Towed boats targets of invasive-species checks

Law enforcement officers and state game agents last week conducted 103 surprise inspections of vehicles towing boats north on Interstate 5.

The inspections occurred on Sept. 2.

Officers were looking for watercraft that hadn’t been properly scoured of potential aquatic invasive species before entering the state, as required by law. The six-hour survey discovered four vehicles containing vegetation, along with numerous equipment and driver violations.

“Any sort of vegetation needs to be cleaned off,” said Corey Turner, a Washington State Patrol commercial vehicle enforcement officer.

Officers were looking for anything resembling non-native species, such as zebra mussels or Eurasian water milfoil.

Electronic reader boards and signs were placed along the freeway to direct vehicles into the Ridgefield Port of Entry scales. Chase vehicles were positioned to stop anyone that failed to enter the check station.

The state patrol worked with Clark County sheriff’s deputies and game agents with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.