Mussel inspectors intercept more boats at Tahoe

LAKE TAHOE - Lake Tahoe's boat inspectors are ready for the holiday weekend with 11 times more boats decontaminated this year than last year for invasive mussels and nine quarantined already under

their belts.

"We are intercepting a large number of boats," said Ted Thayer, the natural resource and science team leader for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Boat inspectors saw 1,600 boats and intercepted 65 of those for decontamination as of mid-June. Last year the team decontaminated five boats the entire summer.

If a boat is decontaminated it means it is suspected of having mussels or it comes from a high-risk area. Quarantined vessels are found to have mussels on them.

Quagga and zebra mussels have not been introduced into Lake Tahoe.

The higher number of catches are due to TRPA's new rules regarding boat inspections, Thayer said.

All public and commercial private boat ramps are required to close if they do not have a Tahoe Regional Planning Agency approved aquatic invasive species inspector, according to a new rule the TRPA Governing Board adopted in September 2008.

The new rules do not affect single-home private boat ramps.

In addition to closing ramps that do not have an inspector, the rule also requires boat owners to decontaminate their vessel if an inspector finds an invasive species on it.

These new rules are aimed at preventing Lake Tahoe from becoming infested with invasive mussels like quagga and zebra mussels. Quagga and zebra mussels are invasive species that have infected bodies of water all across the country, including Lake Mead and San Justo Reservoir about 250 miles away from Tahoe in Northern California. Once introduced to a body of water, the mussels multiply rapidly, destroying ecosystems, infrastructure and boating equipment. No large body of water has been able to eradicate the species once infected.

"We're not taking any chances," Thayer said.

In April the board also voted to institute new fees to help fund the inspection program. The fees will be charged at launch points and are determined on a sliding scale based on the size of the vessel. Upon leaving Lake Tahoe, an inspector will attach a seal between a vessel and its trailer. If the seal is unbroken the vessel can reenter without an additional fee or inspection.