i agree with stillakid if the checkpoint isn’t working why has it been their for as long as it has and to prove his point there are no zebra mussles found north of the arcola railroad bridge. i work for the NPS and spend time talking to the resource management team that has spend the last ten years monitoring the zebras spread in the lower St. croix.

I see your guys point (steve, turk) yes these mussels can be spread by fish but the majority are spread by humans and yes it is inconvienient to lose easy access to fishing spots but have you guys ever been down further south? and seen how bad the zebra infestation can be? i grew up on the st. croix and i now spend half my year up by osceola and the other down by dubuque on the missippi and the miss is so bad with zebra shells that you have to wear shoes to walk in the water to avoid cutting your feet. do you guys really want to see this happen to our river?

well if you actually knew its not a muti million dollar project its just a line drawn to slow them and ir you weren’t so busy gettin pissed off and looked up the matter you know that zebras have only made it as far as a mile or so south of stillwater. the Park service is trying to slow there spread.

the reason for the restricted travel is to try to drastically slow the pread of the zebras because the upper st.croix holds many endangered varieties of mussels, some of which are only found in the st.croix and if the zebras made it to them they would kill of these endangered mussels

Also nothing has changed with the rule and watch out because the rangers are out on that strecth around five days a week and if any other park service employees such as maintainance workers see boats cross the line they can write down the registration number and you’ll get a ticket in the mail

well that stretch is averaging around 6 feet as long as you stay in the channel and dodge the sand bars and remember to stick to the outside of the corners and you’ll be ok

Really guys i am extremely dissappointed in your reaction to bowfishing on the St. Croix especially at night. i would like to let you know that one should not lob all bowfishermen into the group with the obsessive ones with generators and what not. Trust me sir i spend an way more time on the St. croix due to my job and love of fishing it. I have grown up on this river and only seen maybe a handful of boats with generators. Also what about the campers who get drunk and fly up and down the river screaming? isn’t that just as bad, in my opinion its worse because they are the ones who are destroying the beautiful landscape, not a few bowfisherman runnin a generator. and if a generator is such a big deal you’ve never been to Mile long island north of stillwater where the rich folk constanly fly around in there houseboats and speed boats, so much for a peaceful river.

And also i would like to address the comment of that we might as well be snagging walleyes. Have you ever bowfished? its not as easy as you seem to think even at night you only get about ten seconds max to spot, draw, and shoot. i bowfish the St. Croix with my friend in a non-motorized jon boat with a battery operated spotlight and you’ll never know where are there except for the shouts of joy when we land a fish.

Just remember let he who is without sin cast the first stone. and dont scrutinize one man for how he enjoys the outdoors just because you don’t do the same and/or agree with it. for if you do, you really need to take a step back and see how much of a real “sportsman” you really are.