ANNANDALE, Minn -
All eyes will be on Wright County this boating season, where a new pilot program is taking a bold stance against aquatic invasive species.
The county is the first in Minnesota to require inspections before launching a boat and trailer in the lake.
The new pilot program affects East and West Sylvia Lakes, Lake John and Pleasant Lake.
“It’s really just an experiment to see how this would work in Minnesota,” Jeff Forester of Minnesota Lakes and Rivers Advocates explains.
The Minnesota DNR has already approved the new project, which officially launched last October, but coordinators say 2018 will be the first full boating season they can study.
“We’ll certainly know more about how to do this after this year,” Forester explains.
The program was created to slow down the spread of invasive species like Eurasian Watermilfoil, Starry Stonewort, and Zebra Mussels, which have all been found in Wright County lakes.
The county’s inspection site sits in a business park in Annandale.
Adam Lee is one of the inspectors who check boats and trailers at the site, which is open 30 minutes before sun up, and 30 minutes after sun down.
The inspections are free to boaters.
It includes a brief visually examination and a few questions.
A power washing station at the site can be used if inspectors find any visible signs of invasive species.
“It takes us about a minute or two to do an inspection,” Lee says.
"At the most people are waiting five minutes for an inspection."
Lake home owners are mostly in favor of the new program.
They’re worried about the impact invasive species will have on property value and lake recreation.
Many boaters and anglers however, aren’t happy with the idea of being forced to drive several miles to get their boat inspected.
“These lakes are everybody’s lakes,” one boater said during a public meeting Friday night at Annandale City Hall.
Some boaters see the new program as a way to privatize these lakes, making them less accessible to the community.
“I think this pilot program is going to go down, so they better get their parachutes,” one boater said to the crowd.
Forester argues slightly restricted access is much better than not having access to these lakes at all.
“What is access? Forester asks. “If I can’t swim or fish in a lake, because of invasive species, do I have access to it? If the lake is so filled with Starry Stonewort that I can’t get my boat through it, is that access?”
County officials say the program runs through next June.
Until then all boaters will be required to go through an inspection and get a tag placed on their boat.
Violators will face citations that carry a maximum of $1,000.
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