Idaho state agriculture officials led a $3 million effort last fall to try to prevent a fully-fledged quagga mussel infestation from taking hold in the Snake River, after mussels in their larval form were detected in September.
They won't know until spring if the copper-based chemical treatment poured into the water worked to kill all the invasive mussels. But, in the meantime, lawmakers could consider follow up measures during the legislative session.
Gov. Brad Little's budget, unveiled earlier this week, included $6.6 million to control the mussels, with $5 million in one-time money and $1.6 million in ongoing funds.
The recommendation includes adding two full-time staff to the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, setting up three new boat inspection and decontamination stations and supporting an educational campaign.
The decontamination stations would likely be centered around Twin Falls where the mussel larvae were detected. Chanel Tewalt, the director of the ISDA, said the agency will need to have a “laser focus” on the mid-Snake River for the next five years.
“The only way to get folks back to the waterway that they love is to make sure we can decontaminate everything coming out of the river,” she said.
Money from the budget recommendation could also support extending the season and hours of checkpoints that watch for mussel-infested boats crossing the state’s borders. Currently, some stations are open throughout the day and into the night most months of the year, while others are open more seasonally and just during the daytime. Last year, staff at the checkpoints intercepted 30 boats with quagga or zebra mussels attached.
Tewalt also emphasized that ISDA plans on amping up its early mussel detection work. During routine surveys, agency staff drag coffee-filter-like nets behind boats to collect water samples and send those to labs to see if they contain microscopic quagga mussel larvae.
That’s how Idaho found its first positive sample early on — to state officials’ knowledge, before an adult mussel population was able to colonize the river. Tewalt said the agency would like to double the scale of those monitoring efforts.
Idaho is also looking to its neighbors for additional policy ideas to keep the invasive species under control. One question is whether to require out-of-state boaters to dump their ballast tanks before entering Idaho.
Strategic investments now could prevent hefty costs down the line, Tewalt said. If the invasive quaggas took hold in the Snake River, they would wreak havoc on the state’s infrastructure by clogging pipes and latching onto hard surfaces.
"We would expect hundreds of millions of dollars in costs for irrigators, recreators and ratepayers,” she said.
Ultimately, the budget and potential policy changes will be up to lawmakers.
Sen. Van T. Burtenshaw (R-Terreton), who sits on the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, said he's happy with Little's budget request to deal with the quagga mussels.
"I think it gives us enough funding to step forward and make a real aggressive move," he said.
The state may need to spend more on the effort in the future, he said.
Editor's note: This story was updated with a comment from Sen. Van T. Burtenshaw.
Find reporter Rachel Cohen on Twitter @racheld_cohen
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