Zebra Mussels which may be moved with an object, but not on their own.
The Vast majority of all infestation reports listed in the DNR News Releases are from Lakeshore Owners moving Docks and Boat Lifts, not from boaters. They when making those statements checked out the dock or lift and found they were moved from an infested body of water to a uninfected body of water.
Would it not make more sense to Quarantine Docks, Lifts & Watercraft moored in Infected lakes rather than accuse everyone else of being guilty?
This leads me to another point with the Lake Shore Owners associations in the Southwest Metro pushing once again for Centralized Inspection sites. This case on Minnewashta would not have been caught as there would be No Outgoing Inspection as there was on that fateful day of July 16th, 2014.
According to my Carver County Parks staff source, this kid may have lied to the morning Inspector saying his boat had been Decontaminated at the North Arm access on Minnetonka. In checking after the fact, the staff at the North Arm Decontamination Station had No Record of this kid and his boat going through there that morning. They may have not recorded it or the kid lied!
I’m sure we’ll hear more at our next Carver County Parks Commission meeting.
