New proposed Lake County invasive mussel program - 11/4/09

[derbingel]

If passed, this could cost non-Lake County boaters up toward $120.00 per year to fish bodies of water within Lake County.

Here is the article at the Lake County Record Bee written by Outdoors Columnist Terry Knight:  www.record-bee.com/ci_13708739


New program would require new sticker every month - By Terry Knight -- Record-Bee outdoors columnist
Updated: 11/03/2009 10:32:02 PM PST


The quagga mussel prevention program in Lake County will undergo some profound changes if the Lake County Board of Supervisors adopts the recommendations of the Invasive Species Council.

University of California scientist Greg Giusti chairs the Invasive Species Council and the group is made up of scientists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) as well as members of the Lake County Board of Supervisors, Lakeport City Council, Lake County Chamber of Commerce and the Big Valley Rancheria, as well as other people with various fields of expertise.

The Council has recommended revising the present practice of issuing annual quagga mussel stickers to out-of-county boaters. The new system will require all out-of-county boats display a colored plastic tie wrap attached to the eye of the boat. The eye is located on the bow and is where the boat is normally tied down to the trailer. The plastic cable tie will have a different color for each month.

For example, red could be for January, blue for February and so on. The non-resident boater would be required to undergo a new screening process each month. He/she would be asked where the boat has been during the past month and if the boat has been in any quagga mussel-infested area. If the answer is no, the boater would be issued a cable tie for that month. If the boat has been in an infested area such as Lake Mead, the boater would be directed to take the boat to another inspector, who would inspect it throroughly before issuing a cable tie if it passed the inspection. If the boat fails the inspection it will be barred from launching at Clear Lake.

The cost of the cable tie would be $10. If a boater registered his boat every month it would come to $120 per year, but the feeling among the Council members is that very few out-of-county boaters actually register their boat every month, and since public launching ramps are free around Clear Lake it's still a bargain.

Lake County residents would continue to be issued a sticker good for the entire time the boat is in the county. To receive a resident sticker, the boater would have to provide proof that the boat is registered in the county. Giusti said he hopes the new system will be in place and operational by Jan. 1.

The new program does face challenges. For one thing, the two municipalities in the county (Lakeport and Clearlake) would have to endorse the program (Lakeport already has). I don't believe the current county ordinance on the quagga mussel applies to the cities and if Lakeport and Clearlake don't enforce the ordinance, it all becomes a moot point.

The two major launching ramps on Clear Lake are located within the cities of Lakeport and Clearlake. Lakeport has assigned a park ranger to monitor boats at Library Park and the Fifth Street ramps. There is no such monitoring program yet at Redbud Park in Clearlake, but that could occur in the future.

If a boat without a sticker or cable tie launches in Clear Lake and is cited, the fine can exceed $500. The Lake County Sheriff's boat patrol will issue a citation to any boat that hasn't complied with the ordinance.

Since the new program would generate a considerable amount of money from the boaters, the money should be put in a special fund. The fund could be used to administer the new program and any money left over could be used to improve the lake. The money shouldn't go into the county's general fund and it shouldn't be tapped for other county expenses.

All the experts on the Council agree that if the mussel gets into the lake it would devastate not only the water companies that draw water from the lake, but the tourist industry as well. The impact on the fisheries would be huge. The mussels multiply extremely fast and they will use up the nutrients in the lake that the fish require. A single mussel can pump a quart of water a day through its digestive system.

DFG Environmental scientist Jason Roberts said that to date the quagga mussel has been limited to the waters that drain from the Colorado River and there hasn't been any sign of the mussel in Northern California. However, that could all change in a hurry if an infected boat were to launch in Clear Lake. Once the mussels get into a lake it's impossible to eradicate them. In fact, there has never been a lake in the world where the mussel has been successfully eradicated. The only way to keep the mussels out of the lake is to prevent contaminated boats from launching.

Clear Lake is too valuable to allow it to be contaminated by an invasive species. It's much cheaper to prevent the mussels from getting into the lake rather than trying to cope with them once they are here.  

