BY DAVE HURLEY
WON Staff Writer
FOLSOM – According to agency press releases, golden mussels were found on boats during inspections at Lake Berryessa and Folsom Lake within the past two weeks, but there are those in the boating community questioning the validity of these reports. A “false flag” operation is a tactic where a party, often a government or organization, orchestrates an attack or event and then blames it on a rival or enemy, often as a pretext for military action or domestic repression.
Outrage and anger are understandable as recreational boaters are not the cause of the golden mussel problem. Golden mussels were introduced to the California Delta by ocean-going commercial vessels who released ballast water inside the river system instead of 200 nautical miles from shore and at a depth of 2000 feet as required by law. Boaters didn’t cause the problem, but they are a major part of the solution of keeping the golden mussel out of California’s reservoirs. Golden mussel restrictions have restricted boats to a single body of water, limiting fishing guides as well as recreational anglers.
Currently, Berryessa, Folsom, New Melones, and Lake Tulloch have tagging programs, providing a red tag for a 30-day quarantine before a green tag is applied allowing a quarantined or decontaminated boat to launch at that specific lake. Berryessa has had decontamination stations for months while New Melones will begin decontaminating boats at the marina starting May 16 for an average price of around $103, depending upon the size and complexity of the vessel. Lake’s Camanche, Pardee, and San Pablo Dam are closed to all boating, and a tagging or decontamination program is not planned for these lakes anytime soon. Even when a boat is provided a green tag, they are limited to the specific lake as there is no reciprocity amongst lakes.
One the primary reasons water agencies have taken matter into their own hands and not allowed tagged boats traveling from lake to lake is a lack of trust between water agency and boater. While most boaters follow regulations, the acts of showing up for an inspection with a houseboat laden with golden mussels as reported by the Solano Water Agency or neither clean, drained, or dry with golden mussels present as reported by Folsom Lake State Park, provide the rationale for thorough inspections, decontaminations, and tagging. There is a lack of trust between some boaters and the water agencies and from the water agencies towards the boating public.
Comments questioning the accuracy of governmental agency press releases contribute to public distrust of information and can lead to further disinformation and distrust. This genie has been let out of the bottle, and the only way the invasive golden mussel can be kept out of California’s reservoirs is if boaters carefully follow the expectations of keeping your boat clean, drained, and dry. Golden mussels are here to stay in the California Delta, and it is up to us as a boating community to help limit them to only Delta waters.
