With the main boating season coming to an end, the Game and Fish has closed down all the boating check stations around the state. Those stations are there to help prevent the spread of zebra mussels, quagga mussels and other invasive species into our waters.
But for some people, boating season doesn’t end until there isn’t any open water to be found. I myself have been known to drop a john boat into 32.1 degree water and ease it between some cattails for a morning of waterfowl hunting.
The chances of a boat harboring live invasive species is lower in these colder months, but it’s not zero. So if you take that boat to a lake in one of our surrounding states, make sure you get it cleaned off, drained and dried before you put it in the water back here at home. It’s good practice to do the same thing if you take it from one watershed to another, even if both watersheds are in Wyoming. Chances are the bad critters will freeze and die between outings, but better safe than sorry.
Your waders can also carry these invasive species. If you tromp around in a lake that has zebra mussels, you can pick up some of those aquatic hitchhikers on your waders. If you then come home, hang your waders in a warm place, then go out to another lake, some of those mussels could survive the trip and hop off in the new waterway. That’s all it takes to cause a major infestation.
So make sure all your gear is cleaned off – especially any mud or vegetation – and give it time to dry completely before you go somewhere else with it. Let’s all make sure we keep those nasty invasives out of our waters.
