HorizontalHunter
NES Member
This was in the Republican last Monday and I thought I would post it here for the folks that fish Quabbin and might have missed it.
Bob
State launches boat washing fee
Monday, February 22, 2010 By JOHN APPLETON
[email protected]
BELCHERTOWN - The state has initiated a $30 fee for having boats washed and sealed so they may be used on Quabbin Reservoir.
Boat owners may schedule a cleaning by calling the Quabbin Visitors Center, (413) 323-7221 after March 1 and arranging an appointment.
These boats will be washed at the House of Wax Car Wash, 31 New Athol Road, Orange, starting in early April. Boats will not be cleaned unless appointments are scheduled through the Quabbin Visitors Center.
People who had their boats inspected and sealed to their trailers last year or early this year will not need to have them washed as long as they still have the seals intact when the bring them to the Quabbin boat launch.
The washing and inspection programs were started last year because of concerns about invasive species of plants and mollusks that could be harmful to Quabbin Reservoir, which is the drinking water supply for 2.5 million people in Massachusetts.
The initial concerns were raised after zebra mussels were found in July on Laurel Lake in the Berkshires.
The tiny zebra mussels reproduce rapidly and have been blamed for altering eco-systems in some lakes and also for clogging intake pipes at reservoirs and power plants.
Although inspections of Quabbin found no zebra mussels in the reservoir and conditions there are not conducive to this species, state officials decided to institute procedures to safeguard against invasive species of plants and animals being brought there on boats.
Quabbin Reservoir was closed to private boats for several weeks last year and only reopened after a washing and inspection program was started.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation started a cold-weather quarantine program for boats this winter, inspecting boats between Jan. 25 and Feb. 19 and then placing seals that would show whether the boats are removed from their trailers.
State officials said this procedure would ensure that boats that still have seals intact are not carrying invasive species because they would have been on their trailers for at least nine weeks prior to the Quabbin Reservoir opening in April.
There was no charge for this cold-weather sealing program but officials had predicted that there would be a charge for boat washing.
Bob
State launches boat washing fee
Monday, February 22, 2010 By JOHN APPLETON
[email protected]
BELCHERTOWN - The state has initiated a $30 fee for having boats washed and sealed so they may be used on Quabbin Reservoir.
Boat owners may schedule a cleaning by calling the Quabbin Visitors Center, (413) 323-7221 after March 1 and arranging an appointment.
These boats will be washed at the House of Wax Car Wash, 31 New Athol Road, Orange, starting in early April. Boats will not be cleaned unless appointments are scheduled through the Quabbin Visitors Center.
People who had their boats inspected and sealed to their trailers last year or early this year will not need to have them washed as long as they still have the seals intact when the bring them to the Quabbin boat launch.
The washing and inspection programs were started last year because of concerns about invasive species of plants and mollusks that could be harmful to Quabbin Reservoir, which is the drinking water supply for 2.5 million people in Massachusetts.
The initial concerns were raised after zebra mussels were found in July on Laurel Lake in the Berkshires.
The tiny zebra mussels reproduce rapidly and have been blamed for altering eco-systems in some lakes and also for clogging intake pipes at reservoirs and power plants.
Although inspections of Quabbin found no zebra mussels in the reservoir and conditions there are not conducive to this species, state officials decided to institute procedures to safeguard against invasive species of plants and animals being brought there on boats.
Quabbin Reservoir was closed to private boats for several weeks last year and only reopened after a washing and inspection program was started.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation started a cold-weather quarantine program for boats this winter, inspecting boats between Jan. 25 and Feb. 19 and then placing seals that would show whether the boats are removed from their trailers.
State officials said this procedure would ensure that boats that still have seals intact are not carrying invasive species because they would have been on their trailers for at least nine weeks prior to the Quabbin Reservoir opening in April.
There was no charge for this cold-weather sealing program but officials had predicted that there would be a charge for boat washing.
