Earlier this month, boaters were scrambling to get the new Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Sticker on their boat.  Now the law has changed and you are no longer required to display the sticker on your boat.  You will by the year 2015 have to complete an online course by law.  Fines will increase this year starting July 1st for not properly following AIS precautions.The laws were signed into effect yesterday by Governor Dayton.  Also the proposed license fee will increase as expected after Dayton signed that bill as well.

From the Minnesota DNR:

"The black and silver decal is no longer mandatory for boaters, but it is still a good informational tool to help boaters know the AIS laws," said Luke Skinner, aquatic invasive species program supervisor. Boaters who have decals can still place them on their boats or trailers as a reminder.

He said the DNR will begin developing the online AIS course soon to implement the new decal requirement for 2015. The penalty for not displaying the decal will be a warning, not a citation.

Other new AIS laws will be instituted July 1, 2012, as a result of the new legislation:

• Civil penalties for violating the state's AIS laws will double. Fines that currently range from $50 to $250 will increase to $100 to $500, depending on the type of violation. For example, failure to remove a drain plug while transporting a watercraft will mean a $100 fine, instead of a $50 penalty. The fine for unlawfully possessing and transporting prohibited aquatic invasive species will increase from $250 to $500.

• Boat lifts, docks, swim rafts and other water-related equipment (except boats and other watercraft) that are removed from any water body may not be placed in another water body for at least 21 days. The drying out period is designed to kill any AIS that might be attached to the equipment that are high risk and difficult to clean. Two zebra mussel introductions occurred last year as a result of water equipment being sold and moved from one water body to another.

• Boat clubs, yacht clubs, marinas and other similar organizations are now considered lake-service providers, requiring permits for the clubs and staff working there to take AIS certification training.

• Portable bait containers used while fishing through the ice do not need to be drained before leaving a water body, unless the water body has been declared to have viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS), a virus that is deadly to fish.

The DNR was given additional authority to require mandatory inspections of water-related equipment before a person places or removes equipment into or out of a water body and to set up inspection stations at a centralized location to cover multiple lakes. The new legislation also allows the DNR to delegate this authority to local governments that have an approved inspection plan

 

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