9.e. Watercraft Inspection Summary 2020
Supervisors: Louise Smallidge ▫ Bob Rosenquist ▫ Diane Blake ▫ John Rheinberger ▫ Jim Levitt
MEMORANDUM
TO: CMSCWD Board of Managers
Council of the City of Scandia
Square Lake Association
Big Marine Lake Association
FROM: Matt Downing, Washington Conservation District
DATE: 12/3/2020
RE: Countywide Watercraft Inspection Program
Thank you for your support of the 2020 AIS Watercraft Inspection Program. With your commitment to the
resources of your watershed combined with those of the county and state, an additional 850 hours of
inspections were performed that otherwise would not have. In CMSCWD alone, 9,561 inspections were
performed. This was 4,527 more inspections than those in 2019. As in previous years, emphasis was placed
on Square and Big Marine Lakes, with 6,971 inspections occurring on Big Marine. Through the inspection
process, boaters were educated on how to better protect the lakes they are using, and steps were taken every
inspection to ensure that invasive species were not introduced into each lake at the time of
launch/transportation away from the lake.
Attached you will find a summary of the 2020 season that was prepared for Washington County. Please
contact me if you have any questions about this or any other aspect of watercraft inspections. I look forward
to working with you in the future on prevention and management of invasive species.
Supervisors: Louise Smallidge ▫ Bob Rosenquist ▫ Diane Blake ▫ John Rheinberger ▫ Jim Levitt
Washington County AIS Inspection Summary Points 2020
The WCD supervised 10 DNR authorized Level 1 Watercraft Inspectors for the 2020 season. Funding was
received from Washington County, Carnelian Marine St. Croix Watershed District (CMSCWD), Big Marine
Lake Association (BMLA), Square Lake Association (SLA), the City of Scandia, Ramsey County Soil and
Water Division (RCSWCD), Bald Eagle Lake Association (BELA), Valley Branch Watershed District (VBWD),
Lake Demontreville Olson Association (LDOA), and Clear Lake Association (CLA). These inspectors were
present at 17 water access locations starting May 9th through October 9th. During the inspection season,
3,381 hours of inspections occurred resulting in 15,513 inspections. Compared to 2019, 212 more hours
of inspections occurred, and 6,540 more inspections were performed. The increase in hours and
substantial increase in inspections performed was thanks to the addition of new partners (LDOA, CLA)
and increased funding from existing partners. Additionally, increased outdoor recreation during the
season was a likely contributor to increased inspections.
The number of inspections performed in 2020 was approximately 173% more than the number
performed in 2019. Entering versus exiting inspection percentage was comparable to previous years’
results; the statewide average distribution is 60/40 entering to exiting. As with previous years, emphasis
has been placed on entering inspections to prevent new infestations. However, exiting inspections are
equally important to prevent infestations from spreading.
8379,
61%
5252,
39%
Inspection Breakdown 2020
Entering
Exiting
6439
8989
15513
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
18000
2018 2019 2020# of InspectionsYear
Inspections per Year
Supervisors: Louise Smallidge ▫ Bob Rosenquist ▫ Diane Blake ▫ John Rheinberger ▫ Jim Levitt
There was an increase in drain plug violations in 2020, both the number and as a percentage of
inspections. Previously the rate of violation had been dropping each year—in 2015 the rate of violation
was 9% and dropped to 4% by 2019. The increase this year to 5% is concerning, but due to increased
inspections and increased boater activity the slight increase is not entirely surprising. It is possible that a
large number of new boaters were active this year due to COVID-19 restricting indoor activities which
may account for some of the violation increases. Efforts should be made moving forward to increase
education regarding drain plug laws to reduce the number of violations and continue the previous trend
of decreasing violations each year. Steps should also be taken to better partner with local law
enforcement to better enforce AIS laws.
4%
96%
Drain Plug Violations 2019
(Incoming Inspections)
Drain plug is in
Drain plug is out
5%
95%
Drain Plug Violations 2020
(Incoming Inspections)
Drain plug is in
Drain plug is out
54%
46%
Incoming Drain Plug
Violations 2019
(Status of Last Lake In)
Violations from
Infested
Violations from
Non-Infested
84%
16%
Incoming Drain Plug Violations
2020
(Status of Last Lake In)
Violations from
Infested
Violations from
Non-Infested
Supervisors: Louise Smallidge ▫ Bob Rosenquist ▫ Diane Blake ▫ John Rheinberger ▫ Jim Levitt
Of incoming drain plug violations where the last lake visited was reported, 84% had come from waters
infested with zebra mussels, flowering rush, spiny water flea, or Eurasian water milfoil. This is a steep
increase from 2019’s results, which show 54% of violations were previously in an infested lake. Fifty-two
percent of these violations had Bald Eagle, Big Marine, DeMontreville, the Saint Croix River, or White
Bear listed as the previous lake.
