I can hear it now: What are those government people thinking in making me pass a test for a mussel sticker? My boat sits in my driveway most of the year.

You might not say this one, but imagine any other refrain to the myriad of complaints that could be sung. So, what’s the problem to be solved?

We have over 6,000 resident boats registered as located in Lake County. The threat of quagga or zebra mussels getting into any Northern California water body is finally getting through to many of these boaters.

The impact to Lake County’s visitor-based economy would be devastating and many people get that as well. But how to protect the lake and knowing when this protection is necessary has not been effectively communicated.

For example, a resident boater signs an agreement to be rescreened at a participating screening location if they boat outside the county and before they re-launch here.

Lake County resident boater stickers are routinely seen at lakes around California and out of state, but being rescreened is a very rare event. So maybe this approach is not working as many boaters believe that either their boat could do no wrong or they know best.

The local screener is the frontline protector for the lake and they have the information about what to do when certain lakes are visited.

Originally, the thought was for the resident and screener to get in touch if the resident launched out of the county and returned. But, if this rescreening isn’t happening, providing information direct to the boater about an effective boat treatment might be a better approach.

So, how do you make sure everyone knows what they should do, particularly if just one of those 6,000 gets it wrong we all pay? Find out what they know.

The information of this new approach consists of three parts. What’s the potential impact on Lake County, what is risky boating behavior and how do you lower the risk to near nothing?

This information is provided at the screener locations and at the county Web site. To ensure comprehension of the important facts, a short true/false test is provided.

A 100-percent correct answer result is required but the boater can ask the screener questions if any are missed or reread the information for the answer and change a wrong answer. This will provide the assurance that they have the comprehension as a responsible boat captain to get it right.

But be careful of those tricky government types, some of the questions seem true but are incomplete and therefore false. As with other situations in life, partial truth doesn’t help much.

The key to stopping invasive species from hitching a ride on your boat is to keep it on the trailer for a minimum of seven days after it is clean, drained and dry. If a boat does not become dry because of weather, a trailered quarantine for 30 days will do the trick.

Unfortunately not all boats fit the mold for the seven day treatment. We also have to be careful of even those lakes we thought not to be a problem.

Hmmm, why is that? Well, this is the reason for the new approach of providing information that every resident should know.

Armed with information and the certainty that it’s understood, we should have 6,000 resident ambassadors speaking out for the protection of our lake ecology and economy. I hope everyone agrees and becomes part of the solution for protecting Lake County.

For a copy of the information sheet, give Carolyn Ruttan a call at 707-295-0333.

Soon the abbreviated information sheet will be available online at the county Web site but for now visit it and learn even more at www.nomussels.com.

Jim Steele works with the county of Lake in its efforts to prevent the arrival of invasive mussels in local water bodies. He lives in Clearlake Oaks, Calif.