Dear Editor:
I am writing in response to the now 2-year closure and restrictions on Jackson Meadows Reservoir located in both Sierra and Nevada Counties. Last year the Nevada Irrigation District (NID) made a knee-jerk reaction and ultimately over-reached their authority by “closing” Jackson Meadows Reservoir because of their perceived threat of the Golden Mussel.
This mussel was discovered in the Sacramento Delta years prior. There have been multiple studies that conflict where these Golden Mussels can and cannot survive; most showing waters like Jackson Meadows are not sustainable for the Golden Mussel.
On April 29th, 2026, the Department of Water Resources lifted the mandatory inspection and decontamination of boats on Lake Oroville after finding the Golden Mussel will not survive long enough to reproduce in the lake due to the cold water temperatures. If the Golden Mussel cannot reproduce in Lake Oroville, one would believe they cannot survive to reproduce in the cold Sierra Nevada mountain lakes.
NID is advertising Jackson Meadows Reservoir as “open” to motorized boating this year. At face value this seems positive, but it is a stretch at best. NID is limiting the days and hours of motorized boats to 4 days per week this summer with limited hours of operation of 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Thursday through Sunday depending on staffing. Meanwhile, they advertise that kayaks, paddleboards, and canoes are welcome as they were last year with no inspections. They expect us users to believe that the Golden Mussel will only seek refuge on a motorized power boat – however, a certified boat inspector at the Hallelujah Junction Agricultural Inspection Station noted that a kayak was recently found with invasive mussels attached passing through that facility. Does NID expect us all to believe that this closure is about the Golden Mussel which discriminates only against motorized watercraft, or is it another example of a lake being shut down for “quiet recreation”?
In our last attempt to re-open a lake for motorized boating, the Nature Conservancy at least stood their ground and considered “all watercraft” to be a risk to Independence Lake. The compromise was not what many of us had in mind but included an in-basin fleet of non-motorized and motorized boats which could be used free of charge.
Jackson Meadows Reservoir has a huge economic and local recreational benefit to Sierra County and its visitors. I plead for Sierra County to ask NID how they were able to lock and control a newly placed gate on the Pass Creek Boat Ramp, which is entirely on US Forest Service property owned by us taxpayers? Currently, there is no Forest Order to close the boat launch facility at Jackson Meadows Reservoir on Forest Service property and they should also be held accountable!
There are no Sierra or Nevada County ordinances allowing such closure on our Navigable Waterways for the Golden Mussel. California Fish and Wildlife have an ordinance specific to the Quagga and Zebra Mussels and for knowingly contaminating waters of the state, but not the Golden Mussel or a full closure. Sierra County has a simple and effective self-inspection boat form along with a corresponding ordinance that is sufficient for recreation on lakes within Sierra County. I am not able to balance in a kayak, canoe or certainly stand up on a paddleboard and last year they denied to accommodate my request to use an electric motor on a small boat. Additionally, NID has made the motor boat launching requirements incredibly costly with inspection, decontamination (elsewhere) and a $28 launch fee on a ramp they don’t own.
So, let’s play along: if you wish to launch this year on Jackson Meadows spur of the moment when it is “open”, IF someone is there, you will have to have your boat inspected and decontaminated at Lake Tahoe. The inspection and decontamination process at Lake Tahoe starts at well over $100 per visit. You then could take your Tahoe-tagged boat and launch at Jackson if the gate is open, paying a $28 launch fee. If you actually get on the lake after 9:30 a.m. and fail to make it back to the ramp before 4 p.m., they will lock your boat in on the lake until the next time they are open; if this occurs on a Sunday evening you will have to wait until Thursday to retrieve your boat and what remains of it. As all fisher-folks know, these are not the optimal fishing hours either.
Recent meetings recorded by NID showed the arrogance they have towards the users of Jackson Meadows Reservoir, and they even laughed at locking people’s boats on other lakes they control and claimed to own Jackson Meadows Reservoir. If the Tahoe inspection and decontamination program is too pricey for you, you can drive your boat to Jackson Meadows and IF someone is there from NID, they will tag your boat for 30 or 60 days, at which point you will have to turn around and go home without launching, not use your boat until the quarantine period is up, and then you can return to Jackson Meadows for the tag removal, pay the $28 and finally launch but make sure to watch the clock.
I would like to thank Supervisor Adams for his correspondence to the NID last summer regarding the closure of the lake. I am asking the community and the Sierra County Board of Supervisors to push back hard against NID as we come into the Memorial Day Weekend and this year’s boating season.
We ask the public and Sierra County to demand the Jackson Meadows boat launch facility be reopened using the current Sierra County self-inspection ordinance and ultimately stop the over-reach of NID on this valuable local recreational resource.
