LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – It’s time to celebrate a quagga/zebra mussel-free Lake County by purchasing 2015 Lake County resident stickers for vessels.
County officials reported that the Lake County Mussel Prevention Program is working.
Clear Lake is mussel-free because the August, 2014 water analysis by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife found no mussels.
The county of Lake is asking for the public's helping in keeping Clear Lake mussel-free.
In 2014 there has been an increase in infested counties in the state. There are now eight infested counties, including San Benito County, which has the only infestation of zebra mussels.
The state mussel sticker that residents get from the Department of Motor Vehicles when renewing their registration has nothing to do with the Lake County Mussel Prevention Program. It will not keep mussels out of Lake County, the county reported.
The Lake County mussel sticker, on the other hand, requires vessels be screened by a participating screener who determines whether vessels are at risk for transporting mussels here.
Boaters need both sets of mussel stickers – state and county – when launching in any water body in Lake County.
County officials said they don't expect area residents to keep up-to-date with which water bodies are infested, and so they offer that service.
However, the county asks that each time residents return from an out-of-county trip with their vessel that they stop by any of the participating screeners and be rescreened for free.
County residents are asked to continue their diligence and keep their boats clean, drained and dry.
For more information, visit http://www.nomussels.com/ .