Bringing in a Boat from a North Texas Lake?
New regulations that took effect May 17, 2012
mean that boaters on Lake Texoma, Lake Lavon
and the Red River and its tributaries will
have to take additional steps to remove all water from their boat and trailer
before leaving for another body of water. These regulations are intended to
help stop spread of the destructive invasive species, zebra mussels.
Boaters are already prohibited from transporting invasive
species that are visible to the naked eye, such as adult zebra mussels.
The new regulation is intended to prevent the spread of zebra mussel larvae, or
“veligers,” which are so tiny they can only be seen
with a microscope and can survive for days in water trapped in a boat.
Zebra mussels have become well established in Lake Texoma
and can spread across Texas
on boats and trailers like yours. Zebra mussels can hurt aquatic life,
foul your boat, hinder water recreation and even affect our water supply.
Once they become established in a reservoir,
there is no known way to get rid of them.
To learn more about the new regulations, visit the TPWD website.
Don’t Be A Carrier. No matter where you boat in Texas, always Clean,
Drain and Dry your boat, trailer and gear to help stop the spread of aquatic
invasive species such as zebra mussels, giant salvinia,
hydrilla and water hyacinth. Watch this short video to learn how. If your boat is kept
or stored on the water in a lake known to have zebra mussels, it will need to
be fully decontaminated before transporting or launching it on another body of
water.
Hello Zebra Mussels. Goodbye Texas Lakes.
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Watch
For These Harmful Non-native
Plants
If you see any plants that you suspect
are not native to the lake, please let us
know. FOLM retains a Lake Biologist to check on
invasive plants, so that we may deal with them before they
become a problem.