Sincerely,
Kenny Osburn Cc: NID, Sierra County Board of Supervisors
I am writing in response to the now 2-year closure and restrictions on Jackson Meadows Reservoir located in both Sierra and Nevada Counties. Last year the Nevada Irrigation District (NID) made a knee-jerk reaction and ultimately over-reached their authority by “closing” Jackson Meadows Reservoir because of their perceived threat of the Golden Mussel.
This mussel was discovered in the Sacramento Delta years prior. There have been multiple studies that conflict where these Golden Mussels can and cannot survive; most showing waters like Jackson Meadows are not sustainable for the Golden Mussel.
On April 29th, 2026, the Department of Water Resources lifted the mandatory inspection and decontamination of boats on Lake Oroville after finding the Golden Mussel will not survive long enough to reproduce in the lake due to the cold water temperatures. If the Golden Mussel cannot reproduce in Lake Oroville, one would believe they cannot survive to reproduce in the cold Sierra Nevada mountain lakes.
NID is advertising Jackson Meadows Reservoir as “open” to motorized boating this year. At face value this seems positive, but it is a stretch at best. NID is limiting the days and hours of motorized boats to 4 days per week this summer with limited hours of operation of 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Thursday through Sunday depending on staffing. Meanwhile, they advertise that kayaks, paddleboards, and canoes are welcome as they were last year with no inspections. They expect us users to believe that the Golden Mussel will only seek refuge on a motorized power boat – however, a certified boat inspector at the Hallelujah Junction Agricultural Inspection Station noted that a kayak was recently found with invasive mussels attached passing through that facility. Does NID expect us all to believe that this closure is about the Golden Mussel which discriminates only against motorized watercraft, or is it another example of a lake being shut down for “quiet recreation”?
In our last attempt to re-open a lake for motorized boating, the Nature Conservancy at least stood their ground and considered “all watercraft” to be a risk to Independence Lake. The compromise was not what many of us had in mind but included an in-basin fleet of non-motorized and motorized boats which could be used free of charge.
Jackson Meadows Reservoir has a huge economic and local recreational benefit to Sierra County and its visitors. I plead for Sierra County to ask NID how they were able to lock and control a newly placed gate on the Pass Creek Boat Ramp, which is entirely on US Forest Service property owned by us taxpayers? Currently, there is no Forest Order to close the boat launch facility at Jackson Meadows Reservoir on Forest Service property and they should also be held accountable!
There are no Sierra or Nevada County ordinances allowing such closure on our Navigable Waterways for the Golden Mussel. California Fish and Wildlife have an ordinance specific to the Quagga and Zebra Mussels and for knowingly contaminating waters of the state, but not the Golden Mussel or a full closure. Sierra County has a simple and effective self-inspection boat form along with a corresponding ordinance that is sufficient for recreation on lakes within Sierra County. I am not able to balance in a kayak, canoe or certainly stand up on a paddleboard and last year they denied to accommodate my request to use an electric motor on a small boat. Additionally, NID has made the motor boat launching requirements incredibly costly with inspection, decontamination (elsewhere) and a $28 launch fee on a ramp they don’t own.
So, let’s play along: if you wish to launch this year on Jackson Meadows spur of the moment when it is “open”, IF someone is there, you will have to have your boat inspected and decontaminated at Lake Tahoe. The inspection and decontamination process at Lake Tahoe starts at well over $100 per visit. You then could take your Tahoe-tagged boat and launch at Jackson if the gate is open, paying a $28 launch fee. If you actually get on the lake after 9:30 a.m. and fail to make it back to the ramp before 4 p.m., they will lock your boat in on the lake until the next time they are open; if this occurs on a Sunday evening you will have to wait until Thursday to retrieve your boat and what remains of it. As all fisher-folks know, these are not the optimal fishing hours either.
Recent meetings recorded by NID showed the arrogance they have towards the users of Jackson Meadows Reservoir, and they even laughed at locking people’s boats on other lakes they control and claimed to own Jackson Meadows Reservoir. If the Tahoe inspection and decontamination program is too pricey for you, you can drive your boat to Jackson Meadows and IF someone is there from NID, they will tag your boat for 30 or 60 days, at which point you will have to turn around and go home without launching, not use your boat until the quarantine period is up, and then you can return to Jackson Meadows for the tag removal, pay the $28 and finally launch but make sure to watch the clock.
I would like to thank Supervisor Adams for his correspondence to the NID last summer regarding the closure of the lake. I am asking the community and the Sierra County Board of Supervisors to push back hard against NID as we come into the Memorial Day Weekend and this year’s boating season.
We ask the public and Sierra County to demand the Jackson Meadows boat launch facility be reopened using the current Sierra County self-inspection ordinance and ultimately stop the over-reach of NID on this valuable local recreational resource.
Sincerely,
Kenny Osburn Cc: NID, Sierra County Board of Supervisors
