FLLA - 2017 Mid-year boat inspection report

July 26, 2017 Dear Friends of the Lake; We wanted to inform you of the progress of the boat inspections on Forest Lake with the hope of trying to prevent any other AIS from coming into Forest Lake. Comfort Lake Forest Lake Watershed District is responsible for managing and paying for the majority of the boat inspections on Forest Lake.  The FLLA and the City of Forest Lake also contribute to this effort but this effort is only possible because of CLFLWSD.  Forest Lake is a very heavily used lake and boats coming into Forest Lake continue to increase as noted below.  We have several species of AIS already in the lake but there are still others we do not have. The FLLA wants to personally thank  the staff at the CLFLWSD for their efforts in this very important effort to maintain the quality of Forest Lake. Mid-Season Summary Note: This information reflects the 2017 watercraft inspection program up through July 14th.  The 2017 watercraft inspection season is nearing its half-way point. Inspections are currently in week 9 of 22, assuming that the program will continue running until October 15th. Thus, the season is approximately 41% complete.  Total Inspection Hours This summer we hired four full-time level 1 inspectors, four part-time level 1 inspectors (approximately 20 hours per week), and three rotating level 2 inspectors operating a decontamination unit. The decontamination unit is mobile and rotates between 11 accesses in Chisago and Washington Counties, including Forest 1 and Forest 3. The level 1 inspectors are not permitted to use the decontamination unit, and instead complete visual inspections of the watercraft. The following table summarizes the number of inspection hours completed by District-hired inspectors this summer (including Chisago joint program inspectors, excluding DNR inspectors): Total Inspections Total Hours Inspection Rate (Inspections/Hour) Budgeted Hours Percent of Budgeted Hours Forest 1 (Lakeside Park) 774 350 2.2 833.3 42% Forest 2 (Willow Point) 465 284 1.6 833.3 34% Forest 3 (Hagberg) 955 421 2.3 833.3 51% Total/Average (CLFLWD) 2,194 1,055 2.0 2,500 42% Since Forest Lake is a high-traffic and high-priority lake for the state of Minnesota as a whole, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) offered inspectors to conduct inspections throughout the summer at Lakeside Park in Forest Lake at no additional cost to the Watershed District or the Forest Lake Lake Association. So far, the DNR has contributed 170 hours of level 2 inspections which all took place at Forest Lake 1. The following table summarizes the number of inspection hours completed by District-hired staff and DNR-hired staff this summer: Total Inspections Total Hours Inspection Rate (Inspections/Hour) Forest 1 (Lakeside Park) 1,276 520 2.5 Forest 2 (Willow Point) 465 284 1.6 Forest 3 (Hagberg) 955 421 2.3 Total/Average (CLFLWD + DNR) 2,696 1,225 2.1 For comparison, during the entire 2016 season, a total of 3,147 inspections were performed over 2,369 hours. This resulted in an average inspection rate of 1.3 inspections per hour. Survey Results As mentioned above, a total of 2,696 inspections have been performed on Forest Lake this season. Below are some findings from the compiled inspection survey data: Number of watercraft arriving at the lake with water, vegetation or mud on their watercraft = 66. Number of watercraft requiring removal of the bilge drainage plug upon arriving at Forest Lake = 74.   All of these boats were inspected upon arrival at Forest Lake and deemed acceptable to launch into Forest Lake. Without the boat inspection none of these boats would have been cleaned before launching.  As we know it only takes one boat to bring another new AIS into Forest Lake. Sincerely Jerry Grundner FLLA Vice President and Board member