Mussel-fouled boats draw concern

The recent discovery of boats carrying invasive mussels at check stations across Montana has local officials raising the alarm for increased prevention efforts.

“We in the Flathead do need to beef up our program,” Caryn Miske, executive director of the Flathead Basin Commission, said.

Last week, invasive mussels were detected on a boat destined for Flathead Lake after it was stopped by Lake County authorities for driving past the watercraft check station in Ravalli. In May, check stations near Hardin, Wibaux and Browning stopped a total of three contaminated vessels, one of which was headed to the Flathead as well.

While state officials praised inspectors for stopping the boats prior to launch, the series of close calls illustrates the challenges associated with preventing the spread of invasive zebra and quagga mussels, which were detected in Montana for the first time last fall.

“For every story of success, there is the possibility of a miss,” said Tom McDonald, Fish, Wildlife, Recreation and Conservation Division manager for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. “That’s where everybody can be those other eyes and ears.”

McDonald said the tribes’ Natural Resources Department is now offering boat inspections seven days a week at its office in Polson. As the summer tourism season ramps up, McDonald said the tribes will also air television and radio ads informing the public on the importance of cleaning, draining and drying watercraft.

But now that mussels are suspected to exist in multiple locations along the Missouri River system, including Tiber and Canyon Ferry reservoirs, Miske said efforts have grown more complicated.

“Out of state boaters are no longer the only threat,” Miske said.

Miske said that there have been reports of boats leaving Tiber Reservoir, the site of the first positive test for invasive mussel larvae in Montana, without undergoing a complete decontamination.

McDonald said he’s heard similar reports, and described the situation at Tiber Reservoir as a “high risk mess.”

Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks spokesperson Greg Lemon said all boats leaving Tiber Reservoir are subject to decontamination, however the procedures can vary. He said inspectors determine whether boats simply need to be cleaned, drained and dried, or undergo a more thorough process such as a hot water flush.

Lemon said that the state remains focused on containment efforts rather than additional closures or restrictions, which some stakeholders have called for. Lemon said shutting down water bodies due to the suspected presence of invasive mussels creates unclear parameters moving forward.

“At this point shutting down recreation is a pretty dramatic step,” he said. “It’s hard to go back from that.”

Proponents of stricter regulations have used this argument as well, however, particularly in response to FWP’s decision to continue holding fishing derbies on Tiber, Canyon Ferry and other high-risk water bodies.

During a series of outreach meetings held throughout the Mission Valley over the winter, scientists with the Flathead Lake Biological station warned that mussels have never been successfully removed from a large water body. Once established, the voracious filter feeders out complete native fish species, coat shorelines and clog infrastructure.

With the Flathead Lake and the greater Columbia River Basin one of the last uncontaminated waterways in the west, local prevention efforts take particular precedence.

Jay Monroe, Aquatic Invasive Species Program manager for the Blackfeet Nation, which caught the first mussel encrusted boat in Montana this season, said his check stations often serve as the last line of defense against boats entering the Flathead Basin from the Missouri River system.

“We run a pretty tight ship,” he said. “Boaters that have gone through their program, they come back and we are way more thorough than what the state’s doing.”

Miske said the Flathead Basin Commission looks forward to taking advantage of new legislation passed this year allowing for localized rule making. This will allow for more targeted efforts, Miske said, such as mandatory inspections prior to every launch into the Flathead, which the commission has advocated for in the past.

Miske said members of the commission recently sat down for a constructive meeting with newly appointed FWP Director Martha Williams. Miske said the state’s efforts serve as a baseline for the commission to build upon.

“We’re not looking to replicate,” she said. “We’re looking to provide services, above and beyond.”

For more information on invasive mussels, visit the tribe’s new website at csktnomussels.org.