In order to safeguard the lake against a new aquatic invasive species, the TRPA is taking immediate action to strengthen boat inspections.
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Governing Board authorized a crucial amendment to the Lake Tahoe Watercraft Inspection Program on Wednesday due to a new aquatic invasive species recently being found a few hours away from the Tahoe Basin.
The TRPA says last October, invasive golden mussels were found for the first time in North America in California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. To lower the risk to Lake Tahoe, the Tahoe Resource Conservation District (Tahoe RCD), which oversees the boat inspection program, and TRPA reinforced inspection protocols.
In conjunction, both agencies implemented mandatory decontamination procedures for all motorized watercraft entering Lake Tahoe on Wednesday.
To accommodate the new services, the TRPA Governing Board authorized a revised fee schedule.
The TRPA says all boaters, paddlers, anglers, and beachgoers are reminded to adhere to Clean, Drain, Dry procedures as new threats to Lake Tahoe's surface.
They say Lake Tahoe does not have golden mussels, and the chance of invasion can be decreased by adhering to Clean, Drain, and Dry procedures.
After the required inspection, the main change for motorized boaters coming from other regions will be watercraft cleaning.
Boats carrying a Tahoe security seal that were launched last in Lake Tahoe are, as usual, permitted to launch again without being inspected.
Through connected water systems, the golden mussel has been detected since its discovery in Stockton, California, and has been found nearly as far south as Bakersfield.
All motorized watercraft from other waterbodies will be decontaminated to minimize the risk to Lake Tahoe, which will raise program operating costs.
A public-private partnership, the Watercraft Inspection Program receives two-thirds of its income from public sources and one-third from inspection fees.
To cover the cost of more frequent decontaminations, the TRPA Governing Board authorized a minimum decontamination fee of $30 for any motorized watercraft that needs to be inspected.
Boaters can prevent further increases to their decontamination fee by following Clean, Drain, Dry procedures.
A few facts regarding golden mussels The golden mussel is similar to the quagga mussel, an invasive species that the Lake Tahoe inspection program has been successfully keeping out of Lake Tahoe since 2008. Like quagga mussels, golden mussels can encrust rocks, piers, boats, and pipelines.
Due to their increased rate of reproduction and ability to tolerate a greater range of conditions, golden mussels pose a greater threat. If imported, golden mussels have the potential to irreversibly harm Lake Tahoe's recreational activities, natural ecosystem, and water quality.
In places outside of the Tahoe Region, the worry has led to temporary waterbody closures and 30-day quarantines.
Invasive species prevention programs throughout the western United States are rapidly evaluating programs to stop the spread of invasive species outside of California.
The most recent fee schedule can be found at TahoeBoatInspections.com/stickers-and-fees.
