New AIS law

[James_R]

You're right, most of us here are reasonable people who want to do something to help unfortunately government is not reason it is force. We need to protect our outdoors in a way that's consistent with our values. If the DNR's current AIS program isn't working then why are we giving it more money and power? We should be hearing from them that their previous AIS efforts have been wildly successful and with just a few extra license dollars the issue will soon be solved and the program reduced or eliminated. I think if all of us on this site put our heads together we could probably solve this issue all on our own. Can you imagine how threatened the state would be if a few of us got together with a pressure washer, some AIS information brochures and volunteered our time at a busy public access offering to clean boats on our own?

[uffdapete]

I would like to see elected officials with the b---s to take on the Great lakes shipping industry to stop further introduction of AIS - an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Beyond that, slap heavy penalties on parties who import exotics in any form.

Historically, various gov't agencies have ignorantly introduced exotics in an attempt to solve other issues and oftentimes it has backfired. Hopefully we've learned from our mistakes.

James R - keep in mind that AIS regs weren't created by the DNR but by politicians.

[James_R]

Uffdapete, I would bet if I inspected your car, trailers, ATVs etc after every use for a year I could find multiple county, state or federal noxious weed seeds in your tire treads, wheel wells or floor mats. That is how many of these invasives are ignorantly spread. A state inspector with a good eye could probably issue you tens of thousands of dollars in fines over the course of a year if your heavy penalty dream became a realty. The AIS introductions stemming from the Great Lakes shipping industry haven't been a topic in 20 years. They're already here. Too late. Do you really believe that the DNR has no say in the drafting of our states outdoor legislation? They're in the drivers' seat on most of these things looking to grow their budget and influence.

[reinhard1]

you are correct. while there is input from the DNR, the final product comes from stuffed shirts at the capital. i think in general the DNR is doing a good job. i want more trash containers at landings for example, but are there funds for that? would that even work? heck i see landings with trash containers with trash thrown around it. i want this program to work, but will it? we will see at the end of the year and check the non-compliance rate from last years which was not satisfactory. we cant leglislate ethics now can we. ethics are the silver bullet in all this, not some dumb arse class. good luck.

[LMITOUT]

James R - keep in mind that AIS regs weren't created by the DNR but by politicians.

Incorrect.

[tolle141]

Agreed, sit back and judge those in charge and complain.

You want fail safe solution that will not cost any money ?

How about they close the public accesses of all infected Lakes. No boats launch and no boats leave.

Quarantine the infected waters and save all this wasted money on stickers and educating the unwilling.

You have a leakey boat ? Maybe they should do hull inspections and condem those boats that do not pass inspection. You admit there is nothing stopping your boat from cross contaminating waters then why don't you fix the leak ?

You want the freedom to launch your boat in infected waters then move to a clean lake then follow the laws and get over it. If there is no solution then close the public accesses and save the uninflected waters would that make everyone happy ?

With Freedom comes great responsibility.

NAILED IT

[FM_Mike]

How about they close the public accesses of all infected Lakes. No boats launch and no boats leave.

Quarantine the infected waters and save all this wasted money on stickers and educating the unwilling.

Am I the only one that wonders why this has not been considered as a viable option?

Why don't we just close access to infested waters until the DNR can figure out how to control the spread of AIS. Wouldn't make more since to concentrate on the waters that are infected and throw all their resources at those waters, rather than going through these actions their doing now.

IMO wouldn't it be easier to control a hundred or so infested waters than 10,000 waters used by over 1 million boaters. Pressure must be coming from resort owners and guides and businesses on those bodies of water. Can't say I blame the businesses, but if this was truly about controlling the spread , this would be a far simpler approach. IMO. What am I not seeing?

Mike

[Scott K]

So they are going to close Mille Lacs Lake, The St Croix River, the Mississippi, the MN River, Lake Minnetonka, along with many more? Get real!

[James_R]

Am I the only one that wonders why this has not been considered as a viable option?

