[LG-list] This is an important website for you to get involved.

[David G. Diehl]

*Hi Rodger:
    It is true that the scope of this bill was not written with the 
pleasure boater in mind. However, many pleasure boats enter and exit 
many lakes with bait wells left unchecked, and not cleaned. The cooling 
water jackets of water-cooled engines, their related impeller pumps, and 
bilges continue to enter Lake George largely unchecked. We at the Darrin 
Fresh Water Institute continue to find more "hot spots" of adult zebra 
mussel growth. We are now up to seven locations of adult zebra mussel 
colonies in Lake George. In 1999, we only had one! We are battling 
Eurasian water milfoil, water chestnut, the zebra mussel, and others. 
Now the alewife is poised to pounce upon the native species of trouts in 
Lake George. The method of entry of these non-indigenous invasive 
species into Lake George (and other lakes) is via the bait wells, 
trailers, hulls, etc. of boats running in other bodies of water and then 
being launched into Lake George. When I worked the rental desk at Yankee 
Boating Center in 1999, and having prior experience at the Fresh Water 
Institute, I would ask boaters launching their vessels whether they had 
checked, cleaned, and removed any suspected non-indigenous contaminants 
from their vessels/trailers. Largely, the response of these boaters was: 
"No". Occasionally it was: "That's none of your business!" Sometimes 
these boaters would become combative. Unfortunately, adult zebra mussels 
were found at Yankee marina last year. It is sad to say, but many people 
coming to Lake George do not care about it other than to take their toys 
here and use it. If the Lake goes south, they will just go somewhere 
else. But we have to live with the results of their collective disdain 
for this Lake. You are a gentleman, so many others are not and need to 
be forced to comply to standards people like you and I follow as a 
matter of course. If in the future we find ourselves cleaning zebra 
mussels off of the hulls of our boats instead of just algae, cleaning 
milfoil off of our keels, and unable to drink the water of this 
beautiful Lake because we failed to stick up for it when the time came, 
our actions made today will be regrettable in the future. I had second 
thoughts about injecting a political issue into the Lake George Sailing 
email list, but I thought that my perspectives on this issue are 
important for those of us who hope to leave this Lake for future 
generations to enjoy. See You Wednesday! David Diehl *



Rodger Voss wrote:
> I just took action on this issue and thought you might find it important too to get involved before this is passed.
>
> Click on this URL to take action now 
> http://capwiz.com/boatblue/utr/2/?a=11423171&i=87667029&c=
>
> If your email program does not recognize the URL as a link,
> copy the entire URL and paste it into your Web browser.
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