Quote Originally Posted by Blackdog40 View Post
Ok 2003 ZB's found in El Dorado, KDWP passed a vol. requirement to drain and dry, very weak, .... should have know this was not going to work. Again another came up with ZB's still KDWP said vol. drain and dry. Wrong did not work
ZB continued to spread. Now in most lakes and still Vol drain and dry.


The first response should have been tagging all boats that put in at El Dorado. They could not put into another lake until the tag was removed by KDWP, if you are going to enforce something you need to bite the bullet and get it done, the ... response doomed the rest of the Kansas Lakes. All will be infected in less than 10 Years.

KDWP ... response is the cause of the rapid spread of ZB. If the infestation is that bad then the response should have been strong enough to prevent the spread not the .... response that they took.

Blackdog40,

I'm not real sure what you are looking for out of this post as you didn't ask any questions so I'll try to provide some information that you and other readers may find useful.

You mention ANS control methods for boats only. While boats are a vector for transporting ANS they are not the only one that we have to worry about. A bank angler utilizing a simple minnow bucket has the potential to move as much water as a partially/poorly drained boat. Some anglers keep bait (usually sunfish for trotline bait) in coolers or other livewell type. I've seen folks at the stilling basin at El Dorado reservoir 'freshening up' their cooler water with water from the stilling basin carried up in 5 gallon buckets which would be full of live zebra mussel veligers providing a free ride to these hitchhikers. Water toys such as floats, air mattresses, floating coolers and the like can all be found at the lakes without a boat in sight and all of these have potential to move zebra mussels, both adult and veliger forms. Waterfowl hunters hunting from shoreline areas utilizing decoys and waders also have potential to transport zebra mussels. Muddy wader boots can harbor adult zebra mussels even during the cold winter months. Denying access to ALL boating traffic would not guarantee an ANS free lake if all of these other transfer vectors are ignored.

Clean, Drain, & Dry not only works on zebra mussels but ALL of the current ANS threats to Kansas waters. If you treat your gear properly for zebra mussels, then you have effectively eliminated the transfer of other ANS species. It's not only about zebra mussels now, they were the tip of the iceberg. Asian carp, white perch, largemouth bass virus, and many others are waiting for a free ride to a new lake or drainage.

Boat tagging programs similar to what you mentioned have been used outside of Kansas. Programs such as these are expensive to operate as time/manpower are quite high. Public acceptance must be considered. Limiting boating access to Kansas public waters would be a very hot topic. Currently, there is not an overabundance of ANS dollars available to KDWPT. I understand these numbers are a bit dated but it was the most recent year I could find for multiple states ANS budgets. These budgets have likely changed over time so look at them for what they are, 2008 budgets.


2008 State ANS Program Budgets

State Budget $
Iowa $650,000
Minnesota $4,000,000
California $8,000,000
Hawaii $6,000,000
Colorado $12,100,000 (included some program start up monies, annual budget $7,000,000)
Utah $1,800,000 (with 66 positions including 27.75 full time employees)
Kansas $43,134

As you can see, various state ANS programs are funded quite differently. Those states with the higher ANS budgets can obviously fund more projects and projects that require increased manpower. KDWPT is currently working with what our budget allows. Each year ANS budgets are requested but not always approved or approved at a much reduced percentage of the original. ANS are a monetary drain on state management agencies gobbling up dollars that could have been used on other projects that directly benefit the angler. The fewer infested water bodies that exist, the less the drain on those dollars. Increased funding has been obtained by KDWPT during 2011 and 2012 allowing for bait shop inspections, increased zebra mussel veliger sampling, temporary employees to conduct data collection in the field, and increased outreach activities. If requested funding is obtained large scale boat inspections are planned. As stated above, an effective ANS program must cover many facets and that doesn't come cheap. KDWPT is exploring additional funding sources to address issues such as ANS but as you know some of these funding proposals have not been popular with all of the angling constituency. In reality, increased funding will be required to enhance/expand the ANS program.

It has always been said that every lake in the state will be infested with zebra mussels within 10 years. We are approaching the 9 year anniversary of the discovery of zebra mussels in El Dorado reservoir. In those 9 years, zebra mussels have spread to 9 other reservoirs and four community/city lakes. Not the best record, but it could be worse--much worse without the efforts of many dedicated anglers, hunters, boaters, and other lake users that utilized Kansas waters. These 14 lakes infested with zebra mussels over the past 9 years are a far cry from 'all the lakes in Kansas'...we still have a lot to protect.