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Invasives sticker - FYI

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fitgers1

05/07/2012 10:45AM

Previously there was a lot of discussion about the newly required Aquatic Invasive Species sticker that was going to be a mandatory sticker for all water craft.

A press release from the DNR on Friday states the sticker will not be mandatory on a boat. There will be a mandatory online training that everyone must take and then a sticker will be received that must be put on the trailer. Haven't read anything further on this and I do not know what will be required for a canoe that doesn't have a trailer. Unless I missed it in the release.

Here is the press release...

DNR NEWS RELEASE FOR MAY 4, 2012
Aquatic invasive species decal law changes; higher penalties go into effect July 1
A slate of new laws designed to curb the spread of Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) was approved in a recent bill passed by the Minnesota Legislature and signed by Gov. Mark Dayton.
A program requiring watercraft owners to place an AIS rules sticker on their boats is being discontinued and replaced with an online education program. Watercraft owners will no longer be required to place on their boats the rectangular, silver and black decals, which include a summary of the state's AIS laws.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) began distributing the decals earlier this year and will continue to give them to interested boat owners for informational purposes only.
A new law, which goes into effect 2015, will require anyone who transports watercraft or water-related equipment with a trailer to complete an online education course. After completing the course, the person will receive a decal that must be placed on their trailer, certifying they have taken the course. People taking the course can receive extra stickers if they own or use multiple trailers for watercraft or water-related equipment.
"The black and silver decal is no longer mandatory for boaters, but it is still a good informational tool to help boaters know the AIS laws," said Luke Skinner, aquatic invasive species program supervisor. Boaters who have decals can still place them on their boats or trailers as a reminder.
He said the DNR will begin developing the online AIS course soon to implement the new decal requirement for 2015. The penalty for not displaying the decal will be a warning, not a citation.
Other new AIS laws will be instituted July 1, 2012, as a result of the new legislation:
• Civil penalties for violating the state's AIS laws will double. Fines that currently range from $50 to $250 will increase to $100 to $500, depending on the type of violation. For example, failure to remove a drain plug while transporting a watercraft will mean a $100 fine, instead of a $50 penalty. The fine for unlawfully possessing and transporting prohibited aquatic invasive species will increase from $250 to $500.
• Boat lifts, docks, swim rafts and other water-related equipment (except boats and other watercraft) that are removed from any water body may not be placed in another water body for at least 21 days. The drying out period is designed to kill any AIS that might be attached to the equipment that are high risk and difficult to clean. Two zebra mussel introductions occurred last year as a result of water equipment being sold and moved from one water body to another.
• Boat clubs, yacht clubs, marinas and other similar organizations are now considered lake-service providers, requiring permits for the clubs and staff working there to take AIS certification training.
• Portable bait containers used while fishing through the ice do not need to be drained before leaving a water body, unless the water body has been declared to have viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS), a virus that is deadly to fish.
The DNR was given additional authority to require mandatory inspections of water-related equipment before a person places or removes equipment into or out of a water body and to set up inspection stations at a centralized location to cover multiple lakes. The new legislation also allows the DNR to delegate this authority to local governments that have an approved inspection plan
More information about the DNR's aquatic invasive species programs can be found at www.mndnr.gov/invasives.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” Ralph Waldo Emerson...and...“Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading".

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Zulu

05/07/2012 10:58AM

As I understand it the sticker on the trailer tongue indicates that you are informed about invasive species rules and agree to comply. That allows a DNR person stationed at the boat ramps to know that you are aware of the rules and procedures and they don't have to talk to you versus a boat and trailer who doesn't have the sticker. I imagine it will try to eliminate slow downs and back-ups at the boat ramps. I haven't seen the sticker.

I don't know why the law was changed. Was it a backlash from boaters or cost savings?

You can still get a sticker and apply it to your watercraft if you wish I understand.

Somewhat off topic but Piragis in Ely is now selling a trap used for capturing the invasive species Rusty Crawfish which are numerous in many NE Minnesota lakes. I heard a guy on the radio say they are good to eat. Has anyone eaten them?

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Grandma L

05/07/2012 11:04AM

Thanks for the update -
invasive species decal update

I wonder what that abandoned program cost tax payers?

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Wetlander

05/07/2012 12:59PM

quote Zulu: "Somewhat off topic but Piragis in Ely is now selling a trap used for capturing the invasive species Rusty Crawfish which are numerous in many NE Minnesota lakes. I heard a guy on the radio say they are good to eat. Has anyone eaten them?"

Taste like lobster! You just need to catch a bunch to make a meal.

The greatest wonder is that we can see these trees and not wonder more.-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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timatkn

05/07/2012 01:42PM

The crib notes. The mandatory training requirement happens in 2015.

Fines will double.

Sticker no longer required.

Don't know why they changed it so fast.

T

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AndySG

05/07/2012 02:09PM

Zulu: Crawfish make a great meal. Down here we boil them up with some good Cajun shrinp/crawfish boil spice, potatoes, whole garlic bulbs and corn on the cob. Pre boil the veggies until almost done then add the LIVE crawfish and spices. When the crawfish turn a bright red color they are done. Strain and dump the whole mess out on a table covered with newspaper. Pull the heads off the crawfish and suck out the contents then peel the tails and eat the meat.

Sincerely yours, Andy

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housty9

05/07/2012 02:10PM

More wasted money, are government at it's finest.

our we there yet

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nctry

05/07/2012 05:50PM

quote housty9: "More wasted money, are government at it's finest. "

Maybe so, but there are a lot of people that don't seem to care. The DNR needs something to make it worth peoples while to care. I wasn't a fan of the sticker. But a little education never hurt anyone. Once set up I think the online course will be cost effective. Just have to wait and see what kind of material they cover. We pay for this stuff by making out of state people buy boat licenses. :) The cost of doing nothing would be worse in my opinion.

Nctry Ben

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analyzer

05/07/2012 06:44PM

In the other thread, I reasoned that there were 800,000 some odd registered boats in MN, and at roughly $.50 a piece the stickers cost the gov't about 400k.

Funny, I was down registering my new canoe, and I asked the fella about the Invasive species sticker, and he said they repealed it... And then he said, "there goes $400,000".

I had to laugh to myself.

He confirmed that's what they spent on the sticker program.

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burntsider

05/07/2012 08:59PM

Seems like trying to stop a gale with a tennis racquet.

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Frenchy19

05/07/2012 10:08PM

I just licensed a new-to-me canoe. The DMV worker gave me one of the stickers, and the piece that needs to go on your trailer is about 2/3 the size of a credit card. There is NOTHING REQUIRED for your canoe.

"He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious." Yogi Berra

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wildernessfan2

06/24/2012 05:46AM

DNR is not happy about complaince.

20% is alot of boats owners.

Freshwater is delicious! Saltwater not so much..

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gutmon

06/24/2012 08:27AM

I got the trailer-tongue sticker about three years ago from a check. It hasn't stopped them from looking at my boat. In fact, there has only been one time so far this season that I haven't been thoroughly inspected. I think there's going to be some outrage with the new law in the Mpls area lakes that are only "open" for public use during certain hours of the day.

"The trouble with the world isn't that people know too little, but that they know so much that just ain't so." Mark Twain

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