LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Due to an overwhelming response from concerned citizens regarding invasive mussel infestations in California’s bodies of water, boat owners will now see an additional fee on their California Department of Motor Vehicles vessel registration.

This fee is a result of AB2443 that was signed into law by Gov. Brown in 2012.

“The money collected by the DMV will go to the state of California Department of Boating and Waterways to make grants available to local agencies to fund quagga and zebra mussel prevention plans,” said Lake County Public Works Director Scott De Leon.

Since 2008, the county of Lake has taken a positive, proactive and aggressive approach to the threat of an invasive mussel infestation because of the huge impact it could have on the ecosystem of Clear Lake and the local economy, officials said. This approach has been funded largely by the fees received from the county’s sticker program.

In order to keep Clear Lake free of invasive mussels and keep its ecosystem intact, boat owners are still required to participate in Lake County’s mussel prevention plan.

This will include the annual requirement of purchasing a Lake County Quagga Mussel Sticker, as there is no guarantee that monies collected through the DMV will be awarded for use in Lake County.

Please continue to support the Lake County program by showing your current mussel sticker and remember to check in with a participating screener when you return from an out-of-county trip with your boat.

Rescreening and any necessary decontamination are free.

County officials credit the Lake County mussel prevention program with being the reason Clear Lake is still free of quagga and zebra mussels.

For the latest list of screeners see www.nomussels.com or call 707-263-2344.

The 2014 mussel stickers will be available in late December of this year.