In a continuing effort to stop the introduction and spread of aquatic nuisance species, particularly zebra mussels already anchored in some North Dakota waters, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department installed a boat cleaning station near the Red River in Grand Forks and at Lake Ashtabula and Lake Metigoshe.
The self-serve, waterless CD3 units are free and open to the public and include a high-powered air hose, broom, wet/dry vac, a tool for removing vegetation from underneath boat trailers and flood lights to illuminate the cleaning process in low light.
Ben Holen, Game and Fish Department ANS coordinator, said the CD3 unit installed at the North Landing boat ramp in Grand Forks likely won’t be the only one found along the Red as another could be installed later near Wahpeton.
Lake Ashtabula and the Red River are popular recreational destinations that have zebra mussels. Larval-stage veligers were discovered in the Red River more than a decade ago and adult zebra mussels were found for the first time there in 2015.
Holen said the CD3 units, like the one installed in Grand Forks, are designed to minimize the chances of the larval-stage and adult exotic mussels from hitching a ride out of the Red River to waters elsewhere.
“Understanding this, we certainly encourage people coming off the river to use this free cleaning stations wherever they are installed,” Holen said. “These units are designed to get your boat clean, drained and dried pretty quickly.”
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