Huckleberries Online

EOB: Boaters Face Sticker Purchase

Posted by DFO

March 4, 2009 4:25 p.m. • 17 comments

The threat to Idaho from invasive zebra and quagga mussels is so great, according to Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, that Idaho needs to enact emergency legislation right away to make every boat owner in the state purchase a sticker that’d help fund wash stations to keep the tiny and insidious shellfish out of Idaho’s waterways. Anderson won unanimous support from the House State Affairs Committee this morning to introduce his bill; next step is a full public hearing. “It’d be a $100 misdemeanor to not have that (sticker) on your vessel,” he told the panel. “However, the intent of this is not to fine, the intent of this is to educate”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.

Question: Should boaters pay $10 to $20 more for a sticker to fight the waterway threat from zebra and quagga mussels?

17 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

Sisyphus on March 04 at 4:46 p.m.
Or to phrase it another way, should boaters pay this small amount now to prevent them, before Idaho taxpayers pay tens of millions to try and get rid of them?

It may already be too late. If hmoff has a boat with him down in Arizona I hope he’ll get her washed before leaving. An arid state like Idaho, where water is one of the most valuable commodities we have, I can’t believe we’ve risked this for so long. Its a really small price to pay.
hmoffsuite on March 04 at 4:59 p.m.
Sis. I read all the material on this subject today in the regular SR. What I didn’t get out of the articles was what just exactly is the downside with these mussels? What do they do to the lakes? Why is it such a bad deal? I happen to support the idea to protect the lakes and would be willing to pay a fee of that sort. My boats only float in Cda lake, I could argue that since my boats don’t go anywhere else, I should not be liable as I am not a risk. But, I won’t. I just got my boat stickers this year and I happen to think the licensing fees are very reasonable. This year I licensed 8 boats and my total fee for all of them was $270. But, my newest boat is 1967. (Older boats get a price break when licensing).. I think that charging a fee for this project is reasonable.
Sisyphus on March 04 at 5:13 p.m.
(SIGH) Really hmoff? All these times I’ve taught you to use teh Google and still nothing.

They arrived in Lake Mead in ‘07. They’re already threatening the operation of Hoover Dam.

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/feb/17/quagga-mussel-threatens-dam/

They reproduce and spread rapidly, clogging machinery and water pipes and destroying aquatic ecosystems. Once established, they’re nearly impossible to eradicate.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/environment/story/674856.html
Me on March 04 at 5:17 p.m.
I will GLADLY pay the fee. Milfoil is a huge problem too and I see it slowly making the canals into the chain lakes only available to those without motors…..
hmoffsuite on March 04 at 5:22 p.m.
Thanks, Sis. That was very informative and makes me feel very comfortable about paying the fee to arrest the problem, before it gets the foothold.
JeanC on March 04 at 5:44 p.m.
Even tho we have a little 12 footer, I am willing to pay extra fees to help keep our waters safe from invasive species. I like my lakes just the way they are.
cantyoureadthesigns on March 04 at 7:19 p.m.
“Milfoil is a huge problem too and I see it slowly making the canals into the chain lakes only available to those without motors…..”

So there are some benefits to that infestation…
Stickman on March 04 at 8:59 p.m.
Since I don’t care for any boats on Lake Coeur d’ Alene, what a racket, I am for any and all increased rates.
Me on March 04 at 9:33 p.m.
Thanks cantyoureadthesigns, but we are not invasive, we putt along, we don’t cause trouble, don’t play loud music. We don’t go fast, and we obey the no wake zones. Thank you very much, but we have every right to use the public resources as do non motorized. You will NEVER find us violating the rules (can’t say the same about some non-motorized groups that ilegally park at the launches btw). AND on top of that we clean up litter and actually CHASE down and scold the motorized AND non-motorized rebels.

So you can quit judging now.

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D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.