Why don't we just close access to infested waters until the DNR can figure out how to control the spread of AIS. Wouldn't make more since to concentrate on the waters that are infected and throw all their resources at those waters, rather than going through these actions their doing now.

IMO wouldn't it be easier to control a hundred or so infested waters than 10,000 waters used by over 1 million boaters. Pressure must be coming from resort owners and guides and businesses on those bodies of water. Can't say I blame the businesses, but if this was truly about controlling the spread , this would be a far simpler approach. IMO. What am I not seeing?

Mike

[FM_Mike]

Since it will not be a viable option to close access to infested waters, why is the DNR not putting 90% of their resources to controlling the infested waters. Instead, we want to give a sticker and a test to ALL boaters that may never use any of the infected waters. Why do we not have DNR personnel at all launches on infected lakes and rivers. If they can't do so then no matter what's done you will not stop the spread. And if you can't stop the inevitable, why waste the resources in the first place. Monies that could be better spent controlling what can be controlled if anything.

I question if the state Legislator or the DNR is really interested in slowing the spread when their efforts are targeted, not at the infected waters but at the state as a whole. I can see this program as it is being rolled out as a admission that they are NOT going to be able to control the spread and are looking for a band-aid to placate the masses.

Mike

[reinhard1]

let's see how this program works out. a couple of month's ago the CO in charge of one of the areas of enforcement said to me it will be a learning proccess for both the DNR personel and the public. we have gone through all this sticker talk and more. now let's see it take place and the results will be seen at the end of the year as far as the non-compliance rate. a lot of us are frustrated with all of this and for good reason. i'm not going to do anything different that i have been doing in years past. hopefully things end here as far as regs. people have to voice their concerns, otherwise more will come, and i will do my part. good luck.

[FM_Mike]

As you said, It does get frustrating. I will do what is required and will abide by all rule and regulations. Just hope those in a position to make the laws and the rules use common sense and are realistic on this issue.

I have said my 2 cents and will let the apples fall where they may.

Mike

[yonk]

This is what is going to happen. If there is an inspector at a launch I will load my boat pull up out of the water flag the inspector to inspect the boat while on the launch. I will wait until he is available to inspect then I will go. Yell at me all you want.

I will take it to the extreme!!! My version of occupy.

[James_R]

This is simply a big publicity stunt organized by our nanny state to show the masses that they are doing "something" even if it's horribly misguided. Most of our yards contain at least a few invasive weeds like dandelions, quackgrass and Canada thistle etc. We know we can't permanently eradicate them from our properties so we mitigate their impact through herbicides, weed whackers or pulling them by hand. We don't typically quarantine vast areas, spend hundreds of millions of tax dollars and suspend civil liberties over some naturally occurring nuisance. The weeds will always move faster than the wheels of government. They're going to be sticking around so let's figure out how to reduce their impact using smart non-intrusive measures. I suspect that the negative economic impact of our state employee pests harassing boaters could far outweigh the damage done by aquatic pests.

[headcheese]

does anyone have any evidence that these invasive species will thrive up north or is it just speculation.

like how big of a problem are zebra mussels in minnetonka? is it just starting? the fishing is still decent there.

will asian carp do well up here and take over the rivers? or will the just be another rough fish like sheephead.

will millfoil blanket all of mille lacs or will it just provide more cover in the shallows for pike and bass.

i understand how it potentially could be bad but i havent seen anything to say it will...

carp like warm water and i just dont see them taking over like whats happened farther south.

i have green stuff in my livewell now from fishing the mississippi how do i know if thats invasive?? and if my livewell sits dry for a few days is it dead?

these are the answers i would like.

[headcheese]

i agree with you james r

[James_R]

Thanks headcheese. You have a kind face. We now have enough people to form a three man occupy movement with yonk. We can protest at some popular boat landing somewhere in the state dressed as the swamp thing calling attention to unfair AIS persecution.

[reinhard1]

call the DNR information at 651-296-6157 and ask to talk to someone dealing with AIS. they can answer your questions. good luck.

[Hookey]

I guess my hope would be stickers will be used as a time saver if inspectors are at a access. They should not have to waste time educating those who display the sticker.

