By Nicole Cartwright
Roadside stations for Lake Tahoe boat inspections and watercraft decontamination are officially open at three locations — Meyers, Spooner Summit and Alpine Meadows — with stations at Northstar and Homewood to open May 23.
“Boat inspections are critical to maintaining the health of Lake Tahoe and our local recreation-based economy,” said Dennis Zabaglo, watercraft coordinator for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. “Through the efforts of the Tahoe Resource Conservation District’s well-trained inspectors and other private and public partners committed to the Lake, we expect to have another successful season.”
All motorized boats and watercraft require inspection for aquatic invasive species prior to launching into Lake Tahoe. Quagga and zebra mussels are especially problematic, as they are known to multiply quickly and colonize underwater surfaces, including docks and piers, water supply and filtration systems, buoys, moored boats and even the beautiful rocky shoreline.
They destroy fish habitat, ruin boat engines, and can negatively impact water quality and the local economy, recreation and ecosystem. Boats and other watercraft are the largest transporters of AIS, and the inspection program is critical to preventing their spread into Lake Tahoe and other water bodies. Knowingly transporting AIS into Lake Tahoe is against the law, and violators may be subject to monetary penalties.
“Boaters are encouraged to Clean, Drain, and Dry their boats prior to arriving at inspection stations in order to save everyone time and money,” according to Nicole Cartwright, Watercraft Inspection Program Administrator for the Tahoe RCD “Taking these simple steps will get you on the water faster.”
Annual watercraft inspection fees remain unchanged from 2012. The “Tahoe In & Out” sticker ranges from $35 for personal watercraft and vessels under 17 feet and up to $121 for vessels over 39 feet. The “Tahoe Only” sticker fee is $30. An additional fee of $25 is being charged for any boat requiring decontamination and an additional $10 fee for the decontamination of each raw water system such as ballasts, generators, live wells, etc.
Opening Wednesday May 1:
Sunday-Wednesday 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Thursday-Saturday 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Meyers: at the junction of US 50 and Highway 89
Spooner Summit: at the junction of US 50 and Highway 28 in Nevada
Alpine Meadows: Highway 89, off Alpine Meadows Road north of Tahoe City
Thursday May 23:
Thursday-Sunday 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Monday-Wednesday CLOSED
Northstar: Highway 267, at Northstar Drive south of Truckee
Homewood: Highway 89, at Homewood Resort on Lake Tahoe’s west shore
Visit TahoeBoatInspections.com or call (888) 824-6267 for updates, details and information and follow @TahoeBoating on Twitter for real-time updates.
About the Lake Tahoe Watercraft Inspection Program
The Watercraft Inspection Program is part of the Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species Program which is implemented by 40 public and private partner organizations including federal, state and local jurisdictions, research partners, public utility districts, and private marinas. The state, federal and local agencies comprising the Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinating Committee have provided leadership, direction and resources to fulfill this program’s mission of prevention, detection and control of aquatic invasive species in the Lake Tahoe Region.
The Tahoe Resource Conservation District’s (Tahoe RCD) mission is to promote the conservation and improvement of the Lake Tahoe Basin’s soil, water and related natural resources by providing leadership, information, programs, and technical assistance to all land managers, owners, organizations, and residents. The Tahoe RCD is a non-regulatory, grant funded, public agency that works with a variety of partner agencies to implement projects, programs and outreach which currently focus on erosion control, runoff infiltration, terrestrial and aquatic invasive species control, and conservation landscaping.
— Nicole Cartwright is the Watercraft Inspection Program Administrator for the Tahoe Resource Conservation District. She can be reached at (530) 543-1501, ext. 111, or ncartwright@TahoeRCD.org.