No news is good news and there’s been very little news lately about AIS issues in Montana. That’s a good thing, but it’s not because nothing is happening. Some of what has been happening behind the scenes that you might be interested to know are…
Missoula County became the first – and only, so far – county to create an AIS District. The AIS District functions about the same as the Weed District only the AIS District focuses on all species of aquatic invasives including plants, animals and pathogens. The AIS District Board is currently working to develop a strategic plan that will inform the budgeting process. The purpose of the AIS District is to enhance existing state efforts to 1) prevent introduction of and 2) control existing populations of AIS in Missoula County and to tailor AIS efforts to meet the unique needs of Missoula County. Public insight and input are always welcome.
The Missoula County Weed Board received an application to have Fragrant Water Lily (the white one) listed in Missoula County as a noxious weed, which the Board approved. The AIS District is conducting research on the best management practices for this species in our area. The Clearwater Resource Council (CRC) has initiated lily-pull events with help from volunteers. This will be a long, on-going process.
COVID seems to be driving more people outdoors. Boat inspection numbers have greatly increased statewide in 2020 and 2021. From 113,000 total inspections in 2019, to 174,000 in 2020 (47,000 at Clearwater Junction alone!) and 66,000 (18,000 at Clearwater) so far this year. Predictably, with more boat traffic comes more mussel-fouled boats. In 2020, 35 mussel-fouled boats were detected. So far this year, 41 have been detected, with most coming from the mid-west.
Next week, Aug. 2 – 8, is the first annual Montana Watercraft Inspector Appreciation Week. The inspectors spend long hours in the hot sun and smoke, and deal with COVID protocols, to perform rigorous inspections as quickly as possible but as thoroughly as possible to protect our waters and preserve our recreational enjoyment of our lakes. A special event will be held at the check station next Monday, Aug. 2nd, at 2:30 p.m. that will provide an opportunity to say ‘thanks’ to our inspectors and to see what it is they do there to protect our waters. “Come on down!”
CRC continues to be the leader in monitoring for AIS in the Seeley/Swan valley. CRC collects hundreds of samples from the six major lakes in the valley and in recent years also helps cover the monitoring on Lindbergh, Holland, Browns, Upsata and/or Coopers Lake, as funding allows. Again, volunteer opportunities abound. If you’d like to help, please let us know.
A recent, nationwide scare was the detection of quagga mussels in moss balls used in the aquarium trade. They were found all throughout the U.S. and Canada. If you have an aquarium, never, never, never dump it out in local waters.
And finally, the major news in Montana regarding AIS came in 2016 with positive samples for the invasive mussel juveniles in Tiber Reservoir, and a suspect result from Canyon Ferry. After three years of negative sample results, Canyon Ferry was removed from the list of mussel-positive waters. Tiber Reservoir requires five years of negative results which will hopefully be met this year. Once Tiber is delisted, Montana will resume its mussel-free status.
We all need to keep up the effort to keep the mussels out of Montana. Hopefully, we have dodged this first bullet. We must remain on high alert.
If you’d like to know more about the AIS issue and/or would like to be part of the team that’s working to protect our waters in these many different ways, please feel free to contact me and let’s chat. (406) 677-4424 or joann.wallenburn@gmail.com
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