The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Dillon watercraft inspection station intercepted a watercraft carrying invasive mussels Monday.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public comment on delisting Canyon Ferry Reservoir as an invasive species management area.  Following three years of no invasive mussel detection, regional guidelines allow for the delisting of a suspect waterbody and the removal of the mandatory exit inspection requirements. 

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public comment on making the mandatory inspection before launch rule for the Flathead Basin permanent. The rule is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2020. Removing the expiration date will allow the rule to continue indefinitely.

Montana’s watercraft inspection stations set another record for boats inspected in 2019.  More than 112,00 watercraft have been inspected so far this year, surpassing last year’s number by 3,000 inspections. Inspectors have intercepted 16 boats with invasive mussels coming into the state.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is hosting the Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Summit on Dec. 4 and 5 in Helena. The two-day meeting will bring together AIS partners to discuss the progress made and next steps needed to continue advancing Montana’s AIS program.

A boat from Chicago bound for Seattle was quarantined and decontaminated at the Ravalli watercraft inspection station operated by the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes (CSKT).

This week experts on invasive species will gather to discuss the most pressing issues on aquatic invasive species management.  The Western Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species (WRP) will hold its annual meeting in Missoula Oct. 9-11, hosted by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.  Aquatic invasive species (AIS) cause tremendous damage to our economic and natural resources. 

Non-residents planning to bring their watercraft into Montana must now purchase an AIS Prevention Pass (AISPP) before launching on state waters. The AISPP was initiated by the 2019 Montana Legislature to help fund the fight against aquatic invasive species.

Last month Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks discovered an established population of New Zealand mud snails at a private commercial fish hatchery south of Hamilton.

So far, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and its partner agencies have conducted more than 52,000 watercraft inspections – with more than 7,000 of those happening over the Fourth of July weekend. To date, 13 vessels with zebra or quagga mussels have been intercepted.