Flathead Lakers Target Out-of-State Boaters to Prevent Invasive Species
The nonprofit, armed with a DNRC grant, is launching a project that uses state data to contact boaters visiting from states with infested waters
By Zoë Buhrmaster
Year after year, watershed by watershed, zebra and quagga mussels have infiltrated lakes and rivers closer and closer to Montana.
The desire to keep the mussels, known as aquatic invasive species (AIS), out of Flathead’s watershed has sparked creative prevention methods, including a project that will use state data to connect with out-of-state boaters coming from areas with infested waters.
Flathead Lakers, a nonprofit geared toward stewarding Flathead Lake, received a $42,750 grant from the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) to launch the project.
Since he started last year, Coby Gierke, the Lakers’ executive director, said the group let him know immediately that prevention is a priority, looking for ways to bolster the wall between mussels and the watershed.
“We thought if we could talk to those people and reach out to them before they ever left home and began their journey to Montana that would potentially prevent mussel introduction,” Gierke said.
The Lakers will obtain the past five years of visitor data from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP), which collects the data through campsite reservations and AIS Prevention Pass purchases. A team of analysts will review the data, identify patterns of returning boaters, paddlers and other recreational users, particularly those coming from regions near known AIS-infested waters.
“Once we’ve identified these high-risk users, we’ll reach out directly through a mix of email, phone calls, mailings, and social media,” the Flathead Lakers website reads. “We’ll encourage them to follow Montana’s ‘Clean, Drain, Dry’ guidelines and to get their watercraft inspected before launching.”
The Lakers will also offer incentives to those who provide proof of inspection, such as free Flathead Lakers memberships, merchandise and other prizes, Gierke said.
“Nobody wants to introduce mussels to pristine watersheds like the Flathead,” Gierke said. “People just don’t understand the issue very well. And if you can incentivize them to do the right thing rather than being punitive, that’s our goal.”
The motivation to keep AIS out of Montana waters is multifaceted, with broad appeal to policymakers and a range of stakeholders. The impacts of an infestation on agriculture, infrastructure and recreation could bring an estimated $234 million in annual economic damages in Montana, according to a collection of governmental agencies.
But that doesn’t include the less quantifiable indirect costs, such as ecological damages and costs to human health.
A study released last year by the University of Minnesota, a Great Lakes state with known infestations, on the effects of invasive zebra mussels showed that walleye fish exhibited 72% higher mercury concentrations in invaded lakes versus uninvaded lakes, and yellow perch exhibited 157% higher levels.
For an average-sized walleye, that means it is more than twice as likely to be deemed unsafe for human consumption, and 50 times higher for yellow perch.
“Once they’re introduced, they’re going to be virtually impossible to remove,” said Gierke, noting the size of Flathead Lake and its watershed.
Last week, the Lakers put in a records request to the state for the visitor data. Because fulfilling records requests can be time intensive, particularly those at the state level, the Lakers will have to wait to see whether they are able to begin outreach for the program this spring or wait until the beginning of the season next year.
The total anticipated cost for the prevention project is $72,000. For the rest of the funds, Gierke said there will be a push in the nonprofit’s spring appeal toward members and nonmembers to donate the remaining costs.
Alongside collaboration with FWP, Gierke said the Lakers plan to share the findings with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), which has its own AIS prevention program, and whose tribal fishing rights also stress the importance of keeping local waters clean.
Gierke said he views the initiative as a pilot program that, if successful, could be used as an example for other groups across the state.
“It’s a novel approach,” he said. “It’ll be a reflection that the more community organizations can use data the state is already collecting, the better.”