Cass County Board: Aquatic Invasive Species inspection 2023 budget approved

   BACKUS- AIS Lake Technician Dana Gutzmann presented the 2022 AIS annual report and requested the board approve the 2023 AIS Annual Budget at the Tuesday, Feb. 21 regular board meeting. Gutzmann stated the Cass SWCD AIS program has been in place since 2015 with over 175,000 inspections being conducted and 80,000 plus inspection hours.

   During 2022, 24,920 watercraft inspections were performed over 103 days between May 11 through Oct. 2 at 56 lakes and rivers, 67 public accesses and fishing piers and 29 resorts and private harbors. These inspections resulted in the reporting of eight previously unreported banded mystery snail infestations, 12 previously unreported Chinese mystery snail infestations, two purple loosestrife infestations, and one report of curly leaf pondweed. The overall number of inspections during 2022 was lower than the previous year.

   Gutzmann mentioned the county partnered with the Leech Lake Association’s AIS Detectors to monitor all public accesses, all resort harbors and a few private harbors around Leech Lake and found that starry stonewort remains in the northwestern edge of Steamboat Bay. The department also hosted three AIS Detector sessions, which lead to one new report of banded mystery snails on Birch Lake.

   The proposed budget for the 2023 AIS Management and Prevention Program Gutzmann presented is in the amount of $537,000. This amount is again slightly higher than 2022, but it is expected to receive more AIS Prevention Aid in the amount of $502,083. The budget was approved unanimously by the board.