[OSMB-News] News Release -Promising First Year for Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Program

[Ashley Massey]

For Immediate Release                                        Date: Wednesday, September 29, 2010
 
Promising First Year for Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Program
 
            It’s been a little over a year since the Oregon Legislature directed the Marine Board and the Department of Fish and Wildlife to implement an aquatic invasive species prevention program paid for by Oregon boaters. With its first season of implementation winding down, program managers are talking with boaters and natural resource professionals to make the program more user-friendly and less costly.
In September, a stakeholders group met to provide the Marine Board and ODFW with feedback to improve the program.  “After evaluating the program, stakeholders supported the concept but wanted several permit options for paddle craft, clubs and rental organizations,” said Glenn Dolphin, the Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Program Coordinator for the Marine Board.  “Based on their recommendations, we’re proposing several new permit options.  The current one-year permit through ODFW license agents will continue, but a new, two-year permit –available as a sticker for your non-registered, manually powered boat, or as a Tyvek tag you can carry or zip-tie to your raft, is proposed.  Color-coding the permits so they are visible will make it easier for law enforcement to observe at a distance whether a boater is in compliance or not,” Dolphin added.  The Marine Board hopes to have these permit options available by January 2011.
The following breakdown shows the number of permits that have been issued since the program and new laws went into effect in January 2010: 
·         82,615 motorized boat owners renewed their boat registrations and automatically paid the AIS fee;
·         38,606 non-motorized paddle craft purchased permits; 
·          4,557 permits were issued to guides and liveries;
·         3,122 permits were sold for out-of-state motorized boats;
·         Total: 128,900 permits have been issued, generating $680,094 in revenue for the program.
 The revenue funded five mobile decontamination units and inspection teams in Salem, Clackamas, La Grande, Central Point and Madras; signage at boat ramps and other access points; education materials such as brochures, posters, and rack cards; and training for marine officers and various boating and environmental groups.    
“This program put 10 new AIS inspectors on the ground this season,” said Dolphin.  “ODFW inspection team personnel are highly trained and worked throughout their regions to inspect as many boats as they can at boat ramps and roadside inspection stations.”  During the 2010 boating season, the five teams conducted 1,898 boat ramp inspections, 690 roadside inspections and decontaminated four boats with the mobile hot water decontamination units.  “Fortunately the teams did not detect any quagga or zebra mussel infested watercraft and they educated every person they came in contact with about the importance of cleaning, draining and drying their watercraft after each use to prevent the spread of unwanted species,” Dolphin stated.  
The Marine Board and ODFW recognize more work needs to be done.  The agencies will work this fall to improve the permit process so boaters can more easily comply in 2011.  They also want to inspect more boats as the program evolves.  Both agencies are committed to continuing education and outreach on the ground and weave prevention skills into the collective consciousness of all boaters.  “The only way we can protect our waterways is to call all boaters who recreate on our waterways to action.  Know what invasive species are already here, know about the ones we want to keep out and simply clean, drain and dry your boat,” Dolphin emphasized.  “If every boater can learn the basics of prevention, we dramatically improve our odds against infestation.” 
Furthermore, the Marine Board has spent the last decade educating registered boaters about the threat of invasive species infestation through their sustainable boating campaign.  “The sustainable boating campaign costs go above and beyond the money dedicated to the aquatic invasive species prevention program,” said Dolphin.  “This is money we’ve set aside in our own operating budget to educate boaters about keeping our waterways free from invasive species, converting to clean, four-stroke motor technology and incorporating clean boating practices into their routines.”  
All non-motorized boats 10 feet or longer are required to carry an aquatic invasive species prevention permit.  Motor boat owners automatically pay a $5 surcharge on their boat registrations.  Out-of-state residents using motorized boats are required to carry a $22 non-resident transferrable permit and non-motorized out-of-state residents a $7 transferrable permit.  Currently available permits are good for one calendar year.
For more information, visit www.boatoregon.com.
###
 
 
Ashley A. Massey
Public Information Officer
Oregon State Marine Board
503-378-2623 (office)
503-302-1049 (cell)
ashley.massey at state.or.us
www.boatoregon.com
www.twitter.com/marineboard
We're also on Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Salem-OR/Oregon-State-Marine-Board/116751421672478 )!
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/osmb-news/attachments/20100929/f49076e8/attachment.html>