Boat inspections are now underway for the 2021 boating season. The District has engaged Waterfront Restorations to conduct inspections at the four public boat launches located in the District: Lower Prior, Upper Prior, Spring and Fish Lakes. These inspections will supplement DNR inspection hours at the launches.

Inspectors inspect boats for aquatic invasive species (AIS) prior to entering and after leaving the lake. The goals of inspections are to prevent the introduction of new AIS into local lakes, stop AIS already present from spreading to new lakes and educate boaters on AIS.

The District’s AIS boat inspections will supplement the Minnesota DNR’s boat inspection hours at the launches. Weekends (Friday-Sunday) will have the most inspection hours, but inspectors will also be present during the week. Inspection times are focused around predicted higher traffic times.

Boaters are reminded to always inspect their boat before and after entering a lake regardless of whether an inspector is present. You can help prevent the spread of AIS.

Once an invasive species is introduced into a lake, it is impossible to eradicate and reducing or managing the growth of established aquatic invasive species is often very expensive. Prevention or early detection is an important component to effectively managing AIS.

Currently known AIS present in Prior Lake are zebra mussels, curlyleaf pondweed and Eurasian watermilfoil and curlyleaf pondweed in Spring Lake.

Wondering what the Watershed did in 2020?

Everything from carp management and alum treatments on Spring & Upper Prior Lake and celebrating our 50th anniversary to monitoring the water quality in District lakes & streams and working with farmers to improve their operations and project water quality!

For more, check out our 2020 Annual Report here. You can find past year’s reports on the District Plans & Reports page under the About tab.