The council voted 5-0 at its July 8 meeting to approve the formation of a volunteer corps to help screen boats as they enter the lake from access points such as Redbud Park.
City Administrator Dale Neiman credited local businessman Doug Codling with initiating the idea.
Codling told the council that Lake County Chamber Chief Executive Officer Melissa Fulton asked if he would be interested in working with the city of Clearlake to start a volunteer group to work on quagga and zebra mussel prevention.
The volunteers would be at Redbud Park between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., where they will approach boaters without inspection bands or stickers to apprise them of the requirements and possible penalties, he said.
Volunteers don't have the power to issue citations, but they can take trailer licenses and report them to the sheriff's office, Codling said.
“It only takes one boat and we could be in real trouble,” he said.
Greg Giusti, University of California Cooperative Extension natural resources advisor for Lake and Mendocino counties, who the Board of Supervisors appointed chair of the county's Invasive Species Council, was at the meeting to offer the council additional information.
He said the Invasive Species Council represents businesses, the chamber, recreational interests, tribes, and county, state and federal government in the effort to protect Clear Lake, the largest natural body of water within California.
Giusti said the council has taken a grassroots, community-based approach.
“We really have tried to get as many people involved as possible,” he said. “Having the city of Clearlake involved is a huge step forward.”
Giusti said Clearlake's volunteer effort will provide a “united front” along with the city of Lakeport and the county.
He also offered himself as a resource to the council.
Vice Mayor Joyce Overton thanked Codling and Giusti for bringing the proposal forward.
“This is something that we needed at this end of the lake,” she said, noting that Lakeport's program has worked well and the lessons they've learned there can help Clearlake get off to a good start.
Councilman Roy Simons asked Giusti about infested lakes in California and if they're able to control the infestation once it occurs.
Giusti said in California there are currently 18 bodies of water known to host the quagga and zebra mussels. With one exception – Lake San Justo in San Benito County – all of them are south of Tehachapi, and have as their sources Lake Mead and Lake Havasu, with the invasive mussels traveling through aqueducts.
Once the mussels are present, there is no way to eradicate them, Giusti said.
New research is exploring how to deal with the mussels in controlled environments, but in open, wildland situations like Clear Lake or Lake Berryessa, “At this time there is no way to control the organism,” he said.
Simons suggested it's inevitable that the mussels will infest Clear Lake.
“It's a big, big challenge,” Giusti replied.
He said the California Department of Fish and Game has asked him to take on a statewide role in working on the invasive mussels issue. Giusti has been asked to put together a team of researcher and educators to tackle the problem.
“We are definitely swimming upstream,” he said.
City resident Jack Troyer urged the council to accept the proposal, lauding the grassroots effort and pointing out that the city has one of the lake's best boat launching areas.
Public Works Director Doug Herren told the council that city staff would make the program work.
Council members asked questions about boat cleaning, and where and how it would work. Giusti told them that the Department of Fish and Game quarantines boats found with dead mussels, as it did with one boat that came through a state border station. That boat was quarantined for more than six weeks.
Planning Commissioner Bill Perkins asked how bass tournaments are tracked.
Giusti explained that tournaments are required to get a Fish and Game permit, and tournament directors are held accountable for making sure boats are cleaned, drained and dry before entering the lake.
He said a Fish and Game warden was on hand at a recent tournament to inspect boats, and the tournament organizers made it clear that anyone found not complying would be disqualified and would forfeit their entry fees.
“The bass tournament industry is very well organized,” said Giusti.
A risk assessment showed that moored vessels, such as pontoon boats and sailboats, “are far and away the greatest risk” for transporting the mussels, according to Giusti.
Bass tournaments, sailing clubs and seaplane fly-ins are easy to address, Giusti said – it's the people who show up at the lake to enjoy a weekend who present the higher risk.
Councilman Curt Giambruno asked about plans for dealing with property owners who have launching ramps, where their friends and family from out of town can get into the lake.
Giusti said that's a challenge – there are more than 750 points of access on Clear Lake. He said he'd met with county Water Resources Director Scott De Leon that morning to discuss the issue, and some of the ideas being considered include putting reminder messages on property tax envelopes and power bills.
He said the latest research shows a person needs to hear a message 14 times before a behavioral changes results.
Mayor Judy Thein asked about what happens when locals go out of town and visit other lakes.
Giusti said county residents tend to get a pass once they get the initial sticker. “That is one of the weaknesses in the program,” he said. “It is based on an honor system.”
He suggested stickers for residents may need to be reissued in the next year or so.
Councilman Chuck Leonard moved to authorize Neiman to form the volunteer group, which the council approved 5-0.
Greg Giusti told Lake County News in a followup interview that he took part in the July 7 “America’s Great Outdoors,” listening session with members of President Barack Obama's administration at the University of California, Davis' Mondavi Center.
Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, was there, along with Congressman Mike Thompson and Ed Burton, California Natural Resources Conservation Service state conservationist, Giusti said.
Giusti had the opportunity to share with the group what Lake County is doing about invasive species, and he emphasized the need to have an organized approach to the threat.
“We move more water in this state than anywhere in the world,” he said.
He said administration officials seemed receptive.
“I was the only one who addressed the invasive species, which was good, because I think it stood out in their mind,” he said.
Giusti added, “This is one of those issues that cuts across all political and jurisdictional lines.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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