Fouled boats found as invasive species check station opens in Pablo
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LAKE COUNTY — The Flathead Region’s Aquatic Invasive Species inspection stations opened early this year, and in its opening weekend in Pablo, two fouled boats were already intercepted.
One boat was known to come from Arizona’s Lake Havasu, a mussel-positive body of water.
“It was cleaned by Arizona before they left, but the cleaning wasn’t complete,” said Erik Hanson, AIS consultant for the Flathead Basin Commission. Zebra and quagga mussels are often hidden in the little nooks and crannies in the engine, along seams and in bolt holes, Hanson said.
Finding mussels reinforced the need for AIS stations to open early this year, although most stations in Montana generally open Memorial Day weekend. Oregon recently found a fouled boat.
In Montana, Browning and Clearwater Junction started inspections March 2. With financial support from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Foundation and the Flathead National Forest, funding was provided to open the new location in Lake County on March 30 at Highway 93 and Division Street on the Salish Kootenai College campus.
The plans for the Pablo station didn’t come together smoothly, according to Caryn Miske, Executive Director of the Flathead Basin Commission.
“Unfortunately, the Highway 93 watercraft inspection station at Pablo did not originally come together as planned,” Miske said. “No pun intended, but this left a hole in our perimeter defense big enough to drive a truck through.”
The station location was shifted from Ravalli to Pablo to increase programmatic effectiveness and efficiency.
“The beauty of operating the station at Pablo is that we can inspect boats heading both north and south on Highway 93,” said Tom Smith, Chair of the Flathead Basin Commission.
Station inspectors will be looking for a variety of invasive species that could harm both the local economy and the aquatic environment, including illegally transported bait and fish, as well as invasive zebra and quagga mussels.
The need to operate stations early in the season is critical to keeping invasive mussels out of the Flathead and intercept snowbirds as they return from places like Lake Mead, which are heavily infested with invasive mussels.
The FBC will operate the Highway 93 station with the full support of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council, and has obtained permission from the Salish Kootenai College to operate on the college campus.
Virgil Dupuis, Extension Director, Salish Kootenai College, was instrumental in working with the FBC to launch the Highway 93 station.
“We believe that Tribal entities need to take a greater leadership role in the AIS prevention effort, and with Caryn’s persistence and hard work, this is a good step in that direction,” Dupuis said.
The FBC was established by the Montana Legislature in 1983 to protect the water quality of the Flathead River drainage system. For more information, contact the FBC at 406-240-3453.
