An inside look at Idaho’s $3M fight against invasive quagga mussels
Jeremey Varley, the Idaho State Department of Agriculture’s southern chief treatment engineer, explains the state’s strategy for eradicating invasive quagga mussels during a boat tour of the infested portion of the Snake River on Oct. 3. (Photo by Clark Corbin/Idaho Capital Sun)
Idaho State Department of Agriculture Deputy Director Lloyd Knight takes reporters on a tour of a portion of the Snake River invested with invasive quagga mussels.
Photo by Clark Corbin/Idaho Capital Sun
Scientists and technicians use microscopes to study water samples taken from the Snake River to detect invasive quagga mussels. (Photo by Clark Corbin/Idaho Capital Sun)
WIN FALLS – Now in its third year, the effort to rid Idaho’s Snake River of invasive quagga mussels is a near 24/7 operation taking place both on the water and in a nearby laboratory.
Since Sept. 30, a team of about 25 Idaho State Department of Agriculture staff members and another 15-20 contractors have been applying a copper-based chemical called Natrix to every nook and cranny of a 3.5-mile section of the Snake River, as well as injecting the chemical into some of the underwater pools of the Snake River.