Why do regulations affect all anglers and boaters at all water bodies when only a handful of lakes have ANS?
The regulations are to prevent the movement of ANS to new locations. It becomes a logistical nightmare to identify the specific lakes that have infested ANS water and then get that message to all the public. Even though the majority may understand, the reality is it requires 100% compliance. Case in point is the Missouri River, which is infested with curlyleaf pondweed. Anglers from across the state come to the Missouri River to boat and/or fish. If they’re not in the routine of following specific ANS rules and regulations in fishing lakes near where they live (because an ANS species is not present), they won’t be in the habit of cleaning their boat, trailer, etc. of weeds and water when they leave the river … and thus they can easily transport curlyleaf pondweed to their ‘home’ fishing lake. With tens of thousands of boats using the Missouri every year, someone’s boat was likely the source of curlyleaf pondweed which infested McDowell Dam five miles east of Bismarck.
