Government check point stations and additional fees paid by boaters and fisherman are always going to be controversial. After all, a lot - A LOT - of money, time, and energy was exerted this past season to find a grand total of 24 zebra or quagga mussel contaminated boats.
Is the money and hassle worth it?
Go ask the folks who used to love fishing Lake Mead.
Yes, I do believe it is worth it. 15 of the contaminated boats came into the state from the Midwest, and 9 came from the Southwest - Lake Mead in Nevada, and Lake Havasu and Lake Pleasant in Arizona.
The State of Idaho spends more than $10 million each year trying to prevent invasive species. Zebra and quagga mussel prevention is part of that $10 million that comes from state funds, property taxes, industry fees, and grants from the federal government.
The point is that many other states who are already infested with invasive mussels spend many more millions of dollars trying to eradicate them than what it would have cost to prevent them in the first place. The invasive mussels latch on and plug everything thing they can, from harmless native mussels to irrigation equipment. The detrimental impact that it has on power companies is in the millions as well. And we all know where power companies pass down their costs to.
Just imagine Henry's Lake, or Cascade Lake, or Lake Pend Oreille being unfishable and unboatable. I'm of the opinion that a 10 minute delay at a check point, or a small fee for a sticker to put on the boat, is worth protecting our waters.
For more info on this last year's catch of mussel contaminated boats, go here.
~ J. Bunch
