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Officials stop boat laden with invasive mussels

| March 14, 2014 9:00 PM

IDAHO FALLS (AP) - State officials say inspectors have stopped a boat entering Idaho with invasive mussels attached to it.

Idaho State Department of Agriculture officials tell the Post Register that the boat was stopped Tuesday at the Cotterell Port of Entry station on Interstate 84 in eastern Idaho.

Officials say the intercepted boat had been at Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on the Utah-Arizona border.

The state has 15 mandatory watercraft inspection stations in an attempt to stop quagga and zebra mussels from entering state waters. They started operating in February.

Officials say the mussels could cost the state about $100 million if they became established.

Biologists also say the mussels could harm fishing in the state.