Boat Inspection Station

[HALLETT BOY]

Was driving to Topock this morning, and just before Topock exit , across from truck scales , was a flashing portable highway sign that said boat inspection / must exit . It was closed , but looked like they might be setting up . Anybody know anything ? I think like the war on drugs , poverty , homelessness, pineapple on pizza , we’ve lost the Quagga battle .

 

[River Dirt 2]

Was driving to Topock this morning, and just before Topock exit , across from truck scales , was a flashing portable highway sign that said boat inspection / must exit . It was closed , but looked like they might be setting up . Anybody know anything ? I think like the war on drugs , poverty , homelessness, pineapple on pizza , we’ve lost the Quagga battle .

They have one set up at Rock House Ramp on occasion. Never been stopped, looks like they shutdown at 5:00pm so time accordingly

 

[monkeyswrench]

When I had my place in Needles, I'd sometimes launch and meet up with inlaws at Pirate's. Same damn stretch of river, and they'd check my plugs and see if I had any weeds on the trailer.
Waste of time and resources I think, but what do I know...

 

[Dirtbag]

memorial day shenanigans

 

[Kbach]

I went through there last Tuesday towing the boat and the sign was flashing for boats to pull over...lights were on but nobody was home so I kept the pedal to the metal

 

[FlyByWire]

Pass it every day on the way to work. What confuses me is they’re inspecting as you LEAVE the state...(?)

 

[dirtslinger2]

Maybe they are trying to alleviate the time it takes at the agriculture inspection station a couple miles down the road.

 

[Supercup]

Maybe they are trying to alleviate the time it takes at the agriculture inspection station a couple miles down the road.

Makes sense - I have had them ask me to inspect my plug a number of times at Ag station - so I just started keeping it in the cupholder up front and would hand it to them - they would walk to the back to be sure it was out and that was it, then hand it back and say thanks.

 

[DLC]

Did they have the traditional BUI check point on the water today?

I thought they did that before memorial every year

 

[twocents]

This development should be of major concern to all boaters in the western states, obviously for boaters who trailer across state lines. There's an organization called the Western Governor's Association (WAG) made up of Governors from pretty much all states west of the Mississippi. This story begins in 2018 when a 2-day meeting was called (at the BLM office in Havasu) to discuss future strategies regarding the control and prevention of quagga mussel infestation in lakes and rivers. Multiple states and multiple agencies were present at the meeting including the Lake Havasu Marine Association (LHMA). Although many items were on the agenda, one issue began to dominate the discussion. It soon became apparent several of the northern states had been complaining to the WGA that the southwestern states (i.e. Arizona, California and Nevada) were not getting the quagga mussel enforcement job done to their satisfaction since too many infected boats coming from the south were being intercepted at northern state quagga mussel checkpoints (basically pointing the finger at boaters coming from the south of contaminating the pristine waters to the north -- and that something needed to be done about it).

This was the first that we (members of the LHMA) had heard about this problem although we had assumed the responsibility for the previous five years of educating boaters along the lower Colorado River (from Needles south to Blythe) about the evils of mussels. During those five years. LHMA volunteers made over 34,000 documented face-to-face contacts with boaters (mostly at launch ramps) providing important facts about how to prevent spreading AIS (aquatic invasive species).

At this point in the meeting, the point-person heading up the AIS division at Arizona Game and Fish presented a potential strategy that seemed much less reliant on boater education and more aimed at strict enforcement. The plan was to create multiple "pinch-points" (pull over, stop and be inspected) along well traveled routes that boaters routinely took when leaving the Colorado River (these are not agriculture inspection stations, exclusively for boaters only). One of the first proposed "pinch-points" was to be located on I-40 to west bound traffic across from the truck scales before the Topock exit. Several other "pinch-point" sites were also identified on the list.

This news ignited a firestorm of pushback from the Marine Association at the meeting, while the other government agencies present thought this was a dandy idea. At the conclusion of the meeting, a summary report was suppose to be prepared and circulated to all who were in attendance before the report was presented to the WGA. As we anticipated, no copy of the report ever made it to the Marine Association.

From that time forward, however, the Marine Association's relations or input with anything involving AIS has been non-existent. The Marine Association's annual grant to provide AIS boater education also came to an abrupt halt.

There's lots more to this story but I think you get the idea. It apparently took three years for the plan to finally hatch and it's just the beginning.

