I don’t know about you, but when I’m driving west from Reno to Truckee and round that one bend on Interstate 80 — the one that brings the bug station (or California Agricultural Inspection Station, if you want to be fancy) into view — I’m making sure I’m not behind any private vehicle that might be stopped in the inspection lanes. Moving trucks, big vans, boats, cars with non-Western U.S. license plates … I’m in the other lane whenever possible.
While there have been times I waited for ages while traffic is backed up in the queues, lately it’s more likely I am cruising through with no staffer in sight. In some ways, the landmark has become mindless for me; in others, it’s a source of fascination: What’s happening in this station when inspectors aren’t out asking drivers to open the backs of moving vans?
Thus, this edition’s YATA has a twist: Alex Asked. They Answered. (Then Alex Couldn’t Help but Do a Bit of Reporting.) ~ AH, Moonshine Ink
Nick Tomasello is the station manager of the Truckee border station, one of 16 along California’s perimeter. He’s a local guy, born and raised in Truckee, and has worked for the California Department of Food and Agriculture border stations for 18 years.
“There’s no job like this,” he told me. “We’re in the public eye. We’re dealing with truck drivers; we’re dealing with private travelers. We deal with every walk of life. We’re on an interstate. We stop all different types of people carrying all different types of things.”
The border station’s primary purpose is to prevent pests from entering California, therefore protecting farmers and consumers of agricultural products worldwide. This happens via staff members monitoring vehicles, private or commercial, passing into the state.
“When those local boat inspection stations … find [invasive species], there’s always, like, publicity,” Tomasello said, referencing the recent high-profile interception of golden mussels at a Lake Tahoe watercraft inspection station. “But we find them almost on a monthly basis here.”
Private vehicles might be flagged if there’s a cooler, house plants, or firewood visible, or if they’re coming from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or other East Coast states, where many invasive species are from.
Even if the lanes aren’t being individually staffed, private vehicles are still being monitored from inside the station. If someone’s pulling a boat, for example, an inspector will run out and stop them.
Yet it’s the commercial side of the station that bears the brunt of scrutiny because that’s where most of the issues stem from. Tomasello called it a numbers game, adding that the amount of industry growth in places like Reno mean truck numbers have skyrocketed.
“Even from when I started at 18 years old in 2007 working for this station — the truck traffic back then was nothing like it is now,” he said. “We are always busy; we’re always backed up. Whether we have 12 people staffed here [like before Covid-19] or [5, which is currently considered a fully staffed day], it’s hard to keep up with how much commercial traffic there is. And with more commercial traffic comes more inspections and more regulatory action.”
When those local boat inspection stations … find [invasive species], there’s always like publicity. But we find them almost on a monthly basis here.”
~ Nick Tomasello, Truckee border station manager
The commercial side of the station is manned 24 hours a day, and every single truck that passes through is required to share its bill of lading, which essentially serves as a receipt of shipment — it tells the inspectors what’s in the truck, where it’s been, and more.
“I think it doesn’t help with us not being out there [on the private vehicle side] on a consistent basis,” Tomasello said. “But what you don’t see happening out there is what we’re doing on [the commercial] side of the building … And we are still currently finding invasive species on a pretty regular basis. Statistically, our numbers show that we’re being effective. We’re finding invasive species.”
~ AH
If no one is physically manning the inspection lanes, why not just open all seven of them?
Reason number one is safety. I’ll be honest, we try to keep it as minimal as possible because when we’re monitoring traffic [we might] have to jump out there to do a boat inspection or do something. Not seeing [border station staff] out there on a consistent basis even though there’s a posted stop sign and [cars are] driving through a building, the speeds are just unsafe. So, we try to keep the lanes as minimal as possible, and that’s to slow traffic down. It’s not our intention to back traffic up, but it’s a [4,000-] to 8,000-pound vehicle versus a 200-pound person.
If it’s a busy day, we’ll try to open three lanes. During events, Burning Man, Hot August Nights, when we have the staff and we’re manning the lanes, if we have enough people to run four lanes, we will open four lanes, but four really is pushing it.
They designed this building, and they put seven auto lanes in. The entire time I’ve worked here, since 2007, we have never run seven auto lanes simultaneously … [Five is the most I’ve seen.]
Are there plans to fully and consistently re-staff the lanes?
The plan is always to have appropriate staffing levels to conduct inspections on both private and commercial traffic. Since 2020, Covid staffing has become a challenge that many employers have had to face. Our goal is to get back to full staff and conduct inspections on private vehicles. We are currently recruiting and looking for seasonal and permanent employees. We attend local job fairs in Reno and Truckee to recruit potential applicants. The border station staff has been attending job fairs for years in our ongoing effort to recruit new staff … We are confident that one day the Truckee station will have the appropriate staff to conduct inspections [consistently, across private and commercial lanes].
What’s the likelihood of the border station being dismantled or repurposed in the future?
No, there is no plan … [and] I hope that these stations are never dismantled.
I have really poured my heart and soul into this because I believe that the work that we do is very effective. And I would think that the farmers and the communities and anybody who buys ag products (which is everyone; if you eat food, you buy ag products), I would think that people would want to understand the importance and the threats that invasive species pose on the state. Because when major pest infestations happen within the state, it costs taxpayers money to eradicate, it costs farmers money, and usually that cost is passed on to the consumer.
What’s a notable inspection you’ve had during your career?
At the Long Valley [border station heading north on U.S. 395 toward Susanville], this guy had a tiger in a horse trailer. It was a fully grown tiger. It was in a horse trailer. He didn’t have any sort of documentation or qualification to help this animal. We contacted the Department of Fish and Wildlife [and] we rejected him back out of state. I think Department of Fish and Wildlife ended up taking custody of the tiger.
[Additionally,] there have been emergency situations where for whatever reason, maybe the highway patrol has to shut the road down because there’s a really bad accident … We did have one emergency situation a couple years ago where a gentleman was having a medical episode and they thought for a minute they might have to Care Flight him, and to do so, they would’ve had to land a helicopter out here [on the interstate], so they wanted us to stop traffic. In those emergency situations, we typically follow whatever instruction we’re given because when it comes to the highway patrol or Caltrans, both of those agencies are the ultimate authority of the road.
~ Nick Tomasello, station manager, California Agricultural Inspection Station – Truckee
Interested in working for the Truckee Border Station?
New hires, including entry level positions, will be extensively trained in how to look for invasive species.
