If you go remember to thoroughly clean your kayak and other gear so that you aren't transporting invasive aquatic species to the area. Even though it is usually a desert, you can introduce something that will be hard to detect until the next big rain and hard to remediate.
I think the question is about which non-native invasive plant or organism can survive long periods without water.
I don't think we need to use Death Valley as a test bed.
Normal practice is to wash all your gear before you visit a new body of water so that you don't spread things between them. I said normal as if that is the way boaters operate. Invasive species spreading all over lakes in Texas would suggest that the normal case is quite different here.
Since the responsibility for compliance falls on the boaters, kayakers, canoeists, then we are stuck with whatever they consider normal. That's the problem. A lot of people fail at simple tasks designed to preserve wild places for later generations enjoyment.
FWIW when I’ve been in states they actually cared about this there were literal kayak inspection stations on the road. I think perhaps I saw this in Montana?
It is a good vector to check and ensure. I’m kind of curious whether it’s an actual common vector or not
It is a big problem and all it takes is one visitor who neglected to clean the boat they had used in an affected body of water before boating in a pristine body of water. Here is only one example. [0]
The problem also occurs for things that grow on land and can be pretty difficult to deal with. [1]
Ecosystem changes due to introduction of non-native species is a global problem. [2]
Texas is like Montana in that we have notices and instructions posted on many popular lakes and on the TPWD (Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept) website. The problem is that many people do not see these notices and they regularly visit multiple lakes during the boating season. I personally think it is a common vector.
[0] https://www.nps.gov/subjects/invasive/aquatic-invasive-speci...
Scrub it with soap inside and out. Go have fun.