Frequently Asked Questions

After registering your watercraft, follow all AIS laws including ‘Clean, Drain, Dry’, and dispose of your bait properly when coming off the lake. Check the MN DNR’s Infested Waters List before visiting a lake or other waterbody

Take extra precautions when exiting an infested lake! It is illegal to transport AIS without a permit. Spray your boat with high pressure water, rinse with very hot water, and let it dry for at least 5 days before entering another waterbody.

All bait must be disposed of properly when coming off a lake unless you choose to replace the bait water with fresh tap water. It is always a good idea to keep fresh tap water with you for this purpose.

You can remove as much water from the live well as possible by allowing it to drain. Sponges or towels are handy for removing any remaining water – if the public access you launch from has a CD3 station, utilize the vacuum for any residual water.

Populations of AIS can rapidly reproduce and change the habitat of a lake dramatically. Zebra mussels can produce up to one million eggs per year! They are ultra-filterers, removing algae and zooplankton from the ecosystem as their food source, reducing the amount of available food for native fish and animals. Not to mention the sharp hazard to swimmers’ feet and the notorious clogging of any submerged structures. Starry stonewort reproduces rapidly and can form dense patches throughout the lake once established. Starry is incredibly expensive to manage and difficult to eradicate due to fragmentation. AIS have many unseen effects on our lakes, but you can slow the spread by boating responsibly.

Many AIS infestations can be traced directly to human activity and movement! Some AIS were introduced to Minnesota via Great Lakes’ shipping vessels carrying infested ballast water. Watercraft Inspection Surveys also give a finer look at the movements of boaters between area lakes – this gives us a ‘road map’ of where a new infestation may have come from.

Myth: waterfowl eat and transport zebra mussels – they must spread them.

Fact: more often, hunting gear can unintentionally transport AIS. Waterfowl hunters should inspect their equipment, boots, hunting dogs, and decoys for AIS when leaving the lake, river, or wetland.

Inspections typically last under 5 minutes! Watercraft Inspectors are friendly and knowledgeable; they are there to help you comply with Minnesota’s AIS laws. Before arriving at the access for an inspection, open the lids of closed compartments that could hold water, such as live wells, so the inspector can see they are drained. Remember: drain plugs should be open while transporting your watercraft – install drain plugs before launching.

 It is illegal to transport AIS on public roads without a permit. Before leaving an access, clean any visible invasives off your watercraft and/or trailer, and drain any standing water in your boat, bait bucket, or live wells. You can also schedule a Courtesy Decontamination with a Level 2 Inspector at no charge! Check out the MNDNR Courtesy Decontamination website for location listings and hours.

If you arrive at an access with AIS attached to your watercraft or trailer, and inspector may require a decontamination prior to launching or before leaving an access. Decontaminations are free and most can be done quickly! If you are leaving an infested waterbody, Clean, Drain, and Dry your boat and equipment – or schedule a decontamination to be sure your gear and watercraft are free of AIS.