Program turns mussels away

POST FALLS - North Idaho became a hot spot for finding unwanted boat critters this season.

"Thirteen of the 24 mussel-fouled boats (statewide) this season were intercepted at the Interstate 90 westbound Cedars station," said Idaho State Department of Agriculture's Amy Ferriter, referring to the inspection station on the east side of Fourth of July Pass.

There was also one reported at Sandpoint Marine.

There were three mussel-fouled boats found in 2009 and eight in 2010.

The remaining 10 found this year were intercepted at stations at the southern border, including Juniper and Jackpot (four each) and Malad and Bruneau (one each).

North Idaho also had stations at eastbound I-90 at Huetter, Highway 53, Oldtown and Samuels.

Stations statewide performed more than 47,000 inspections during the 2011 boating season. The invasive species sticker has provided funding to conduct nearly 100,000 inspections since 2009.

A presentation and workshop on the program and what boaters can do to protect area waters will be held at Post Falls City Hall on Nov. 10 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The public is invited.

If introduced, mussels can quickly spread through rivers and lakes, impacting native species, recreation and infrastructure for power generation, irrigation, municipalities and industrial use.

Of the 24 mussel-fouled watercraft that were intercepted this year, nearly half originated from federal waters in Nevada and Arizona.

"Mussel-fouled boats continue to leave infested waters without proper decontamination," ISDA Director Celia Gould said. "The federal government needs to do a better job of containing infestations in their waters and preventing the spread of these species to the Pacific Northwest states."

Most other western states also have initiated prevention programs.

Although populations have been widespread in the Great Lakes for almost two decades, the mussels were found for the first time west of the Continental Divide in the past three years.

Idaho-bound boaters are reminded that they must submit for an inspection from the ISDA if they have been in a mussel-infested waterbody in the previous 30 days.

To arrange for a watercraft inspection, call (877) 336-8676.

For more information on the program, contact Ferriter at [email protected].

Invasive species workshop

There will be a workshop and presentations on Idaho's boat inspection program aimed at keeping out invasive species on Nov. 10 at 10 a.m. at Post Falls City Hall, 408 N. Spokane St. The public is invited and the workshop is free.