Page 18 - Flathead Beacon // 12.7.16

COVER
INVASIVE SPECIES
Jim Craft, left, and Phil Matson, with the Flathead Lake Biological Station, collect eDNA samples along the north shore of Flathead Lake on Dec. 2. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
state’s perimeter-defense strategy.
State House Rep. Jim Keane, D-Butte, who served on a subcommittee that crafted legislation leading to FWP’s Aquatic Invasive Species Watercraft Inspection Program, said he’s horri ed that mussels slipped through the cracks and hopes the infestation can be cor-
ralled before it spreads.
“I am so scared now that it’s arrived.
This is our worst nightmare, frankly,” Keane said. “It’s a sad day, and I don’t think the public has a clue about what’s coming. This is going to be absolutely catastrophic to the economy and the environment.”
Jim Elser, the new director of the Flat- head Lake Biological Station, calls the discovery of mussels in the Missouri a “wake-up call,” and said he’s optimistic that the emerging eDNA technology will help protect these waters by providing early detection and monitoring without having to spot invaders visually.
“This is serious, but I don’t think we should have such a grim picture,” Elser said. “It’s a wake-up call, but there are lots of examples of lakes surrounded by inva- sive species that have warded them o . All of the information we have suggests
that Flathead Lake is mussel free. We can keep it that way, but we have to step up our e orts.”
Cody Youngbull, a recently hired research professor at the Bio Station, is on the cusp of manufacturing environ- mental sensors that he invented to pro- vide real-time DNA detection of invasive species such as quagga or zebra mussels using eDNA technology pioneered by Luikart.
Its application as an early-warning
detection system is unprecedented. In a sprawling body of water like Flathead Lake, relying on visual assessments to search for invasive mussels is like look- ing for a needle in a haystack.
With Youngbull’s technology — called Digital Droplet PCR — all it takes is one biological cell.
“The response time, the lag in under- standing, the whole wait-and-see approach would be dramatically reduced, and it would be more e ective,” Youngbull
said. “Instead of waiting weeks, we would know the results in real time.”
According to FWP, the state spent nearly $1 million on AIS prevention e orts in 2015, helping to fund educational and outreach campaigns, such as its “Clean. Drain. Dry.” program, as well as manning the state’s 22 mandatory boat-inspec- tion stations during boating season. Last year, the check stations conducted 37,000 inspections and turned up ve boats con- taminated with zebra or quagga mussels.
According to Miske, the state’s preven- tion e orts are inadequate, and pointed to the Blackfeet Nation as a model for aggressive action.
“In 2015, the Tribe passed the most robust AIS prevention statute in Mon- tana,” she said. “It requires the inspec- tion of all watercraft, motorized and non-motorized, prior to launch in Black- feet waters. The Tribe’s program is a model of what can be accomplished with political will.”
Miske’s Flathead Basin Commission is working to develop an Aquatic Inva- sive Species Rapid Response Plan for the region, with hopes of completing a draft by year’s end.
“THIS IS SERIOUS, BUT I DON’T THINK WE SHOULD HAVE SUCH A GRIM PICTURE. IT’S A WAKE-UP CALL, BUT THERE ARE LOTS OF EXAMPLES OF LAKES SURROUNDED BY INVASIVE SPECIES THAT HAVE WARDED THEM OFF. ALL OF THE INFORMATION WE HAVE SUGGESTS THAT FLATHEAD LAKE IS MUSSEL FREE. WE CAN KEEP IT THAT WAY, BUT WE HAVE TO STEP UP OUR EFFORTS.”
- JIM ELSER, DIRECTOR OF THE FLATHEAD LAKE BIO STATION
Montana doesn’t have its own rapid
18
DECEMBER 7, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM