It definitely looks like Idaho boaters will be paying extra fees before they can launch on Idaho's waters to prevent the invasion of invasive mussels.
Whether you have a drift boat, touring kayak or motor boat, you're going to being paying an extra fee in the future.
The mussel sticker bill flew through the Idaho Senate Tuesday with a vote of 34 to 1. The popular bill will require that motorized boats registered in Idaho have a $10 annual sticker. Boats coming into Idaho but registered out of state would have to pay $20. The cost for nonmotorized boats would be $5 annually. Boaters caught on Idaho waterways without the sticker would be subject to a $100 fine.
The stickers would fund informational programs and special high-pressure washing stations.
The bill is being touted as a way to fight the invasion of quagga mussels, tiny creatures that wreak havoc in waterways and water systems. This is a serious threat with consequences that could cost Idaho $94 million a year to maintain and clear out water systems.
The mussels are introduced into new states by boats traveling from one body of water to another. They were inadvertently introduced into the Great Lakes in the mid-1980s. They have spread across the country and are now found in Lake Mead on the Nevada-Arizona border and in California, Colorado and Utah.
Some resident boaters said that they are being unfairly targeted for a problem that will be caused by boaters coming into the state. A waterskier who goes from Boise to Lucky Peak Reservoir all summer long is not going to bring a mussel into the state. A whitewater boater who only goes from Meridian to the Main Payette River is not going to transport mussels into the state.
OK, boaters are unfairly being forced to shoulder the whole burden of preventing an invasion of the mussels in Idaho, let's move on. It's time now to tax irrigation companies, dam operators, marinas, and water companies to help in the effort. They are the ones that are being directly affected by mussel invasions across the country.
One wonders why they got off the hook in paying for the mussel-prevention effort.
Delicious
Digg
Yahoo
Who's affected
Can we get a little more detail about who's affected? Okay, whitewater rafters... I've got a 10' Sevylor raft that I use on the Boise river. It's capable of taking a motor. Do I have to buy this sticker for it? Hell, even my 2-person Sevylor can take a motor. Is it a length limit?
You'll have to pay
It's for boats 10 feet and longer. At least that was the last thing I saw.
If you put a motor on your raft it has to be registered in the state. That has always been the law.
- Zimo