Leave it to the politicians in the state of Oregon to penalize its small boat owners for something they didn’t do. The state of Oregon is now making it mandatory for people who own kayaks, canoes and other types of unregistered, non-motorized boats pay a fee of $5 for a permit. This is disconcerting to some residents, given that these boats don’t even need to have boat insurance to operate, and now they suddenly need to be licensed.

The money from the permit is earmarked for a specific purpose. In fact, the permit even has a friendly-sounding name that makes the boat owner feel as if they’re somehow doing a world of good for the waterways of Oregon: the Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Permit.

While the name might bring to mind dramatic speeches from Bill Paxton about how we’re not going to just go quietly into that goodnight, or images of Will Smith dragging an alien body across the desert, it’s nothing so interesting. The fee is to prevent non-native plant and animal introductions into Oregon.

It’s required that one of these permits is carried on each and every boat on public waterways. There aren’t any restrictions on the name for the permit holder, or whether or not its transferrable. Also, boaters that are under the age of 14 years old are exempt from having to have one.

The rules for this permit were put in place this year, after the legislation from the Oregon Legislature went into effect. To date, over 4,400 permits have been sold. The Marine Board’s director expect to get compliance somewhere around 80 to 85 percent this summer.

As far as the next month or so goes, marine patrols are still only given warnings that boaters must have one of these permits. After Memorial Day rolls around, however, the “friendly education” approach will end.

The law that went into effect actually creates a charge both for motorized boats and for manually powered boats. The funds go to regional inspection teams, as well as efforts within the state to further aquatic invasive species prevention efforts.

Those that own or operate motorized boats don’t have to buy a separate invasive species permit, however. The fee for those in that situation is rolled into the regular registration fee for motorized boats. The regular motorized boat permit process has produced nearly 60,000 registrations this year so far, and promises to produce many more.

If you’re interested in learning more about the program or the permits, you can visit the Marine Board Web site at www.boatoregon.com.

Photo via lightcap