Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has released the 2018 Watercraft Inspection Station Annual Report.   Highlights from the report include:

2018 was a big year for Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks and its aquatic invasive species program with a record number of watercrafts inspected, record number of water samples analyzed and no mussel larvae or adult mussels detected.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks reminds waterfowl hunters that they can help prevent aquatic invasive species from infesting Montana’s wetlands, rivers and lakes.  The three steps of Clean, Drain, Dry greatly minimize the risk of spreading invasive species.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks hosted a meeting of the watercraft inspection station partners in Helena.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announces a $837,000 grant to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to combat invasive mussels in Montana. These grant funds will be used to improve inspection/decontamination stations; provide campsites for inspection staff; purchase inspection and decontamination equipment, materials and supplies, outreach materials, storage sheds, and shelters; and also provide for sampling and analysis.

A Fish, Wildlife & Parks aquatic invasive species monitoring crew has confirmed that invasive faucet snails have been discovered in Lake Frances near Valier.

With the proliferation of adult quagga mussels in Lake Powell, on the border of Utah and Arizona, watercraft from this lake that are entering Montana will be subject to additional measures at watercraft inspection stations to ensure they are free from aquatic invasive species.

With summer half over, more than 50,000 watercraft have been inspected at Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks aquatic invasive species inspection stations around the state.

The Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public comment on two documents that would guide the state of Montana’s response to the detection of invasive dreissenid mussels.