>RACHEL BERNSTEIN The Daily Record
First Posted: March 01, 2011 – 12:50 pm
BALTIMORE — Maryland will become the first state to ban the felt-soled fishing boots that an invasive algae uses to travel from stream to stream. But the ban will have consumers scrambling to replace gear and retailers left with boots they can no longer sell.
The state Department of Natural Resources plans to prohibit wading with felt soles starting March 21 to curb the spread of an invasive organism — called didymo — that gets trapped in damp fibers. When fishermen don’t properly clean and dry felt-soled boots, the algae spreads the next time they wade into a different body of water. So far, there are no effective or proven ways to get rid of didymo once it contaminates the water.
“When you talk about the price of a new pair of waders, what’s at cost here is really the price of clean water,” said Jonathan McKnight, associate wildlife director for the DNR and co-chair of its invasive species matrix team. McKnight said he hasn’t heard many complaints about the new regulation so far, and that even some manufacturers have stopped making felt-soled boots.
Susan Rivers, a biologist with the Maryland Fisheries Service, said she switched to rubber-soled boots before the regulation was announced.
“They are different, but the material you have to get used to, it is just like wearing a different type of boot,” Rivers said. “I know people are concerned, but
ultimately it’s something that will save our waterways.”
