The Wilton Select Board has voted to allow people putting watercraft into Wilson Pond to clean, drain and dry their watercraft at the parking lot behind the Town Office before and after launching to prevent invasive species from entering the pond. Donna M. Perry/Sun Journal file photo

WILTON — Selectpeople voted Tuesday to approve a place for boats to “clean, drain and dry” their watercrafts to try to prevent invasive species, including zebra mussels, from entering Wilson Pond.

The town will allow boats and other watercraft to be brought to the parking lot behind the Town Office before they are launched into the water and after it is pulled out.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife adopted the dry and drain process outlined in the 2023 public law “An Act to Minimize the Propagation of Invasive Aquatic Plants.”

The law states boaters are required prior to entering a water body and when preparing to leave launch sites to remove or open any devices designed for routine removal/opening to encourage draining areas containing water, excluding live bait containers. “This must be done in a way that does not allow drained water to enter any inland water of the state, according to a Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Rob Rogers of Chesterville, the newly elected president of Friends of Wilson Lake, told the Select Board the organization wants to get behind the law.

Friends of Wilson Lake provides boat inspections for invasive species at certain times during the summer, mostly weekends.

There is concern about invasive species getting into the pond, including zebra mussels that are in the U.S.

“The invasive, fingernail-sized mollusk is native to fresh waters in Eurasia. Their name comes from the dark, zig-zagged stripes on each shell,” according to the U.S. Geological Survey website. “Zebra mussels negatively impact ecosystems in many ways. They filter out algae that native species need for food and they attach to — and incapacitate — native mussels. Power plants must also spend millions of dollars removing zebra mussels from clogged water intakes.”

Invasive zebra mussels have been found in moss balls sold in pet stores in southern and central Maine. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife photo

Rogers said the organization wants to get behind educating boaters on the law and would like to post a sign about it at the boat launch.

Selectperson David Leavitt wondered if people will take the time to read it and then have drive to the Town Office to drain their boats and go back and launch.

“I am not saying it is not worthy of doing,” he said, but believes the more people have to move might mean less compliance.

Rogers said he has thought about it a great deal.

The Town Office is about a mile, maybe less, from the public boat launch on Canal Street, he said.

“Clearly it is not convenient and maybe not practical but it is possible,” Rogers said.

Town Manager Maria Greeley said they are open to other options but none were provided.

Literature will be given to boat inspectors and copies left at the Town Office for those registering boats.

The board approving having boats drained behind the Town Office and waived the fee for a sign permit.

The law was passed by the Legislature last year and there is an educational component to it,  Mark Latti, director of communications for the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, wrote in an email Thursday.

“For the past few years, we have provided boaters and anglers with a lot of information regarding “Clean, Drain, Dry”, encouraging anglers to do just that when it comes to their boat. Game wardens and the department are continuing to do that with this new law, as it is fairly detailed in what needs to be drained and where to drain it,” Latti wrote.

“We have sent out a lot of information through social media regarding this, and provided other collateral with the clean drain dry slogan on key chains, stickers and other items. Game wardens are also making sure people comply,” Latti wrote.