Preparing for the Worst

It hasn’t happened yet.

But in the event it does, a multitude of agencies are prepared to tackle what could be a watershed emergency in the Flathead Valley — the introduction of aquatic invasive mussels.

So far, the traces of contamination are restricted to the Missouri River Basin, but the likelihood persists of mussels hitchhiking on the hulls of boats or in bilge water or cloistered away in irrigation equipment. The threat of mussel infestation hits especially close to home for those working to protect the waters of Flathead Lake and its surrounding network of rivers and creeks, and it comes to rest at the doorstep of the Columbia River Basin — the only major watershed in the West still believed to be free of quagga and zebra mussels.

But to prepare for an onslaught, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP), the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), Flathead Lake Biological Station, Glacier National Park, the Montana Invasive Species Council, and other agencies have collaborated on an emergency response plan for the worst-case scenario. They gathered last week in Somers Bay on Flathead Lake for a three-day intensive training that centered on how they would respond to a positive detection of invasive mussels.

“It’s not enough to just have a good plan; you have to know how to use it,”

Germaine White, spokesperson for the CSKT, said. “This exercise is extremely valuable.”

Both locally and statewide, efforts to reduce the risk of aquatic invasive species spreading through Montana’s water bodies have been stepped up in response to the positive detection in the fall of 2016 of invasive mussel larvae east of the Continental Divide in Tiber Reservoir, as well as their suspected presence in Canyon Ferry Reservoir and the Missouri River near Townsend.

The detections led Gov. Steve Bullock to declare a natural resource emergency and form a joint mussel response team.

While mussels have not crossed over to Northwest Montana, officials from FWP, the CSKT, Flathead Lake Biological Station, Glacier Park, the Montana Invasive Species Council and other agencies have collaborated on an emergency response plan for the worst-case scenario.

Much like a wildfire, the event of an invasive mussel detection would warrant an immediate response from a long list of agencies working together to evaluate, strategize and organize resources to address the problem.

Lawmakers appropriated more than $12 million to monitor and combat the invasive species, while state officials encourage boaters to help prevent the spread of invasive mussels by cleaning, draining and drying all boats after use along with undergoing inspections.

“One of our concerns is snowbirds bringing boats home,” said Thomas Woolf, aquatic invasive species bureau chief at FWP.

“A boat that has been in Lake Havasu for the winter will have quagga mussels on it that are smaller than a grain of rice,” he said. “Boats like this must be inspected to ensure they are not transporting mussels into Montana.”

All watercraft are required to stop when a station is encountered, including all motorized boats, canoes, kayaks, rafts, drift boats, personal pontoons, and stand-up paddle boards. An inspection is required for all watercraft entering the state prior to launch as well as all watercraft crossing west over the Continental Divide and entering the Flathead Basin.