[catfished]

I guess none of our active out of county members have read this yet. They're really going at it on calbassin.com.

[snagger]

it seems like just another way to drain people of what little money they have these days.I feel the existing fee is a classic rip-off as it is.When I came last may Ifilled out the form and was told where I live is not a trouble area.No boat inspection or anything.It would be interesting to see just where all that fee money really goes!!

[Lepomis]

This is just such an important but tricky issue to me. Hard to be effective and keep all sides happy. As far as

It would be interesting to see just where all that fee money really goes!!

Amen! We need more  transparency in all levels of our respective bureaucracies.

[tightline]

Just another way to beat people out of money! I am all for protecting the lake, but this is crazy. It is hard enough for me to go fishing once a month as it is and when I do decide to come to the lake it is an expensive trip. The gas alone to get there is expensive! That does not include fuel for the boat, food, and bait if I decide to use it. Fishing is getting way to expensive. Sorry guys, just venting.

tightlines 

[derbingel]

I performed boat inspections while at Clearlake Bait and Tackle.

Picture one person running a store all alone, dealing with customers inside the store, while performing boat inspections outside.... not a good situation!  

Outside of having the non-Lake County boater owner fill out an affidavit declaring his/her boat has not been in infected waters, we only physically/visually checked live wells for water, and the bilge area.  

Local boaters simply required the affidavit... no physical/visual inspection.  

Non-Lake County employees throughout Lake County were sent to a roughly two-hour seminar to train as a screener before the ordinance was implemented April 8, 2008... not as actual boat inspectors, as we all would understand the definition of what an inspector is.

The current way screening/inspections are performed will not prevent the invasive mussels from reaching our waters, because the honor system the affidavit is based upon is not 100% fail-proof.

Not once, during the eleven months I volunteered my time at CLBT, did I ever re-inspect a non-Lake County boater returning to Lake County after their initial screening/inspection.

Many of these boats are registered in southern California, where known waters are suspect, or actually infested with the mussels.

If these boats are not being re-inspected upon returning to Lake County waters, then how is the ordinance being effective?

I had one non-Lake County boater come to the shop stating he was ordered off Clear Lake by the Sheriff's Marine Patrol (not cited), and told to go get his boat inspected and receive his sticker, before launching again.

Not only did that not make any sense, but it implied the actual enforcement of the ordinance was not clear in the eyes of who are in the position to do so.  

In my opinion, with this new proposal, what I perceive is Lake County realizes, and this is after eighteen months of the current ordinance being in effect  , that re-inspections have not taken place, and this change in the ordinance will ensure it does.

But this proposal of $10.00 for each month, to me, seems unwarranted. The current ordinance requires re-inspection upon returning to Lake County waters, but it does not require a fee.

The initial screening/inspection/sticker is $10.00 consistent around Lake County, and that sticker is valid during the calendar year it is issued.

The county charges facilities $7.00 for each sticker/form issued to each facility. That facility, in turn, can charge any amount they wish to the public, but the consistent fee around the county is $10.00.

The county is making money.  

Their over-head cost is minimal. Take into fact these facilities, e.g., bait and tackle stores, are using their own employees to perform the screening/inspections, so no county employees are involved, hence, no county labor costs. The only labor incurred, is when the stickers/forms are manufactured/delivered/issued.

Of course, the county will state it takes additional revenue to enforce the ordinance, but that should only apply to inspectors hired to check vessels at public launch facilities, or other sites.

It should not apply to DFG wardens, or the Sheriff's Marine Patrol, because it is already within their job description to enforce the ordinance... correct?

How much does the county pay to have each decal/form made?

Certainly not $7.00, so where is the accounting of this revenue being used?  

This new proposal, if passed, will produce substantial county revenue, so will it be solely used for enforcement of the ordinance, or placed into a non-designated fund the county decides on?

This proposal requires justification... correct?

[KnotGillty]

It is what it is

I'm ok with it

As an out of county boater, $10 isn't going to kill me. 

We all will be bitching even more if the quagga is discovered and the fishery declines. 