In the past the agents at the access educate boaters on AIS and give a sticker as a reminder.

Stickers give them the ability to clearly i.d. People who should know better as well as quickly send on those who have the sticker. Time saved is money saved. If you have a sticker you can't plead ignorance.

No sticker then they have to approach every boater. So after the fourth or fifth time they stop to talk to you about AIS you will be whining that they are wasting your time and our money. What would you suggest then ? Gee how about a sticker ? They could take a quick glance at the boat and wave you on rather then wasting your time and their time.

[yonk]

call the DNR information at 651-296-6157 and ask to talk to someone dealing with AIS. they can answer your questions. good luck.

DDDDDude quit drinking the cool-aid. It causes cancer of the brain. I do not care who your political buddies are but for some reason or another I have a strong feeling their the ones pushing this crud.

[reinhard1]

LOL!!!!i guarentee the one's i support do not support this. do yourself a favor and call and ask questions dude. also call your reps and express your feelings to them. that's what's important. good luck.

[Wayne Ek]

People it's good to discuss stuff on the forums. But I cann't stress strongly enough; use some of the time you're putting into reading this thread and responding to it. To e-mail or call your rep's and let them know how upset you are, if you are really serious about getting their attention on some of these things. Oops, got to get a new soapbox.

[reinhard1]

just talked to a official who is involved with this program. here is a update: wont know for sure until Dayton signs this bill. if Dayton signs this bill stickers will NOT be neccessary to be put on your boats. dont know who but someone changed the wording as far as the sticker issue. if Dayton signs the bill no stickers would be required until 2015. at that time the "test" comes into play and then you will be issued a sticker to be put on your trailer only. the DNR will put out a detailed news release on this issue as soon as the governor signs or not signs the bill.

another thing i did not know was that zero money for this project [ais] comes from the game and fish fund. it comes from seperate funds like the lottery, boat licences for example. so none of the licence fee increase will go to AIS. good luck.

[Scott K]

I thought I read that there was a percentage of the new increase that was being set aside for AIS. But that may have been rewritten since, who knows.

[MN-FishGuy]

does anyone have any evidence that these invasive species will thrive up north or is it just speculation.

[color:#FF0000] Depends on the invasive, its already proven that Eurasian Watermilfoil and Zebra Mussels can thrive just fine. Asian Carp, it remains to be seen how big of an effect they can have in Minnesota waters. Other future AIS that are threats, such as Hydrilla, its too early to say but i'm sure it would thrive as well. The thing is, so many of these invasives are very adaptable to different environmental and chemical conditions, which is what ultimately makes them invasive.

like how big of a problem are zebra mussels in minnetonka? is it just starting? the fishing is still decent there.

I would say it is just starting. Minnehaha Creek Watershed District has 30 zebra mussel samplers distributed throughout the lake, and they are checked monthly and counts are made. This is the second year of the samplers, so it will be interesting to see the results at the end of the year. But I can tell you they are already becoming more of a problem for homeowners on Tonka, they are plugging up irrigation pipes, covering the bottom of boats, etc. They are definitely becoming more visible in Tonka. It has kind of been accepted that after a few years the zebra mussel population in a lake drastically increase (for an unknown reason at this time), so it will be interesting to see if Tonka follows that trend. Read some of the articles of lakes in michigan where zebra mussels have been for quite a while now, there are some incredible pictures. Just mounds of mussels blown into channels making them unnavigatable, basically filling in the channels in some areas. Time will ultimately tell what impact they have in our lakes, but I don't want to find out the hard way.

will asian carp do well up here and take over the rivers? or will the just be another rough fish like sheephead.

I think it's too early to tell, it sounds like if some bills are passed in the legislature, the state will donate some money to the U of MN to open an Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center, and I know Asian Carp will be a large focus of that research. So hopefully that goes through and we can learn more about the actual threat to MN waters.

will millfoil blanket all of mille lacs or will it just provide more cover in the shallows for pike and bass.

