(Undated)– Residents are being asked to be vigilant for aquatic invasive species when removing boats, docks and hoists this fall. Kim Bogenschutz is an aquatic invasive species coordinator with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources…
“Take a look at them, see if there’s any zebra mussels attached to them if it’s a lake that we don’t know that has them in. We know that they are in the Spirit, Okoboji lakes up there and Lost Island Lake has them. There’s a lot of lakes that don’t, and we just want to make sure, we want to try to make sure they haven’t been spread so if people can check out their docks or their boats as they pull them out and let us know if they see anything unusual.”
Bogenschutz also reminds everyone it is illegal under Iowa law to transport anything with aquatic invasive species or plants attached to it…
“If you hire someone to remove your boat or dock those companies have designated routes, they have designated areas that they can take those so we know about that, although they need to be vigilant to about making sure things are clean. But yeah, if you’re moving anything yourself and there’s something on it you can’t move it without cleaning it off first and letting us know.”
You can report anything suspicious by contacting the Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery or a local Conservation Officer.