 

[Lumpy]

This development should be of major concern to all boaters in the western states, obviously for boaters who trailer across state lines. There's an organization called the Western Governor's Association (WAG) made up of Governors from pretty much all states west of the Mississippi. This story begins in 2018 when a 2-day meeting was called (at the BLM office in Havasu) to discuss future strategies regarding the control and prevention of quagga mussel infestation in lakes and rivers. Multiple states and multiple agencies were present at the meeting including the Lake Havasu Marine Association (LHMA). Although many items were on the agenda, one issue began to dominate the discussion. It soon became apparent several of the northern states had been complaining to the WGA that the southwestern states (i.e. Arizona, California and Nevada) were not getting the quagga mussel enforcement job done to their satisfaction since too many infected boats coming from the south were being intercepted at northern state quagga mussel checkpoints (basically pointing the finger at boaters coming from the south of contaminating the pristine waters to the north -- and that something needed to be done about it).

This was the first that we (members of the LHMA) had heard about this problem although we had assumed the responsibility for the previous five years of educating boaters along the lower Colorado River (from Needles south to Blythe) about the evils of mussels. During those five years. LHMA volunteers made over 34,000 documented face-to-face contacts with boaters (mostly at launch ramps) providing important facts about how to prevent spreading AIS (aquatic invasive species).

At this point in the meeting, the point-person heading up the AIS division at Arizona Game and Fish presented a potential strategy that seemed much less reliant on boater education and more aimed at strict enforcement. The plan was to create multiple "pinch-points" (pull over, stop and be inspected) along well traveled routes that boaters routinely took when leaving the Colorado River (these are not agriculture inspection stations, exclusively for boaters only). One of the first proposed "pinch-points" was to be located on I-40 to west bound traffic across from the truck scales before the Topock exit. Several other "pinch-point" sites were also identified on the list.

This news ignited a firestorm of pushback from the Marine Association at the meeting, while the other government agencies present thought this was a dandy idea. At the conclusion of the meeting, a summary report was suppose to be prepared and circulated to all who were in attendance before the report was presented to the WGA. As we anticipated, no copy of the report ever made it to the Marine Association.

From that time forward, however, the Marine Association's relations or input with anything involving AIS has been non-existent. The Marine Association's annual grant to provide AIS boater education also came to an abrupt halt.

There's lots more to this story but I think you get the idea. It apparently took three years for the plan to finally hatch and it's just the beginning.

BUMP!

 

[DWC]

Heard from a local boat repair shop that they’re also swabbing the drain plug area for oil/fluid residue. If you have excessive oil in the bilge it’s a possible impound. Have no way to confirm but it was an oh shit moment.

 

[RiverDave]

Being that almost all the lakes are infested now.. wouldn’t it make more sense to just protect the lakes that aren’t and leave everyone else alone?

 

[Jed-O]

Heard from a local boat repair shop that they’re also swabbing the drain plug area for oil/fluid residue. If you have excessive oil in the bilge it’s a possible impound. Have no way to confirm but it was an oh shit moment.

That means I'm fucked...

 

[DWC]

That means I'm fucked...

I would think every is. Interested to see if anyone knows anything about it. Seems like BS but the guy was pretty confident so who knows.

 

[azsunfun]

lots of traveling boats from elswere, can't afford transporting problem water creatures

 

[Ziggy]

Sounds like they are making sure some don't avoid the Ca.Ag check by exiting at Topock to go back to the 40 in Needles........but holy hell, does that mean you'd get checked twice in a matter of 10-15 miles on the 40??

 

[Hoodoo]

lots of traveling boats from elswere, can't afford transporting problem water creatures

They have them in north idaho, where they are trying to slow the spread of a noxious weed called milfoil.

 

[twocents]

Sounds like they are making sure some don't avoid the Ca.Ag check by exiting at Topock to go back to the 40 in Needles........but holy hell, does that mean you'd get checked twice in a matter of 10-15 miles on the 40??

Bingo -- you are correct. That was part of the original strategy. The agricuture station at Needes (under California jurisdiction)) has no connection to the new one (State of Arizona operated) across from the truck scales near Topock. It would be possible to pass an inspection at the new station but fail 15 miles down the road at Needles -- that was one of the points we argued about at that 2018 meeting. And if you think you can find a detour around these "pinch-points", that's unlikely because AZG&F and AZDOT have studied all the possible back routes and identified where new "inspection stations" need to be created.

