Training slated for volunteer inspectors

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials reported June 29 that so far this season two boats carrying signs of quagga mussels have been identified at aquatic invasive species inspection stations in Montana.

The inspection station near Dillon found dead quagga mussels in late May on a boat that had been off the water for an extended period. The boat had California plates but came from Lake Mead, on the Arizona and Nevada border, a water notoriously infected with quagga mussels.

The boat was examined in detail at FWP’s Bozeman office and was not launched in Montana. No mussels were detected inside the motor, exhaust or water intake.

The second boat with dead mussels attached was stopped in early June in Hardin, one of the more than a dozen mandatory inspection stations operated by FWP.

“Though we have not yet found live mussels, this affirms recently trained inspectors are alert to the signs of AIS contamination on vessels they are inspecting,” said Eileen Ryce, FWP’s aquatic invasive species program supervisor.

Inspection stations are located at key sites across the state to help prevent the spread of invasive species, including quagga and zebra mussels, New Zealand mudsnails and Eurasian watermilfoil, and to inform boaters. Inspection station personnel were trained this spring.

The mussels and mud snails inspectors search for are tiny and easy to miss. The only clue may be a gritty feeling as they run their hands along the finish of the boat. In rare cases when a boat is infested or suspected of being infested, it is pulled aside for a detailed inspection and cleaning.

Ryce stressed that it is mandatory that boaters stop at all state watercraft inspection stations. Boats that are clean, drained and dry will help keep the inspection process quick and painless. Drive-bys could be stopped, asked to turn around and go through the station, and could be issued a citation, she said.

Inspection stations and roving crews operate in the following locations: The Clearwater Junction rest area, Eureka Highway 37 westbound, Ronan U.S. 93 northbound rest area, the Culbertson U.S. 2 westbound rest area, the Dena Mora I-90 eastbound rest area, Dillon I-15 northbound, the Hardin I-90 rest area, Swan Area (roving), Madison River drainage (roving), the Bitterroot River drainage, and three Helena-based roving crews at fishing tournaments and on waters east of the Continental Divide.

For more information, visit online at www.fwp.mt.gov.

Volunteer boat inspection training will be offered by the Flathead Basin Commission, Flathead Lakers and Swan Lakers at the Rollins School House on Saturday, June 30, from 2-4 p.m.

The training will be led by Erik Hanson, a level II certified AIS boat inspector and AIS consultant. He will provide an overview of the AIS threats and what volunteers can do to assist with the basin-wide AIS prevention effort. Volunteers will have an opportunity to sign up for work at one or more of the volunteer boat inspection sites.

For more information, call 240-3453 or 214-6371.