Invasive Species Prevented From Entering Lake Tahoe
Submitted by paula on Thu, 07/10/2014 - 10:06pm
Tahoe Resource Conservation District watercraft inspectors intercepted a boat on Wednesday that had quagga mussels and an unidentified snail in the boat's anchor locker.
The boat was at the inspection point on Spooner Summit after arriving from Lake Mead, a known quagga mussel infested body of water. Once detected the boat went through two decontaminations and inspections, and then was allowed into Lake Tahoe.
Over the holiday weekend most than 725 boats went through the four inspection points located around the lake which represents a 17% increase over last year's count.
Since May of this year, 24 boats carrying invasive species have been intercepted before entering Lake Tahoe which shows the value the inspection stations give to the environment. Invasive species have no natural predator so they pose serious threats to the ecology, recreation and local economies of the Lake Tahoe Basin.
Of the 24 boats found infected this year, eight contained invasive mussels and another four boats were carrying several different snail species.
In 2013, the program—jointly managed by TRPA and the Tahoe RCD—inspected and certified more than 14,000 motorized watercraft that were free of invasive species before launching into Lake Tahoe. An introduction of non-native species could devastate Lake Tahoe’s fragile ecosystem and native fisheries, impact boats and recreation areas, and could cost the Tahoe Basin more than $20 million annually, according to studies.
“We would like to thank our valued partners, including the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and numerous other public and private partners who help make the Tahoe Watercraft Inspection Program a national model for invasive species prevention,” said Nicole Cartwright, AIS Program Coordinator for Tahoe RCD “A lot of credit for preventing the further spread of invasive species goes to an increasing number of boaters and paddlers who are taking steps to avoid spreading invasive species, including arriving at inspection stations with their watercraft clean, drained and dry. We all play a part in protecting Lake Tahoe.”
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