With financial support from the BNSF Foundation and the Flathead National Forest, the aquatic invasive species inspection station in Pablo is opening on March 30.
The Flathead Basin Commission will operate the station on U.S. Highway 93 with support from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council. The station will be located at the intersection of US 93 and Division Street on the campus of Salish Kootenai College.
The station in Pablo is the third in Northwest Montana to open early this year in an effort to prevent aquatic invasive species from infiltrating lakes and rivers. State law requires all motorists hauling watercraft — from trailers with motorboats or inflatable rafts to canoes and kayaks perched atop cars and pick-up trucks — to stop at inspection stations. Most inspections take fewer than five minutes but failure to stop could lead to a $135 fine.
The other two stations opened in Browning and at Clearwater Junction near Seeley Lake.
“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.
Inspectors look for a variety of invasive species, including zebra and quagga mussels, that could devastate waterways. Once introduced, non-native invasive mussels rapidly blanket all hard surfaces from shore lines to manmade infrastructure. The proliferation of invasive mussels costs the U.S. millions of dollars annually. Invasive mussels foul beaches, clog dams and boat motors, drive up utility rates and result in adverse fish and wildlife impacts, according to wildlife officials. Once introduced, mussels are virtually impossible to eliminate from aquatic ecosystems.
Oregon has already intercepted a mussel-fouled boat this spring, according to Heidi Sedivy, program manager for the FBC, and many of the highest risk boats coming from the southwest begin traveling to Montana well before Memorial Day.
Most stations in Montana generally open Memorial Day weekend. Since 2013, the Flathead Basin Commission and the Flathead AIS Work Group have been working to ensure that stations in the Flathead are open earlier in the season.
Research has consistently shown that the greatest numbers of high risk boats are transported prior to Memorial Day weekend. The need to operate stations early in the season is critical to keeping invasive mussels out of the Flathead, according to FBC officials.
“The perimeter defense plan now in place for the Flathead region is one of the best in the country and should go a long way in preventing an unwanted mussel introduction,” said Erik Hanson, consultant for the Flathead Basin AIS Work Group and the FBC.