From Alder Creek, an outfitter in the Portland Area:
The permit system in Oregon is changing slightly. Regarding Paddle craft, it is required of all that are 10’ or longer. One permit per vessel used at one time (so if you have a fleet, you only need to have as many permits as you have boats that would be on the water at one time).
Read link for details.
I knew that one was only a matter of time. Might start seeing inspection stations all over like Idaho soon also. I know that along the Columbia they have a real problem with some non native snails that damage the turbines in dams, per the guy at an inspection station last summer.
So much for one permit in a waterproof bag for all boats. Looks like in addition to more permits, the price for a single permit for the year is up also.
I mostly paddle salt water in California, and the disparate testing requirements and costs we have for fresh water invasives testing does play a part in this (no testing for salt water). Each place charges their own inspection fee, generally ranging from $4 to $8. Be much nicer to pay an annual fee and not have to worry about individual fees.
As long as Oregon doesn’t screw around with the part of the law that allows Washingtonians to paddle and launch on the Oregon side of the Columbia, I guess I don’t care. I just want to know if all those big ships that come up the river from who-knows-where have to have a permit. What about the Navy and Coast Guard ships?
All of the invasive plants and animals are more likely to have arrived in the Columbia via anything but kayaks. The same goes for the Willamette.
It would appear you don’t understand what the problem they are trying to fix is. Those ships stay in one body of salt water and don’t go from eco system to eco system until they enter the fresh water, which is what they are worried about. There are no saltwater invasive species that they are worried about spreading from salt water to fresh in the Columbia. Any barnacles or anything else on the hull won’t survive in the fresh water.
@dcowell65 - you are right that barnacles and other salt water critters won’t survive in fresh water, so won’t become invasive. But barnacles and things attached to the boats don’t seem to be considered the problem. Instead, it is ballast water. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispersal_of_invasive_species_by_ballast_water for info.
The zebra mussel, one of the invasives that is currently checked for at OR check stations, has been primarily spread by ballast water.
From my experience, the Columbia is fresh water from about 10 miles upstream from the mouth on up. So Longview, Portland, etc. are all fresh water ports.
Ships fill their ballast when they load, to balance the boat. So the worry would be ships going from one fresh water port to another, and carrying invasives from one port to another. There actually are a lot of fresh water ports. Top of my head just in the US, and likely not a complete list, are Stockton, Benicia, Rodeo, and Sacramento in California, pretty much the whole Missippippi River, don’t recall many large ships going upriver on the Hudson, but that would be; all of the Great Lakes; etc.
There are some rules put in place to try to keep ballast water from spreading invasives. Some details/links at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballast_water_discharge_and_the_environment#United_States
Getting real, the prime reason for the permit is to raise money, because somehow government feels that is why it exists.
Except for the Columbia River, I never paddle in any Oregon waters and don’t plan to. So if Oregon is happy with their permit–fine. So why cut it off on boats under 10 feet. Those shorter boats are just as likely to be used in all sorts of waters. Just more government revenue targetting and discrimination.
magooch, I agree with you about the 10 ft cut off. So invasive species don’t hitch a ride if the boat is less than 10 feet long? Maybe someone on the board is a spud boater. 
My bet is that the more expensive kayaks are far less likely to transplant invasive species, because they in general are cared for (cleaned) more often than the cheapies. My sea kayaks get cleaned after each use; the others not so much.
In either case, it has nothing to do with invasive species. The only invasive species I worry about are politicians who think they have to regulate every freaking thing.
Kayaks themselves are low risk. I don’t wash mine each time. Sometimes mine is either on the truck or in the water for extended periods of time. Working or paddling. No time for washing. That being said I also have gone extended periods passing through a state line check point twice a day. They say that kayaks are low risk and if there is a rudder or anything like that they will check to see if anything is hung up on it. Other than that I just had my daily what’s up conversation with them and all was good. O