April 10, 2008--State works to stop mussels from muscling in (Denver Post)
State officials and lawmakers are at work on an ambitious set of new regulations designed to prevent the spread of zebra mussels in Colorado, after the malicious mollusks were discovered this year in Lake Pueblo State Park. Already, officials have begun implementing mandatory inspections of boats at several of the state's most popular reservoirs, including Lake Pueblo, Chatfield Reservoir and Cherry Creek Reservoir. Lawmakers expect to introduce a bill as early as this week creating criminal penalties for people who bring zebra mussels into the state and giving law enforcement officers the authority to stop, seize and quarantine boats that are infested with the creatures and don't abide by the inspection rules. Officials are cobbling these new regulations together almost from scratch, as no similar regulations exist in Colorado. "We're getting into whole new areas here," said Sen. Jim Isgar, a Democrat from Hesperus who is one of the bill's sponsors.
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