The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency will close two of its roadside boat inspection stations in early to mid-September, according to community liaison Jeff Cowen. Roadside inspection and decontamination stations are been operating throughout the summer with four stations at Spooner Summit, Northstar, Alpine Meadows and Meyers.
The stations were set up for the mandatory inspections of quagga and zebra mussels for all vessels into Lake Tahoe. The invasive quagga and zebra species are miniscule, but can wreak havoc on the Lake if they are introduced. These mussels, which are hitching rides on boats and trailers and in ballast tanks, bladders and live wells, are spreading across the West. Quagga and zebra mussels will spread rapidly once they are introduced to a lake and will gorge on the food supply, kill fish and pollute the clarity of the lake.
The Spooner Summit station on Highway 50 will operate until Sept. 7, with the Alpine Meadows Road station off Highway 89 closing Sept. 15. Roadside stations at Northstar and in Meyers will operate until Sept. 30. The stations are open daily from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
However, mandatory inspections will continue through the winter at all open launch sites. The addition of roadside inspection stations to the Lake Tahoe AIS Program have been funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For details on the mandatory boat inspections, visit www.protecttahoe.org or call (888) 824-6267.