Put the funds generated back into the local economy somehow.  Collect enough & maybe we can open up Konocti again

[Norm]

Aside from the fee, has anyone given thought as to how effective these inspections are in preventing the mussels from getting into the lake?  I've witnessed very laxed enforcement while on the lake.  I've even witnessed an individual with the authority to issue resident stickers, give a resident sticker to someone who is not a resident. (No, that person's boat is not stored at CL either)  

[derbingel]

Education and preventive measures are the key for the invasive species program to be successful.

The ordinance has been in place for 1.5 years, but I've seen very little changes to key discrepancies existing since day one.

The new proposal is targeting non-Lake County boaters, but with the facts given, it should actually target all boaters using Lake County Waters, since the good faith format has failed.

And I have no problem with contributing funds as a local to help combat this mussel issue, but I get highly suspicious when I read news articles about city budgets falling short, even with cuts in place.  

It warrants the question whether the revenue produced from this new proposal goes into a specific fund for the invasive mussel program, or into the general county fund, which can be used for other purposes.

Here is the article written by Lake County News editor Elizabeth Larson.


Clearlake budget to be discussed at Thursday council meeting        
Written by Elizabeth Larson    
Tuesday, 10 November 2009  

CLEARLAKE – Despite making cuts in staff and programs, the city of Clearlake continues to face budget struggles, which will be one of the discussion topics at this Thursday's Clearlake City Council meeting.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

City Administrator Dale Neiman's report to the council for the Thursday meeting notes that the city's first budget quarter for the 2009-10 fiscal year wasn't a good one.

Sales tax revenues were down by 15.5 percent, and if that trend continues Neiman estimated the city's revenues will be $162,000 less than anticipated in the budget.

Overall, sales tax generates 23 percent of general fund revenues, Neiman reported.

A significant drop also was noted in the city's bed tax, which Neiman said were 42 percent less than last year, totaling $30,870 in lost revenue.

One bright spot was development review services, which Neiman said were 4 percent higher than budgeted for this year.

The city earlier this year chose to make more than $568,000 in budget cuts, including reorganizing code enforcement and taking over animal control services, as Lake County News has reported.

While the city expects to realize most of those savings, Neiman said code enforcement savings, originally estimated at $128,000, won't be as much as anticipated due to having to pay out vacation time.

As for animal control, the city – which had expected to save just over $100,000 by taking over services – is trying to figure out how to collect fees from people to cover the costs of taking care of surrendered or abandoned animals.

He said the alternatives the city has at this point are to use the general fund to subsidize animal control services or reduce personnel expenditures, meaning more staff cuts.

The council also will discuss a request to modify the city's zoning ordinance to establish regulations for where and under what conditions wind turbines can be installed in the city, according to a report from Neiman.

Businessman Jim Jonas applied for the changes, which Neiman said the Clearlake Planning Commission unanimously recommended the council approve. He said the Planning Commission also recommended the city adopt a new permit process to issue site plan review permits for the turbines.

Other business items on the council's Thursday agenda include a request by Wendy Fetzer to waive administrative penalties for failure to abate a public nuisance at 3258 Emerson St.; consideration of purchasing procedures and establishing a policy for conferences and training; and a policy concerning waiver of the rental fees for the Highlands Senior Center and city parks.

Police Chief Allan McClain will present a citizen commendation to Ray Knapp, the council will honor city Halloween volunteers and Dan Felperin of FRESH Energy Systems will share with the council information on the Energy Star certification and solar power.

[derbingel]

A significant drop also was noted in the city's bed tax, which Neiman said were 42 percent less than last year, totaling $30,870 in lost revenue.

It is safe to assume the recent severe algae problem had a lot to do with this drop in bed tax.

[snagger]

I would not mind the fee if I could in some way see how it could prevent an invasion of these little buggers.               I do not mind helping out any way I can.But every year now there is a new fee of some sort. steelhead tags,sturgeon tag,salmon tag ,you get the point.In each case I can never see how the extra money makes a change for the better,I dont see this as just 10 bucks, I see it as another 10 bucks on top of everything else we must pay.Give fishermen a break!