outdoors

"Conservation officers stopped 16 motorists towing boats near Chisago City in Chisago County on Saturday, and issued four citations and two warnings -- a 37 percent violation rate." ---- But, how did they prove that the people towing boats were going to lakes and going to put their boats into lakes without following the DNR's dictatorial (and useless) procedures?

The crime is TRANSPORTING, and that's what they were doing. Is that a clear enough explanation?

Sounds like a circus!

"Spot checks" Mr. Smith? These are random, unconstitutional roadside inspections initiated by nothing more than a motorist towing a boat. I believe MN has over 850,000 registered boats so that's a frighteningly broad criteria when making the claim that boat ownership is probable cause to search your watercraft and/or vehicle.

"Should have used a sponge to remove the remaining water." Are you kidding me? So when you are driving down the road and it starts raining if you get checked you will be in violation becuase there is water in the boat. This is getting out of control.

How Draconian to use profiling!

So if you want to transport AIS don't pull a boat down the road. Fill a bucket, put it in your trunk and go dump it in Christmas lake!

I am not a boater/fisherman, but I do care for our natural resources. Keep up the good work DNR!

Simple: Unconstitutional search. My advice: Drive right past the checkpoint. Then sue them if they try and stop you.

So, what are you all afraid of? If you comply with the law, you have nothing to worry about. Being pulled over for 2-3 minutes is a small sacrifice to make to help insure our lakes are kept AIS free. Sure, there are many other ways that AIS can be transported. However, this is one that the DNR has some control over. For those of you opposed to these random checks, do you compy with the law?