Of the 8,346 incoming inspections performed in 2020, 352 violations were observed. This is only a slight
increase from the number of incoming violations in 2019 (339), and a smaller percentage (4% in 2020,
6% in 2019). The most common violations were aquatic plants attached to the boat or trailer and were
able to successfully be removed prior to launch. There were six incoming zebra mussel violations
observed; in two of these incidents the zebra mussels were dead and able to be removed by hand. In
the other four instances, the boaters were denied launch and sent to decontamination sites.
Additionally, all zebra mussel violations were forwarded to the DNR for enforcement.
4997
339
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
Total
AIS Observed 2019
(Incoming)
No
Yes
7994
352
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
Total
AIS Observed 2020
(Incoming)
No
Yes
Supervisors: Louise Smallidge ▫ Bob Rosenquist ▫ Diane Blake ▫ John Rheinberger ▫ Jim Levitt
84
1399
1342
1194
4065
38
2868
33
90
969
558
613
60
5
1083
1088
21
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500
62000101, SILVER, SILVER LK PWA
62000201, BALD EAGLE, COUNTY PARK
82004601, SQUARE
82004901, BIG CARNELIAN, BIG CARNELIAN
82005201, BIG MARINE, NORTH
82005202, BIG MARINE, SOUTH
82005203, BIG MARINE, REGIONAL CTY PK
82005901, GOOSE, GOOSE
820101, MISSISSIPPI RIVER, MISS - ST PAUL PK PWA
82010101, DEMONTREVILLE, DEMONTREVILLE
82010401, JANE, WEYER`S LANDING
82010601, ELMO, ELMO
82011501, TANNERS
82014001, ONEKA
82016301, CLEAR, CLEAR LK
82016702, WHITE BEAR, CO PWA
820208, ST CROIX RIVER, LOGHOUSE ACCESS
Total Inspections by Landing 2020
Supervisors: Louise Smallidge ▫ Bob Rosenquist ▫ Diane Blake ▫ John Rheinberger ▫ Jim Levitt
Inspections were performed at all 17 landings throughout the boating season. As in previous years, the
highest number of inspection hours were conducted at Big Marine, followed by the rest of CMSCWD,
and VBWD. Square Lake received additional inspection hours this year thanks to increased contributions
from SLA. In VBWD, DeMontreville received the most inspection hours due to increased funding from
LDOA. Historic boater patterns also played a part in distribution of hours. Big Marine was the most
inspected lake in 2020 as in previous years. Bald Eagle once again had the second most inspections
conducted, followed by Square. Big Carnelian, Clear, White Bear, and DeMontreville had similar
inspection numbers. With the exceptions of Goose, Log House, and Elmo, each landing in CMSCWD and
VBWD had an increase in inspections in 2020 compared to 2019. In addition to increased inspections,
efficiency with inspections per hour has also increased overall. This can be at least partially attributed to
increased understanding of boater use patterns. It is also likely that an overall increase in boaters in
2020 contributed to this increase in efficiency. White Bear and Bald Eagle had the highest rates of
inspections per hour, 11.76 and 9.78 respectively. Inspections at both of these landings were conducted
only on Saturdays and Sundays during times of heavy use (Bald Eagle 5am-10am; White Bear 5-8:30pm).
1.57
9.78
2.65
3.57
6.93
1.12
6.09
0.48
2.05
3.84
2.52 3.07
1.56 0.83
3.46
11.76
1.36
0.00
2.00
4.00
6.00
8.00
10.00
12.00
14.00
Average Inspections per Hour 2020
Supervisors: Louise Smallidge ▫ Bob Rosenquist ▫ Diane Blake ▫ John Rheinberger ▫ Jim Levitt
Please note: although this summary addresses trends and data for Washington County lakes it
references only those that are serviced by the Washington Conservation District. All the lakes located in
CLFLWD have inspections performed by CLFLWD or Chisago County staff. Also note that the MNDNR
performs inspections on many of the high use landings in the county, as well as being primarily
responsible for the access points on the Saint Croix River.