If you are familiar with the road into Parker after you cross the bridge, there's a wide strip of asphalt opposite the truck scale (adjacent to Parker Oil) which is another highly likely location for a new "AIS inspection station" to intercept boaters leaving the Parker strip before entering California.

 

[twocents]

Being that almost all the lakes are infested now.. wouldn’t it make more sense to just protect the lakes that aren’t and leave everyone else alone?

Unfortunately "common sense" has nothing to do with this. The government bureaucrats who are administrating this program are as "woke" as you can find. Frequently citing "fuzzy science" (does this sound familiar Covid fans) as the justification for their decision making. If you challenge or disagree with their opinions and actions, you wind up getting banished from the discussion.

 

[RiverDave]

Unfortunately "common sense" has nothing to do with this. The government bureaucrats who are administrating this program are as "woke" as you can find. Frequently citing "fuzzy science" (does this sound familiar Covid fans) as the justification for their decision making. If you challenge or disagree with their opinions and actions, you wind up getting banished from the discussion.

talk to gosar.. he has a way of getting involved and solving those kinda problems. As far as woke we are talking about AZ right?

 

[BingerFang]

One of these inspection stations was setup at Rock House Friday. We were launching around noon and noticed his little station setup on the exit roadway, cones and all. Shit, it almost looked like a DUI checkpoint.

Boated around for a few hours, had lunch at Pirates and then pulled the boat out at 3pm. Dude had just finished stacking his cones and pulled his mobile water trailer to his RV spot in Rock House.

I was kinda bummed because I wanted to see what he wanted from me but it looked like he probably will have residence there all summer. I guess I’ll have to give him a hard time some other time

 

[Lumpy]

Pages 5-6 of the latest letter looks a little spooky...what are they going to do...start impounding boats?

Biosecurity and Invasive Species Initiative | WGA

Western Governors' Association

westgov.org

 

[twocents]

Just so I am genuinely accurate in my facts contained in previous posts, the "2018" 2-day meeting I have referred to at BLM headquarters took place on December 6-7, 2017. There was a subsequent meeting held at the Arizona Game and Fish Phoenix headquarters in January 2018 involving the proposed plans for the 2018 AIS campaign which included only the LHMA (I was one of three members attending), AZGF staff and congressman Paul Gosar. It should also be noted that the Mariine Association briefed Lake Havasu City Mayor Mark Nexsen in 2017 of the initial intention for multiple AIS "pinch points" to be created to intercept outbound boater traffic.

 

[Slick]

Sounds like the one at Topock is going to be open Fri-Mon going forward. Was told by the guy that runs the decontamination station at Windsor.

 

[HALLETT BOY]

Pages 5-6 of the latest letter looks a little spooky...what are they going to do...start impounding boats?

Biosecurity and Invasive Species Initiative | WGA

Western Governors' Association

westgov.org

Here we go …

 

[Blackmagic94]

Sounds like they need a vaccine for the rivers lol

 

[Cole Brewed]

So I saw this yesterday for the first time. I pulled in. I was informed by the inspector that this was only Thursday’s -Sunday’s. It is voluntary. My first question was, does this inspection speed up or avoid CA inspection. Answer , yes.
They place 1 seal on boat and trailer and give you a pamphlet with your inspection report. The inspection report has a carbon copy for their records.

However that was incorrect! Pulled up to CA inspection, I got the oh to familiar standard inspection. I then showed my paperwork from AZ and asked the question. Why two inspection so close together. The boiler plate answer your asking to enter CA. the paperwork shows time and date. Still same answer. The CA inspector has a bone. My thought was just get outta here before he pulls me in and finds 2A items! Just get my ass back to civility, AZ

 

[azsunfun]

makes me wonder, why tag trailer, unless quick visual of boat inspection dates at state run launches, but no enforcment at other launches, i think of the vehicle smog test stations, originaly just forced testeing program for several years, now law!

 

[77charger]

both government agencies gotta keep them employed

 

[DRYHEAT]

This is all intended to justify their need to increase “user fees”. But from what I’ve seen apparently the quagga muscle doesn’t live at night.

 

[LazyLavey]

AZ Watercraft Inspection

Is AZ sincere about educating boaters with this recent watercraft mandatory roadway stop but "Voluntary" watercraft inspection to avoid timely delays down the road? or do they have other motives? I'm suspect regarding their intentions

www.riverdavesplace.com