Milfoil is milfoil, its already here, we know what it can do. In some lakes, very shallow eutrophic lakes, it takes over and dominates the aquatic plant community, creating huge mats. In other lakes, it becomes just another aquatic plant and doesn't become as much of a nuisance. It's really dependent upon the lake, but there is a lot of money spent each year on milfoil control. New research on other control measures should be done as well.

i understand how it potentially could be bad but i havent seen anything to say it will...

This comes down to "do we really want to wait until it is here, and then deal with it". It is much harder and much more costlier to manage AIS once it is completely established in a water body, as opposed to trying to prevent it from even coming here.

carp like warm water and i just dont see them taking over like whats happened farther south.

Fish are adaptable, so they could very easily become acclimated to our environment and become a big nuisance. But we just don't know yet, hopefully further research can be done on this.

i have green stuff in my livewell now from fishing the mississippi how do i know if thats invasive?? and if my livewell sits dry for a few days is it dead?

You can't always see invasives, the veligers for Zebra Mussels are microscopic and cannot be seen with the naked eye. VHS is a virus, it cannot be seen with the naked eye. With your livewell being dry for a few days, any AIS you don't see should be dead. An adult Zebra Mussel can live for a few days out of water, but the veligers cannot. You can see adult Zebra Mussels, you can't see veligers. Also, veligers are very fragile, so if its a very small amount of water left in your bilge or livewell, just driving from one lake to the next, with the agitation likely to occur, they will probably be dead. But you always want to empty as much water out as physically possible to reduce the chances.

I hope this helps

these are the answers i would like.

[James_R]

It's not my job as a citizen to save time for state inspectors. I don't feel obligated whatsoever to make me and my regulations knowledge clearly identifiable to the DNR so that their revenue generating AIS enforcement efforts can be more efficient. LE agencies routinely work with other LE agencies when conducting checkpoint stops. Be prepared to have your brake/tail lights inspected, seatbelt usage scrutinized and lengthy criminal background checks done on you and fishing buddies during these inspections. The State Patrol, County Sheriffs and USFWS are not going to be left out of the loop on these operations. As long as our DNR is willing to ignore the 4th amendment and initiate these stops, other LE agencies will be able to conduct their inspections as well. A few weeks ago I witnessed firsthand a DNR survey taker near Baudette calling the State Patrol to request an officer be dispatched to write parking tickets to fisherman parked outside the boat landing parking lot. I don’t condone illegal parking but these new laws will clearly involve much more than AIS stickers and boater education if implemented. I have taken the advice of a number of other posters here and let my state reps know what I think of these draconian regulations.

[reinhard1]

they do take 5 bucks from non-resident licence fees for the program. i dont know what they classify that. i talked to the guy for about 20 minutes. as far as the classes or test, it sounds like a simple on line thing. but that's 2015 so a lot of things can change including the adoption of this test if enough voices are heard. he did tell me that zero money gets taken from the game and fish funds. i'm waiting for the "final" details in a couple of days once Dayton signs this. good luck.

[reinhard1]

my understanding having talked to people in charge of these checkpoints is that most will be conducted by "inspectors" and CO's will be called only if needed. it's not the big event you make it out to be. good luck.

[James_R]

Having worked in LE on the SW border being very familiar with checkpoints I can tell, you are either very naive as to how they operate or are doing everything you can to cheerlead for your favorite state agency weather they're right or wrong. The people you've talked to in regards to these checkpoints have probably never worked one before and are just giving you the canned response their superiors allow them to. They are simply attempting to get their foot in the door at this time as quietly as possible so we can all get used to the idea and not be so alarmed when thir methods become more intrusive later on.

[reinhard1]

LOL!!!!the people i talked to were CO's in charge of this. this is not a border crossing situation. these are young people hired to check the boat and trailer. i am not for road side stope but i am for checkers at boat landings. i am not for stickers also, just can live with them. i am not for tests being taken, but that's another fight down the line. just stating what i hear from people involved with this. we will all see at the end of the year how this works. go fish and have fun. good luck.